Autism on Film: A Journey Towards Acceptance

Autism on Film: A Journey towards Acceptance by Benjamin Rosenbaum

In a trailer for the movie Adam, a handsome and appealingly vulnerable young man appears in close-up, and attempts to explain himself to the girl he’s fallen in love with. “I have this thing that’s called Asperger’s Syndrome,” he says. Released at the end of July 2009, the film, which won the Alfred P. Sloane Feature Film Prize at the 2009 Sundance festival, is creating a lot of buzz in the Autism community. Adam tells the story of a young man with an autistic disorder (Asperger’s is at the high-functioning end of the Autistic Spectrum) who is in a relationship with “neuro-typical” girl – in other words, a girl who is not on the spectrum. Nowadays the autism spectrum is not only the subject of frequent news reports and psychological research; it’s also a hot topic that creative writers are exploring in their screenplays, books, and other mediums. What most people don’t know is that this subject has been dealt with previously in films and other creative media for over two decades. As with many other “niche” social issues, the early revelations only spread to a select few individuals. General audiences who saw the movies were comparatively uninformed, and didn’t know how exactly to approach or interpret the content.





Rain Man, released in 1988, was the first major motion picture to give a vivid depiction of autism. Dustin Hoffman won an academy award for his portrayal of an autistic “savant” in the film, a man who is severely disabled, yet is a mathematical genius. Despite his gifts, Hoffman’s character is unable to take care of himself or live successfully outside of an institutional environment. Many people who saw this movie when it was released came away with the impression that all autistic individuals have similar massive issues. Members of the autism community saw the film as presenting a stereotypical portrayal of the condition. Advocate Melissa Bee says: “How many autistic adults have cringed when they have been told, ‘But you're not like Rain Man!’ While the film is compelling, pertinent information about the autistic spectrum is withheld (perhaps for dramatic effect); so the general public is misinformed about the nature of what autism really entails. So in the mind of society a myth of autism = mentally defective has emerged.” The image of Rainman still comes to many people’s minds when they think of autism, despite the 20 years since the movie came out.

I myself was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome in 1993, just before age five. At that time there was little knowledge of the condition among the general public, as compared to what is known about autism today, and the diagnosis of Apsergers was relatively new in the medical community. That same year, a new film depicting autism was released. House of Cards, tells the story of six-year-old Sally Matthews. Sally appears to be a normal little girl at first, but after the death of her father, she not only stops talking but starts screaming if things look out of place, and shows many other characteristics that are believed to be indications of autism. In particular, she begins to obsessively build elaborate structures out of playing cards for no discernable purpose. Autism expert Dr. Jake Beerlander (an earnest Tommy Lee Jones) arrives to confirm the diagnosis. Sally’s mother Ruth (Kathleen Turner, at her most distraught) feels certain that her daughter is only suffering from temporary Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and believes she will recover in time. Their opposing convictions drive the film’s plot. My own initial reaction to the girl’s behaviors, as depicted, (and I imagine that of most audience members) was to see Ruth as a parent in utter denial. As I watched the way the film progressed, however, I got confused. Sally’s story didn’t fit into what I knew about autism or PTSD.

The elements of the storyline that raise controversy with regard to the way autism is perceived, begin with Jake’s implication that if Ruth lets him treat Sally for a few weeks, she will be cured and restored to who she was before her father’s death. While Autism can be treated, according to the experts, it can’t be “cured.” Ultimately, Sally is restored to “normal” functioning, when Ruth manages to decode what she is trying to communicate through her cards. After seeing the fairy tale ending, I started to question the ethics and accuracy of how autism was portrayed in the film. I watched the film again with my psychologist mother in order to make sense of it. She was able to confirm that the film did not display autism as we know it today, but “perhaps” she suggested, “it didn’t intend to.” Unfortunately, regardless of whether the film intends to realistically depict autism, the story it does tell, combined with the explicit theme of autism, only adds to the confusion and misconceptions about the disorder. (Maybe the filmmakers were not playing with full deck of cards when they created their storyline.)

Former New York Times film critic Vincent Canby reviewed the film when it came out in 1993. He had this to say: “’House of Cards’ looks like a movie that may have been fiddled with after the initial production was completed. I don't know. Nothing quite makes sense.” The risk, of course, is that even an implausible and in incoherent film can influence public perceptions and have a negative impact. Reactions among bloggers on the Internet Movie Database (imdb.com), including some from within the autism community, highlight the same concerns about the confusing message the film gives. One contributor wrote: “This movie is offensive to parents with autistic children (I have two, but mild cases) … It's very misleading and offers false hopes to parents that someday their child will become nondisabled.”

In 1998, the film Mercury Rising was released. It was a typical Bruce Willis action flick, with a predictable storyline, with the addition of an autistic character in a pivotal role. Nine-year-old Simon is severely autistic, yet he has a knack for puzzles. When he unknowingly cracks a complex and secret code he becomes the target of assassins. FBI agent Art Jeffries (Willis) arrives on the scene and becomes Simon’s determined protector, and in the process breaks through the barrier of his autism to establish real communication with the child. The action hero got the typical Hollywood treatment, but at least the fairy tale ending, in this case, didn’t result in an unrealistic cure. Moviegoers who came to see Bruce Willis may not have been impacted by the issue of autism, but individuals on the spectrum had strong reactions. “It all stated with Mercury Rising,” wrote one excited blogger on the Wrong Planet website (a chat room for people on the spectrum), who went on to predict the emergence of a whole new genre of autism themed media exposure and entertainment.

The 2005 film Mozart and the Whale, loosely based on a real life love story, is about a romance between two people with Asperger Syndrome. Josh Hartnett plays Donald Morton, the extremely awkward male heartthrob, and Radha Mitchell plays the complex beauty, Isabelle Sorensen, in this indie-style, quirky romantic comedy. The film makes an attempt to address its topic with a lighter touch by suggesting that romance can be just as sensational between two people on the spectrum as between two average people. Its tone sparked controversy within the autism community, however, because some people on the spectrum want their disability to be portrayed more seriously under all circumstances, while others want to be treated just like everyone else.

Some people feel that the best barometers for the risk of spreading misconception through films are people on the autism spectrum, or those who have close relationships with affected individuals. One writer on imdb had this reaction to Mozart and the Whale: “I now fear that thousands, or perhaps millions more people know even less about Autism and Asperger's Syndrome than they did before! Yes, I have read the glowing reviews, and I am extremely disappointed in them. I have lived around Autism from every possible perspective that you can imagine. Trust me, what you will see in this movie is Hollywood and not the real world.” Another contributor, who is the mother of an adolescent with Asperger’s had a different reaction: “To me, the big question was what would Josh (my son) think of how Asperger's was depicted. …. Josh said: ‘see mom, that means that I can meet someone and get married too, so don't worry anymore.’ This movie gives me hope that a life of independence and companionship is possible for Josh.”

This summer, with the release of Adam, another romance involving an adult with Asperger’s, will be hitting theaters. My hope is that this film will inspire audiences to think that people on the spectrum are just as worthy of love and acceptance as everyone else. Film critic Alex Billington called it “a wonderfully charming and beautiful story about falling in love.” Billington also claims to have learned about autism from the film. We’ll have to wait and see if others have this reaction and how the autism community feels their symptoms are portrayed. It is clear to me, however, that the film industry’s attitude towards autism is evolving.