Portrayals of Autism Spectrum Conditions in film and TV
1st April 2019
Recently, the portrayal of Autism Spectrum Conditions has exploded in popular film and TV. These portrayals have had a massive impact on the understanding and awareness of autism in general society. Since it’s Autism Awareness Week, now is a good time to have a look at these characters and assess what their impact on people’s view of autism…
- Raymond from ‘Rain Man’
When you mention the word ‘autism’, there are many people whose minds will go immediately to Raymond from the cult classic 1988 film Rain Man; a character with autism who demonstrates extreme savant skills with numbers and counting. Raymond was diagnosed with autism as a child, he strictly follows sequences such as being in bed by 11pm sharp and can withdraw into routines when he is put in a new environment or when someone invades his personal space. The film quickly became a global phenomenon; it was the US’s highest grossing movie of the year and won 4 Oscars. Due to this, and the fact that at the time of release autism as a condition was relatively unknown, the archetypal representation of someone with autism that Raymond presents has become iconic. At first, many people praised the film for increasing awareness of Autism Spectrum Conditions, with some reporting that it led to a dramatic increase in medical research and funding and improved recognition of autism. However, more recently many people argue that Rain Man is now damaging to autism awareness, as it creates the assumption that all people with autism are high functioning geniuses with extreme savant skills. As we know, this assumption is not accurate, as only around 10% of those on the autistic spectrum have savant skills. This misinterpretation of what autism looks like can lead to people overlooking those on the autistic spectrum who do not conform to this stereotype, and not recognising the issues they may face.
2. Shaun from ‘The Good Doctor’
The Good Doctor is a television series which aired in 2017 about Shaun Murphy, a junior doctor with an autism diagnosis who displays social awkwardness, lack of eye contact, sensory sensitivities and difficulties interpreting non-literal language. This series portrayal of a character with autism is refreshing in many ways; Shaun frequently shows empathy and is caring of others, demonstrating how many people with autism are more than capable of experiencing these emotions. Shaun being a successful doctor also helps to establish that many people with autism spectrum conditions have valuable employment skills for team working with the right adjustments to their work environment and some understanding from those around them. Shaun’s attention to detail, visual thinking and analytic approach has helped his team and patients many times. However, Shaun is yet another character in mainstream television who demonstrates savant skills, again perpetuating the stereotype that autistic individuals always have special abilities and extreme IQs.
3. Sam from ‘Atypical’
Atypical is a 2017 TV show available on Netflix, which follows the story of an autistic teenager Sam and the everyday challenges he faces. Sam demonstrates some very pronounced and stereotypical features of autism; little variation in speech intonation, misunderstanding social cues and showing an intense interest in Antarctica and penguins. In some ways, this show again appears to perpetuate an archetypal ‘textbook’ representation of autism, rather than offering a more varied representation on the way that autism is expressed. However, the show does offer some unique representations of autism; unlike many others, it focuses on how Sam longs to have a sexual and romantic relationship and the struggles that he encounters when trying to do this. This story line helps in tackling the myth that people on the autistic spectrum do not seek romantic or sexual relationships and are not interested in, or capable of, dating. Furthermore, the absence of the traditional ‘savant skills’ in Sam usually shown in autistic characters is very welcomed and helps somewhat to tackle this persistent stereotype.
4. Fiona from Elementary
Fiona represents one of the few well known portrayals of female autism in popular TV. This is positive in itself; the complete lack of female autistic characters compared to male autistic characters in TV serves to exacerbate the issue that autism in females is generally overlooked. Thus, the presence of Fiona, a female character with overt and identified autism, helps to address this imbalance. Despite this, once again, her surface character is quite stereotypical; she is completely unable to lie, struggles strongly with eye contact and has an intense interest in cats. While many people with autism may experience these difficulties, many (especially women) do not, and thus Fiona’s portrayal may serve to reinforce these frequently incorrect stereotypes. However, Fiona does display some complex characteristics that are interesting in terms of her portrayal of autism. Fiona is portrayed as being able to read people accurately, a trait that is not commonly used in autistic characters, who are frequently represented as awkward and potentially naïve or vulnerable. Furthermore, Fiona interacts and builds connections with the other characters in the story positively, and thus helps to tackle some views that people with autism are unable to build social relationships.
Overall, the increase in characters with Autism Spectrum Conditions in popular film and TV is a positive step towards improving awareness. However, the stereotyped and narrow portrayals of these characters and how their autism presents does create issues in pigeon holing autistic people into certain categories, and generates difficulty for those whose autism does not fit into these categories. Movement towards more complex and varying presentations of autistic characters and more female representations is greatly needed, and would go a long way in challenging the stereotypes that exist around autism spectrum conditions in society today. With Autism Awareness Week now in full swing, maybe now is the time to challenge our own stereotypes surrounding Autism, and have a look into how complex and unique each individual’s Autism presentations can be.
If you or someone you know is experiencing difficulties surrounding Autism Spectrum Conditions, or are seeking exploration into a diagnosis, please visit our website at www.psychologychartered.co.uk, or contact our Autism service team by email at lily@psychologychartered.co.uk, or by phone at 02392377399.