Rachel Mullins, James M Pryor, & Lueden Sheikhnureldin
Dr. Foss
ENGL 384-02
April 28,2020
Autism in Popular Culture
Prompt #2
In popular media representation such as on television and film, Autistic characters are overwhelmingly portrayed as males, specifically white males, and while there is a small percentage of Autistic female characters, they are also white. Visual media greatly lacks representation for Autistics of color. These shows and movies lack input from the Autistic community and are usually based on stereotypes which results in not only every character in these shows and movies being virtually the same, but also enforces the notion that only white people are Autistic. This stereotype is extremely harmful for Autistic people of color because they are invalidated constantly and can feel like there is no place in the community for them (Giwa-Onaiwu xiii). Another trope derived from the lack of Autistic input in these shows and movies is that these Autistic characters are usually there to simply ‘teach’ a non-Autistic person how to be kind, and they more likely than not have some sort of ‘bizarre’ talent or interest that is supposed to show how amazing Autistic minds are. While on the surface it sounds like acceptance, in reality it pushes the idea that an Autistic person needs some special skill to validate their existence. These negative representations of autism in movies and TV shows led to Autistic people not relating to canonly Autistic characters, but instead saying characters that they relate to or like are Autistic as a way of saying that if those characters were explicitly stated to be Autistic, they’d be better representations than what is shown now. Visual media representation is extremely important because this is where people get most of their ideas and beliefs, so by showing bad representation, it leads to harmful misconceptions of the Autistic community and makes Autistic people feel unrepresented (Ne’eman). If creators of these television shows and films used Autistic input, there would be less perpetuation of these stereotypes and more diverse representation for Autistic people.
A character that is considered the ‘blueprint’ for Autistic characters is Raymond ‘Ray’ Babbitt from the movie Rain Man. Raymond fits the stereotype for Autistic people greatly. He is a white male, is an extremely fast counter which is his ‘bizarre’ habit or trait, and as argued by many critics, his autism is not for representation, but is one of the many stories of how autism affects neurotypicals instead of how it affects Autistic people (Ne’eman). Raymond’s character is also not played by an Autistic actor. The inspiration for Raymond’s character was inspired by a man named Kim Peek who did not have autism, but had savant syndrome (Treffert). While Peek seemed to be in support of this character and this movie, this film is the cause of a lot of misconceptions of autism such as all Autistic people being savants and that autism is only present in white men. Furthermore, having a non-autistic person portraying an Autistic character makes autism seem like it is not a valid identity, but instead something one can just ‘pretend’ to be and turn on and off when needed. Having an Autistic actor is the best option for better representation because it shows how autism is a real, lived experience. A character that is the product of Autistic input is Julia from the popular kids’ show, Sesame Street. Julia is an Autistic little girl and was added to the main cast as a way to promote diversity and so Autistic fans of the same show could have a character to relate to. Julia was created with input from Autistic people such as the Autistic Self Advocacy Network who helped workshop her (ASAN). Julia was a revolutionary character, until Sesame Street partnered with Autism Speaks, an organization known for speaking over Autistic people and treating autism as something to be fixed. This completely undermined everything Julia stood for and took Julia from being great representation to another Autistic character whose sole purpose is to ‘help’ neurotypical people. What happened to Julia is more proof of how neurotypical people ruin Autistic representation for Autistic people.
In Ari Ne’eman’s Dueling Narratives: Neurotypical and Autistic Perspectives About the Autism Spectrum, he brings up several points on how parents and doctors damage the Autistic community with the way they talk about autism; saying falsehoods such as how autism “steals” children, ruins families, and is something that only people who are close to Autistic people ‘truly’ experience. Inevitably, these false narratives are translated into the media. Since autism is so villainized, these characters are portrayed as pitiful and helpless. This reason is why the savant trope is so problematic because it tells the audience that Autistic people are to be pitied, but ‘at least’ they have this talent going from them. These narratives are exceptionally harmful to Autistics of color. Neurotypical people do not get their input from Autistic people, so they make these narratives based on what they know instead which leads people of color not being accounted for in these narratives. Morénike Giwa Onaiwu’s Autistics of Color: We Exist…We Matter describes her experience as an Autistic Black woman and how both her identities have been invalidated. Some would say she is too Black to be Autistic and too Autistic to be Black. Autistics of color are only represented when they need to be seen as sad stories and examples for the community to not exclude them (Giwa-Onaiwu xii). They are rarely represented in the way white Autistic people are as people with interests and positive lives. Her experience with ableism and racism as an Autistic Black woman can be linked to the fact that Autistics of color are never seen in visual media (Giwa-Onaiwu xv). Bad representation is a vicious cycle in this case. Lack of Autistics of color in visual media leads to people thinking that people of color can not be Autistic which leads to more media without Autistics of color. This is why Autistic people being the actors, writers, creators, etc. is so important. More autistic people putting their lived experiences into something leaves less room for misconceptions and damaging stereotypes.
One positive from having stereotypical characters, is that Autistic community has found comfort in calling characters that are not canonly Autistic, autistic (Mullins). Many Autistic people had found the representation they were being given extremely offensive and found that there were many characters who were not explicitly stated to be Autistic to be much better representations than what they are given. Some of these characters are considered to be autistic coded which means the character is Autistic, but not stated by the creator for various reasons or based on an Autistic person (Mullins). While this can be a very empowering way to interact with ableist popular culture, it has its own issues such as white characters more likely to be coded as Autistic by fans than non white ones. White Autistic people can be just as guilty as white neurotypical people for the exclusion of Autistics of color (Giwa-Onaiwu xi). The problem lies in the fact that there is not enough Autistic created content or input being put into the mainstream pop culture which causes this aforementioned vicious cycle of bad representation.
Autistic representation in visual media is run by neurotypicals for neurotypicals instead of being by Autstic people for Autistic people. The harm these movies and television shows do have real world effects. The idea of autism affecting neurotypical people exclusively is only enhanced by these representations. Autistics of color being viewed as non existent is backed up by them never being what people see in movies and film. Autistic people are represented as white men who have one particular interest and if someone does not fit that image, then they can not be Autistic (Giwa-Onaiwu xv). The lack of Autistic voices causes the rise of neurotypical stories being told under the guise of Autistic stories. By not having Autistic representation that Autistic people can resonate with, they are given Autistic representation that neurotypical people can take and bend for even more damaging narratives (Ne’eman). By having more Autistic people being involved with the making of these TV shows and films, the neurotypical narratives would diminish greatly. Autistic people are not plot material and devices; autism needs to be shown as a valid identity and not simply something non autistic people experience and are completely changed by. The Autistic voice in the media should belong to Autistic people, so their stories are not told as sob stories or cure seeking.
Word Count: 1,408
We pledge
Works Cited
ASAN. “ASAN Has Ended Partnership With Sesame Street.” Autistic Self Advocacy Network, 2 Aug. 2019, autisticadvocacy.org/2019/08/asan-has-ended-partnership-with-sesame-street/.
Brown, Lydia X. Z., and Morénike Giwa-Onaiwu. “Autistics of Color: We Exist…We Matter.” All the Weight of Our Dreams: on Living Racialized Autism, DragonBee Press, 2017, pp. X-xxii.
Mullins, Christa. “Reflection: Autistic-Coded Characters and Fans in Fandom.” Canadian Journal of Disability Studies, vol. 8, no. 2, 2019, doi.org/10.15353/cjds.v8i2.495.
Ne’eman, Ari. “Dueling Narratives: Neurotypical and Autistic Perspectives About the Autism Spectrum.” The Society for Critical Exchange , 2007, case.edu/affil/sce/Texts_2007/Ne’eman.html.
Treffert, Darold. “Rain Man, the Movie / Rain Man, Real Life.” Agnesian, 2017, ttps://www.agnesian.com/blog/rain-man-movie-rain-man-real-life.
