Blog #4: Preliminary Data - the movies, and a broad overview of themes

Introduction

Hey hey! It’s that time of the week! I’m back and have no idea how to segway us into our topic, just like the previous blog!

Speaking of the previous blog, let’s rehash the criteria for movie selection to further create some clarity and specificity:

1. The movie must be a Western production (European, American, English etc) (Most of the films selected will have been American)
2. The movie must have a character with Autism (either directly stated or heavily implied)
3. 2 movies for each decade (I am excluding 2020 – Present day as this decade has not completed), resulting in a total of 8 movies

The Selected Movies + Summaries

1980s

1988 – Rain Man: One of the first films to be released about Autism following the release of DSM III, and widely considered one of the most “mainstream” movies about autism.
Brief Summary – After car dealer Charlie Babbit’s father died, he learns that his autistic older brother, Raymond, was left an inheritance of millions. Babbit begins a cross country trip with raymond for the purpose of money but quickly finds that this trip would change both of their lives.

1989 – The Wizard
Brief Summary – After Corey’s little brother was put into a mental institution, Corey breaks out his little brother. While traveling, it turns out the little brother is exceptional at video games, having them turn into a video game competition.

1980s general theme: Travel. Throughout many films, we see the idea of exploration and personal growth as a major theme. Especially in films regarding autism. It seems inspirational journeys was a key idea in early depiction.

1990s

1998 – Mercury Rising
After a 9 year old autistic savant cracks an “unbreakable” government code, an FBI rogue agent protects the child as the government hunts the “liability” down.

1999 – The Other Sister
Carla was sent to a school for children with intellectual impairments. Much later, Carla returns home where her family must come to accept Carla’s independance.

1990 general theme:
While keeping the general idea of “self growth,” this decade of films seem to focus much more on the role of the neurodivergent in a group, be it the nation, or a family. 

2000s

2005 – Mozart and the Whale

Follows a New York taxi driver with Asperger’s Syndrome (DSM V in 2013 modified it into the Autism Spectrum). Donald (the driver) is extremely intelligent but rather introverted/shy. Following the creation of a support group for similarly diagnosed people, Donald meets Isabelle, extremely blunt and easily irritable, and the two fall in love.

2009 – Adam

Adam, a sheltered young man with Asperger’s falls in love with his new neighbor Beth. Beth quickly pulls adam to the outside world, showing him a plethora of new experiences.

2000s general summary

Significantly more focused on the idea of Asperger’s Syndrome (likely due to its official classification in DSM IV in 1994), this decade at a glance doesn’t seem to focus on the idea of diagnosed people’s emotions, feelings of love, happiness, and everything else.

2010s: the last decade.

2010 – A Brilliant Young Mind

A socially awkward, autistic math prodigy who finds comfort in numbers and patterns. Nathan (the prodigy) joins a math olympiad competition. The movie follows Nathan and the relationships he forms as he works for this math olympiad.

2016 – The Accountant

Christian, a math savant who usually works as an accountant for criminal organizations, is suddenly given a legitimate client to find the root of a discrepancy of millions of dollars.

2010s general summary

Interestingly, both movies involve a math savant, of course, in vastly different roles (student, math olympiad vs criminal). Generally alarming however, is the idea that the savant, if nothing else, has gotten more popular. While the 1980s and 90s contained a singular film with savants, the remaining decades focused significantly more on hyper-intelligence.

Conclusion

At a glance, the changes may seem minor, with thematic changes all decade to decade. But, I believe that as I get a more detailed analysis using Safran’s guidelines and look at the nuances of the character, we will begin to see a much larger change.

Oral Defense:

What Additional Questions Emerged during your research? Based on your recent experience, what advice would you give to other researchers who might choose to investigate those questions?

Overall, from this very broad aerial view, I fear that general themes regarding Autism and Asperger’s are largely the same. Much of my literature review has found, however, that movies, media, and television tend to reflect public perception (and influence it), while at the same time, ASD has become far more integrated and accepted over the years. This has led me to believe just how much the actual portrayal (actions, minor traits) of characters has changed over the years. I believe strongly that while nuances and portrayal may have changed, the issue is that themes largely remain unchanged. This is a significant issue, not every neurodivergent is a math savant capable of outsmarting supercomputers at the age of 9. Not every neurodivergent if horribly socially awkward. And not every neurodivergent is incapable of understanding emotion.