You have made me want to see ths movie now, to try and understand your perspective. I am very uneducated and ignorant , I am ashamed to admit, about both Austism and Asperger's. Something I want to correct, so thanks
@heidilc76 If you want to understand my perspective, it would be a better idea to go and see films like Starman, Blade Runner, Män som hatar kvinnor, and Zwartboek. But bear in mind it takes a lot of research and journeying in order to gain a true understanding.
@VavShin I am sick of people who defend what is a very bad and destructive situation for many of us with cries about how everyone is different. Yes, everyone is different... except in films that deliberately try to portray people on the spectrum. Then they become so fukking alike, it is scary.
@VavShin Have you seen the effort that curebies and other "charities" go to in order to strip autistic adults of their voice and say in their own affairs? An effort that includes throwing films like this out there so scum can claim what a wonderful portrayal it is? How is that not destructive to my situation, pray tell?
The characters in this film, and I mean *all* of them, are about as different from each other as two normies.
@JoRdAnMaSt3R I think we should concentrate on one problem at a time. When someone calls me "(insert adjective here) with autism", it is as much as I can do to not punch them until their brain stops what little functioning it possesses. This is because the phrase carries the unspoken implication that something which has shaped my life in immeasurable ways since I was born is somehow separate to me. It is the equivalent of "...with blackness" to me.
@SumireIsrafel Having seen the leads in other productions, I can only agree. Radha Mitchell has been added to a very short list of actors that I will avoid entire films in order to not have to look at.
aspie182, no one said this was the tell-all guide on what people with autism or aspergers are like. It's a fictional movie. Studying it to make a completely correct depiction of what an aspie is would have taken years, and probably more than their budget would allow. If they did a horrible job in your opinion, I suggest you should get over things like this because the only people who take everything they get from movies at face value and purposefully use what they've seen -c-
I'm very confused. I've never met, or messaged with online, anyone who was portrayed in this film. I'm sorry if it didn't stick to the reality of the actual people portrayed. If this movie offended people, that's not good. I have aspergers. This movie, however much you hated it, however much it didn't represent what you think it should have (don't know what that is, please don't go off on me for that), was the first depiction that resonated with me. I didn't feel so alone for once in my life.
@JustEmbers I will try and be delicate so my point might be understood.
I do not tell people "I have Aspergers". Being autistic is not something you have, it is something you are. As I have said in writings elsewhere, if government departments proposed initiatives called Helping Children With Blackness, they would get crucified.
I have one video in which I attempt to commend a film for portraying the autistic in an accurate and positive manner. I tried to make a second, but ... (continued)
@aspie182 What kind of a person makes themselves out to be completely what they have? You're entire being isn't made out of being an aspie, you know. I don't care if this movie portrays it "badly" and I don't care if you get pissed at me or don't respond or ban me. I have an aspie friend and I would never thing of him as just being aspergers, he's my friend, that's what he is, not whatever a stupid book that calls a personality trait a disorder (introversion) says.
@DeathnoteBB What kind of asshole makes out something that shapes and forms every perception I have of everything that I see, hear, or feel to be something separate to me? Oh, that's right, it is called a curebie.
-c- on movies is complete fact and truth, they're idiots, not the people who make the movies. They're not telling anyone "this is exactly how they all act" it's just a fictional movie. I also find it strange that the only good portrayals of aspies and autistics people aren't even that, they're just coincidental quotes that would describe how you/they feel. I can't help but agree with you though on the Autism Speaks though, but I don't want to make this ramble any more.
@JustEmbers (continued) ... YouTube decided that quoting films (albeit extensively) in order to point out good things about them was not on. Effectively nixing the idea. Last year, the most evil, conservative multinational corporation in the world gave us one of the best portrayals of the situation we find ourselves in, ever. It is called TRON: Legacy. TRON: Legacy gave me visions of the ghost of ten year old me coming to me, holding my and, and saying "it's okay... I now (continued) ...
@JustEmbers (continued) understand why we are what we are." The subject of this video, on the other hand, made me so angry at being mocked that it almost caused me to vomit into the vents on the top of a $2500 plasma television.
Another good film to check out would be Låt den rätte komma in. A lot of comments I get from "my child is still in nappies" types reflect society's present desire that everyone be kept a child forever. It makes me sick.
@HoneyNVinegar You had better care, because if you bothered to view the sketch and learn what it is about you would know where I am coming from. As opposed to coming off as a pompous, uninformed idiot.
And I will be blunt with you, since you are in the habit of only hearing what you want. If you are putting your son through ABA, you are the kind of child abuser I get enjoyment out of hurting any way I can. You have no place talking to me about the colour of the sky. Good day.
@HoneyNVinegar The ignorance you demonstrate is pretty amazing. Let's take this step by step. The legally retarded crack is a reference to a Darrell Hammond line during a Celebrity Jeopardy! skit when he is addressing a Robin Williams impersonation. It would do you well to seek out and watch the skit I mean, because that is exactly what comes to mind when I write it.
Second, your failure to observe that the autistic are unique and therefore deserve unique consideration is precisely my point.
@HoneyNVinegar If you do not realise that mentioning Autism Speaks' name in a description is a tip-off to what I think of the subject, then you are more likely to be legally retarded than autistic.
I heard about this movie while reading an article by Jerry Newport, an author who was on the board of directors of the Los Angeles Autism Society. He also founded an organization of his own for people with autism. The story is based loosely on his and his wife's relationship. Ronald Bass read about it and was inspired to make a movie about it, if you wanted to know.
I can also say on a personal level that so much about the characters rings true for me in such a way that I rarely experience.
@VegaNadir No less a real expert on the autistic spectrum than Anthony Attwood told me face to face that the members of the real-life version of the support group depicted in scenes like the above were, shall we say, less than impressed with the film. Having spoken with the real Jerry Newport online about the film on one forum, I am also curious as to what possible value a group run by him could have.
Hmm i dont understand what your so angry about. their are many nerotypical people in the world, and evern though they are all neurotypical. they are all different none of them are the the same, it true they may be similar but none of them are the same. the same goes for thoses or the autistic spectrum. we are all autistic but we all different none of are the same even though some of us may be similar.
In the film:
1 they did not all have as some of them had other asd.s
I totally saw myself in one of those clips. Instead of "breaking records" I "hit the road". And I "barked like a dog" until the first day of 6th grade. Amazing!
I disagree with you, I loved that movie! Of course a lot of people won't recognize themselves in the movie but it doesn't mean it doesn't portray ASD well. I think all the actors did a great job, and I liked Donald and Isabelle very much, I could relate to both eventho I don't have all the same issues that either of them has. There is plenty of movies with very high functioning Aspies but most people simply don't even know the character has AS.
i have never met a woman with this type of autism but i imagine they wouldn't be like the woman in this movie. I also don't buy that two people with asperger's would complament eachother
I didnt see anything in the movie that said they were trying to rid the world of people with aspergers. Its a story about two people that have it and their relationship. I mean come on, why do we have to attack everything and always feel like we are being attacked. This world sucks not because of stereotypes or opinions but because of the way people feel threatened by everything. Take a deep breath!
@nagaempress BARK BARK! Just from this scene I can tell you I was like her! I need to watch the movie though. but I barked as a kid and sometimes do still!! I am some where between classic and aspergers syndrome my symptoms match classic perfectly but I tend to come off more like an aspie in socialization (sometimes) and verbal skills
The portrayals does seem to reach unrealistic proportions in some points, but I think this movie was poor in the sense that the acting seemed a bit forced.
@UrbaniteLN14 When something is totally outside of your sphere of knowledge or contemplation, attempting to play it in film or on stage is always going to look somewhat forced. To make the same point by contrast, it is not a coincidence that the people who have portrayed autistic adults the best have not only done so by accident but have also worked with the most unusual and unique directors.
@SusanStoHelit Given my ability to listen past a voice when I hear music, I thought an open celebration of this fact might help subtly reinforce the message of this commentary. *grin*
I'm an autie (I'm autistic) & can relate to a lot of the emotional/social issues portrayed in this movie myself. The main areas I will give you the movie doesn't apply to the general autistic pop. is the savant syndrome (its fascinating as are the people the characters are based off of) but their unusual cases. But in general, though I don't like sappy romances, but I like the fact it portrays autistic individuals as loving people (we need more of that so badly).
My sister is a aspie. The parts of the movie when they showed the constant talking and taking everything literally and certain sounds causing them destress was dead on for me. but other parts were completely off. I am happy that people can watch this and get a better understanding of aspies.
You have to remember that it's just some cheesy romantic comedy, very few of which portray ANYONE realistically. To not exaggerate and use average, every-day aspies would be too subtle for most audiences, most of which either don't know what aspergers is or picture the afflicted as mildly retarded "Rainman" types. I think what you say is valid but you're also exaggerating like a motherfucker.
This is like some kind of fucking adaptation of a NHS leaflet about the subject. the irony is it that the film is incredibly blunt and misses the point completely.
Attic, I am so glad to see that someone "got it". I would not be at all surprised to learn that an NHS leaflet is the breadth and depth of research that screenwriter Ronald Bass did.
These kinds of portrayals are like Stephen King's description of the old pie-in-face routine: it stops being funny when it starts being you.
our son is an Aspie. We saw this movie and a lot of it does not apply to him. In August 2009 a new movie was released in the States called "Adam" with Hugh Dancy. This is an excellent example of our son's being. This Asperger's man potrayed with such respect. You can see the trailer on You Tube. Check it out.
Whoah there. It's kind of a big leap from this film maybe not depicting autistic people exactly the way you want, to it being propaganda to have us all exterminated!
Mozart and the Whale has problems, but on the whole, I think it's more good than bad. Many Aspies will derive value from being able to finally identify with someone in a film even to a small degree.
I lent this film to my parents after getting my Asperger's diagnosis, and I found it invaluable as there was no other film on the subject that came even close to portraying the syndrome.
I'm ignorant?! There are many comments below from people who like this movie but you're not taking any of their points into consideration. It may not fit YOUR idea of Asperger's but the characters displayed the necessary symptoms just in different ways because personality plays an important part and everyones' personality is unique.
Considering they all weakly defend the film with the same phrase that is the basis for complaint about it, that everyone is different, I do not have to take their so-called points (in reality they do not have any) into consideration. Not only that, but this pathetic "everyone's personality is unique" defense does not even begin to address the primary complaint levelled at the film, that it is exploitatively exaggerated.
@daughter189 That's right. I am not taking any of their points into consideration. Partly because they don't really have any point except to make life more difficult for those of us who don't want to wind up being forced and abused legally. But mostly because their ignorant inability to get the concept that I am entitled to consideration as an actual person means they do not have anything worth the time of day to talk about.
Well, that is fair enough. I think that in this context, it is worth pointing out that my wordings and phrases are all influenced and shaped by the fact that I am autistic.
Haha yes, this is a real feature film that was released a few years back. Unfortunately, it is not even very entertaining when stoned out of your gourd on downers. If you are looking for films that portray the autistic badly and are good fun to watch under the influence, then you cannot go past Exorcist II. If you want a film that portrays the autistic well and is good to watch under the influence, well, Repo Man portrays one aspect well by accident.
You do understand that I tend to have regular conversations with one of the foremost autism experts on Earth, and subjects like this film come up quite regularly, yes? What do you think the Professor told me about what the people this scene was "inspired" by thought of the film?
I'd like to add that I liked the fact that the highest functioning characters were shown to have issues since the media often pays more attention to the situations of low functioning individuals while paying less attention to the problems of those on the higher end of the spectrum.
Portraying stereotypes, even if they may be true for one individual is not useful because they are stereotypes; it affects public perception of all of us - who are individuals with our own set of quirks.
I think there needed to be more of a variation on the different expressions of the spectrum; there was variance but it was shallow- in lower functioning characters it was limited to personality.
What was largely missed is the fact that many autistics will respond differently in public vs private situations depending on their ability to camouflage and their response to environmental stimuli- they're not static. It would have been useful to have explored that in more depth- for all characters.
Napoleon Dynamite is an almost-accurate portrayal of autism. I was a bit like that as a kid. My movements were clumsy, my coordination was terrible, and my speech was even clumsier. People were either disgusted by me, or they viewed me as an amusing freak.
i agree with you. i have many friends with aspergers and their behavior is far from the portrayal in this movie. although i'll be honest, i did enjoy the movie, despite it's inaccuracy.
I too am on the spectrum. I watched this with a friend that's on the spectrum, who had recommended it to me, and after the first ten minutes, I turned to him and said, "This seems very exaggerated to me." I get told all the time that "I can't possibly be autistic" because I appear to be aware of my emotions and and some other crap by NT people who really do not know what Asperger's is.
Well, it is funny you should ask that. Because I just got back from a visit to the offices of Prof. Tony Attwood and this very film came up as a subject related to my interest in media studies. He has actually met the real-life members of the group ("agua" was how he pronounces the name of the group). I asked him if I could quote him, but suffice to say that words like "stereotypical", "Hollywood", and "exaggerated" came out of his mouth, too.
Movie tends to = exageration. Fictional representation. Perhaps this particular movie was not deep enough, dealing only in neurotypical surface portrayal. Like Jack Nicholson As good as it gets. I am severly affected, spent several years struggling to dress, wash, get through school, get out of PE changing rooms.
I related to the pacing and hand flapping, microwave counting, freaking out over moving things in my room, her laugh outbursts, the pressure she feels sporadically, plenty of traits exemplified within the film were disturbingly accurate, it was odd to see a portrayal such as this. I had not considered what I may look like to others before. It simply did not occur to me. It hurt my pride. Though the diagnostic criteria also hurts my pride. It is inaccurate and needs serious revision.
Humans hurt one another, inadvertently or otherwise, they sensationalise pain and suffering; fained nostalgic concepts to those that have not endured. Though, like many other topics in this world, as knowledge of Aspergers increases in accuracy, so will the portrayals.
You are quite right, and it is frustrating, I am not judging you, do not pardon yourself as I am not persecuting you. I understand your greivance. I am sorry for it. I hope, that is all I can do, I hope for an ignorance decrease, though I doubt this will come, so for now, these films will do. If those who claim to love us can seperate fact from fiction, accuracy from exageration, we are lucky. Take care.
In my honest opinion, Mozart and the Whale is a very good portrayal of Asperger's syndrome. I have AS myself, and I've never identified better with any fictional character than I did with Donald Morton. Both of the main characters in this movie are based on real persons, by the way.
It gets funny when defenders of this film think they are telling people something unknown.
I have actually run into the person this film is apparently based on discussion boards. And I can say without exception or favour that just like I do not want this film representing me, I do not want the real Donald Morton representing me, either. He is a creep of the highest order, and would fit in better with Autism Speaks than any affirmative group of autistic individuals.
What precisely is it that makes Jerry Newport a creep? Just because YOU don't identify much with the characters in this movie doesn't mean that it's a bad portrayal of Asperger's syndrome.
He is a creep because it is his preference that only one kind of person who meets the diagnostic criteria for Asperger's Syndrome be portrayed in film or other media - his.
Well, when you make your own videos, you can put whatever ear-torturing Top 40 rubbish suits your desires in them. I will continue to select music based on how well it ties in with the theme of what I am trying to communicate.
I saw this movie. I thought it was actually quite good. I agreed with part I of the bad portrayals but I don't think this fits. IMO, this is actually quite a good portrayal, and that is rather hard to find.
I understand not everyone agrees with what they see but I don't see why you feel the need to insult practically everyone involved with this film.
This portrayal is very insulting, and I suspect Ronald Bass wrote it this way because he felt threatened by the fact that there is a whole mob of twenty-somethings on the spectrum who would crucify him for Rain Man. Since the people who made this film are allowed to make me violently ill, I am allowed to insult them at my leisure, simple as that.
Better writing is the key. Oh yeah, and better direction, better research, et cetera ad nauseum. The actors themselves can only work with what the writer and director give them.
You make a good point. That way, no one would have to go all that trouble- although it wasn't like that on Rain Man. I have Asperger Syndrome, as well.
This music was not chosen to please you. It is quoted from a song that is (in part) about the same kind of attitude that drives Autism Speaks and the making of films like this one. I would have thought that the quotation I spelled out in text at the end would have made that much obvious.
Being autistic also compels me to not listen to la-la-la Disney shit. Go figure.
Dude, i don't know if it's how u say, i didn't even see the movie yet...but i'm gonna cuz i only heard good things about it. Anyway, even the dude whose story this movie was inspired by gave it thumbs up...so if he said it is ok...who are we to say it is not? :)
It is funny you should say that, because I have run into a person claiming to be "the dude" you refer to on forums. And he is quite simply the most obnoxious little twat to disgrace the name of autism since Ronald Bass himself. His idea of diversity is that everyone on the autistic spectrum who is not waved around by the likes of Autism Speaks as a wedge issue has to conform to the absurd and degrading picture shown in this film, lest they risk his wrath. (cont'd)
I, on the other hand, have a very different view of myself and others on the autistic spectrum. I believe we have a right to be portrayed as individuals, complete human beings, who just happen to be autistic. This film portrays us as a collective of mindless children who are of no import. I would want my son to grow up in a world where people are allowed to be themselves without such offensive caricaturisation in the media, so it is my *duty* to say this portrayal is not alright.
Another reason I really like this feature film is its humor and heart. A very touching movie in my eyes. If you think I am a blockhead for enjoying it, that's your problem!
Continuing my response to Aspie182, Donald Morton could have said "Excuse me," while he had his hand raised while Isabelle Sorenson was rambling on and on to his work boss about plans she had in mind for the house. The third strike against him came with his marriage proposal to her in the lavish restaurant, and she exclaimed something like "Thanks for taking the pressure off!", as she slammed her hand on the table! The number of chances I would get to not screw things up would be only one!
WHY do you think it is wonderful? Assume for a second you are in a university and I am in front of a class, delivering a thesis on dehumanising portrayals of minority groups, using this film as an example. When you try to refute me, you need to be able to say more than "I think this movie is wonderful!". You need to be able to give credible reasons, which I would waste no time in tearing to shreds, anyway.
Okay, I am sorry I ever said anything! Why I think it's wonderful is because unlike Donald Morton, I never had such good luck in being forgiven for the mistakes committed like those he had towards Isabelle Sorenson, like his going bananas over her cleaning his apartment, then later slamming his hand on the dinner table, exclaiming "HOW MUCH IS THIS ALL GOING TO COST?" when he could have said "Excuse me," when he had his hand raised while Isabelle was rambling on and on to his work boss...
Well, that is fair enough. However, I have had opportunities to speak with the "real" Donald Morton on the IMDB when I voiced my objections to these portrayals there. A more contemptible person, you would have to go to another town in order to find. The idea that he is being used to represent me to the unwashed public fills me with dread.
Who do you mean by the "real" Donald Morton; Jerry Newport himself? Do you go by the nickname of Mentalcritic on IMDB by any chance? Thank you for making me feel stupid over my owning this movie in my DVD collection!
Yes, I mean Jerry Newport himself. If I were to meet him I would probably ask him who the fukk he thinks he is to be speaking for me. As for making you feel stupid, that is not my job. My job here is to simply ask you to look at this disc and ask yourself "why?".
I don't have to ask myself why. This is a poignant film, very touching to me that I refuse to dislike. If you were meeting Newport, asking him something like that, you could expect to be verbally blasted and heavily by him, if not by others! Since you can't say anything kind about what is a moving film to me, please don't say anything at all! You must see this film as sort of childish, even with its mature content. If there were an ignore members button on YouTube, you would be on it!
His verbal blasting would be silenced by a very large fireman's boot impacting with his teeth. You have presented what you believe I should think about a film in an increasingly disrespectful and aggressive manner. Your inability to understand that I am not in the habit of repeating other peoples' thoughts back to them makes you unworthy of judging a thirty-second commercial.
Again, this defense just does not wash. Actors who are worthy of commendation do their level best to sell you the belief that they totally grok their character. For an example of success in this, try Anna Paquin's performances in the real X-Men films. These portrayals do the exact opposite of convincing me the actors grok their characters. These portrayals convince me the actors view their characters with derision and even contempt.
hi i dont think that what the director was doing was exaggerating but instead they were taking some of the most common 'symptoms' of aspergers or autism and showing to people how they are not different from everyone else.
i had a brother that was autistic and i know for a fact that he acted like some of the actors in this film. i also met some other people like him and this movie made me cry because of how much they reminded me of those kids.
I am sorry, but that defense just does not wash. These portrayals are extreme to the point of being ludicrous, and compared to accidental portrayals such as that which Brion James contributed to Blade Runner, completely unconvincing.
I suspect that if things do not improve soon, we will have to start a registry of psychologists who know a damned thing about autism. But that would require us all to organise in a mafioso-fashion so we can back up demands for better service with some kind of credible threat.
They're not trying to rid the world of aspies, It's a movie about love and the hardships even people without Asperger syndrome have. Forget the acting, take in the real meaning of the story. I do understand the point that you are trying to make, but I don't think you see the long and short of it. Good editing
Please do not make blanket statements like that. The reality is that there are numerous organisations that pose as speaking out for our best interests but fund research into prenatal cleansing and brain surgery, and they would not be able to do so if they did not have material like this to shape the public consciousness of autism. All the acting in the world will not make a blurring of the line between autistic and retarded acceptable.
I suggest you think to yourself about what you can see.
Good for you and I think you should complain to people who care. This is youtube. people want to see guys getting hit in the nuts. Im not even talking about Asperger, Im talking about love. It's there, and the relationship is the same no matter what, Asperger or not.
If you are unable to handle people making their voice heard to the effect that they object to being dehumanised, it is your business. It also makes you the person that nobody else wants to hear.
The movie wasn't promoted because Josh Hartnett and other actors were not pleased with the finished product, which was re-cut after the director was fired.
And the original choice for his character was Robin Williams - oh my god! That would have been even worse - he would have been a big jackass...
I cannot imagine what the cut they fired the director over looked like. Although given that they seem to think this was a good cut, I suppose it cannot get too much worse.
Robin Williams. Of all the people I can think of whom I would rather not be represented by. One day I might get around to doing a video based on a scene in The Fifth Element with Chris Rock and Bruce Willis, and explain why Bruce is more like this autistic man than anyone else in the film (save maybe Brion James of course).
Anyone who would open a story with that babble about Baby Ruth candy bars is not an aspie - maybe severely autistic and retarded, but not AS . And the guy who keeps bumping everyone he talks to - an aspie would've done that as a CHILD - and learned quickly that it was inappropriate. Again, we're not retarded.
A few things about Josh's character - hiding his face to avoid contact - freaking out when she cleans his place - that's like me. I like relationships but I don't like to be "invaded."
The biggest problem I have with films like this, and with people like Oprah Winfrey now, is that they do not understand the distinction or understand that it is there.
I have this thing about the sounds of words. The pronunciation of Asperger in the film, on top of being wrong, feels like excrement rubbed into my ears. That was what really began to set me off about this film. The footage I show in the video above is just the point where I nearly vomited into my display unit.
I have a whole list of words that I won't say, because their sound disturbs me - especially when I hear them repeated by someone over and over.....in fact, I don't really like the word "asperger" because one of the words that I really hate the most is "burger" haha
Norwegian is a beautiful language that I have yet to hear an offensive sound in. Granted, I only hear it regularly in musical recordings, but compared to some of the sounds in the English language...
Say "ah-spear-ee-gar" out loud. When you do, congratulate yourself on learning the closest approximation the English language has of the actual pronunciation of Asperger.
I was excited about this movie, but when I heard it was written by the RainMan guy, I was prepared for the worst. AS is only diagnosed in people with normal IQ - some of the movie's characters seem retarded. Those of us with AS spend most of our time in public striving to appear "normal" - so that we don't stick out, unlike the main lady. Nobody ever guesses that I have AS. And the math genius crap - such bulls**t! Like the stereotype of Tourette Syndrome=swearing - very, very rare.
Here's a real kid with AS - very funny and very typical of the "real deal." Also, if you want to see real actors who really have AS - Dan Aykroyd and Matthew Laborteaux (Albert on Little House on the Prairie) - both diagnosed with ASD.
One movie character who is not labeled as AS - but who I associate with being on the spectrum - is Donnie Darko. He's smart, obsessive, awkward with girls, bullied, at ease with his family, in therapy, is an artist...normal with eccentricities. That's an aspie.
Another big problem with films like this one is that they assume one size fits all, that all people on the spectrum are alike. That is why Blade Runner always gets my recommendation. It has no less than seven different characters who all resemble someone on the spectrum, and none of them share more than one or two similarities.
Every so often, someone in a film or on the Internet or in the street will say exactly what I am thinking at the time, and it makes me feel fuzzy all over. I have never striven to appear normal, however. It just comes naturally. I do not speak to people unless I need to, I do not say things that I do not need to, and I get really sodded off when someone asks me to repeat myself, so I make sure to get the point across the first time. Ronald Bass would not have a clue there are people like me.
I don't think that the director meant to hurt anyone by this, he just doesn't understand what it feels like. It's hard for people to walk in other peoples' shoes, so to speak, if they haven't gone through the same situation. But I'm sorry that you were offended by this movie, and I can understand why.
Unfortunately, stereotyping is one of the largest, overlooked problems here. My best friend and my brother are victims of it all the time... and no one realizes it.
I have Asperger Syndrome as well. I'm guessing that woman has AS because she said she takes things seriously. And that's one of the things that has to do with AS: taking things literally.
One reason this film is so offensive is because one of its subjects insists that everyone on the spectrum has to be the same and think the same things about his film or else they are not autistic. Truly a contemptible human being if there ever was.
Some people like to screw with other people on the basis of how literally you take them. And at the same time they strive to say exactly what they think. This video is an attempt by one such person to be heard.
Well, do you take certain things seriously- metaphors, expressions, jokes, etc.? I already understand sarcasm and puns, but some puns I can't really tell if they are puns. I'm starting to understand metaphors. What about you- do you understand sarcasm, metaphors, etc. very well?
I hated that movie. It ruined me on that actress who plays the main female role. She was so obnoxious.. I know you can only act as well as the script, but please. It still is not a good portrayal of the depth of that which is autism. Did they even study anyone with asperger's for that movie?"
I have had a few online conversations on the IMDB with the masculine half of the couple this barf is based upon, and let me tell you, he is a real piece of work. He apparently thinks all Aspies should be cute, cuddly, and limp-wristed, otherwise they are "trolls".
I would literally cut off five lanes or more of traffic to run him over. Even if it meant driving on the footpath. I am sure there are plenty of other Leon-type Asperger's children who feel exactly the same way.
One of the subjects of the film is basically a Nazi who expects everyone to praise and talk up this film in spite of how much pain it might cause them to look at. After the abuse I received from him for being honest about how this film almost caused me to throw up into a $2500 TV, I am more adamant than ever. This film sucks at portraying autism, and Mr. Newport is a fake as well as a liar so far as I am concerned.
You give the impression that English is not your first language. So for the benefit of everyone else, I will say this much. The lowering of my opinion of people who say "but I like this movie" is not a reflection upon them so much as it is a reflection upon Jerry Newport. He is exactly the kind of representative the autistic can do without, and I put him in the same basket as Autism Speaks. This film is a big part of the reason why.
I have asperger's the movie it great it make better that I am not the only one that have this problem every asperger's is very unquid at there own way the movie show only half of it thanks for posting it!
Being that I have seen more films in the last three years than you will if you live to be three hundred years old and happen to be autistic, well... it's like this. Would you like me to draw you a map?
If you think any publicity is good publicity, then your ignorance of the situation makes you a liability. In the past four years I have seen a number of deliberate attempts at portrayal go by the screen, and all of them have been so very wrong on a fundamental level that, thanks to the healthy case of PTSD my teachers left me with, they left me curled up on the floor for days. This film still makes me afraid I am going to vomit into my television.
"If Blade Runner can portray no less than seven different variations of autistic individual in two hours," So, you would prefer we are represented by androids, and that human interest is too bland and dull for you to follow. Thanks loads. YOu may not want this movie representing you, I don't want you and your SF cookie cutter fantasy representing me! I'm asspie, but Im a HUMAN not an android. Try using some human role models and maybe you can see that.
I would prefer to be represented by three-dimensional characters. Human interest is one thing, but an insulting, unidimensional caricature is something completely different.
I am terribly sorry you confuse Blade Runner, one of the greatest science fiction films ever made, with "cookie cutter fantasy". Maybe you should stop watching films altogether, as you clearly lack the ability to understand anything other than the visuals.
You have given us no reason to believe you are on the spectrum.
2) Trying is one thing. Trying, however, only gets you so far. If our world gave people the key to the city for merely trying, our world would be in even worse shape than it is now.
2) Oh yeah, I forgot. Blade Runner got it right without even trying twenty-eight years ago. This film is not even one of the first or one of the best. It is a fail.
Albeit many aspies I know seem to regard Mozart almost like a cult movie. As for me I certainly would not want to go to any Aspie group like the one portrayed
You have made me want to see ths movie now, to try and understand your perspective. I am very uneducated and ignorant , I am ashamed to admit, about both Austism and Asperger's. Something I want to correct, so thanks
heidilc76 3 weeks ago
@heidilc76 If you want to understand my perspective, it would be a better idea to go and see films like Starman, Blade Runner, Män som hatar kvinnor, and Zwartboek. But bear in mind it takes a lot of research and journeying in order to gain a true understanding.
aspie182 2 weeks ago
I have aspergers syndrom myself, and I think the characters in this movie is quite good.
I'm so sick of self righteous aspies who fail to realise that people with aspergers is a VERY non homogenous group.
VavShin 3 months ago
@VavShin I am sick of people who defend what is a very bad and destructive situation for many of us with cries about how everyone is different. Yes, everyone is different... except in films that deliberately try to portray people on the spectrum. Then they become so fukking alike, it is scary.
aspie182 2 months ago
@aspie182
How is this a very bad and destructive situation?
And I don't think this film displays everyone alike.
The two main characters, for example, have very different personalities and behavior.
VavShin 1 week ago
@VavShin Have you seen the effort that curebies and other "charities" go to in order to strip autistic adults of their voice and say in their own affairs? An effort that includes throwing films like this out there so scum can claim what a wonderful portrayal it is? How is that not destructive to my situation, pray tell?
The characters in this film, and I mean *all* of them, are about as different from each other as two normies.
aspie182 1 week ago
@JoRdAnMaSt3R I think we should concentrate on one problem at a time. When someone calls me "(insert adjective here) with autism", it is as much as I can do to not punch them until their brain stops what little functioning it possesses. This is because the phrase carries the unspoken implication that something which has shaped my life in immeasurable ways since I was born is somehow separate to me. It is the equivalent of "...with blackness" to me.
aspie182 6 months ago
not so good acting...
SumireIsrafel 6 months ago
@SumireIsrafel Having seen the leads in other productions, I can only agree. Radha Mitchell has been added to a very short list of actors that I will avoid entire films in order to not have to look at.
aspie182 6 months ago
aspie182, no one said this was the tell-all guide on what people with autism or aspergers are like. It's a fictional movie. Studying it to make a completely correct depiction of what an aspie is would have taken years, and probably more than their budget would allow. If they did a horrible job in your opinion, I suggest you should get over things like this because the only people who take everything they get from movies at face value and purposefully use what they've seen -c-
DeathnoteBB 8 months ago
I'm very confused. I've never met, or messaged with online, anyone who was portrayed in this film. I'm sorry if it didn't stick to the reality of the actual people portrayed. If this movie offended people, that's not good. I have aspergers. This movie, however much you hated it, however much it didn't represent what you think it should have (don't know what that is, please don't go off on me for that), was the first depiction that resonated with me. I didn't feel so alone for once in my life.
JustEmbers 10 months ago
@JustEmbers I will try and be delicate so my point might be understood.
I do not tell people "I have Aspergers". Being autistic is not something you have, it is something you are. As I have said in writings elsewhere, if government departments proposed initiatives called Helping Children With Blackness, they would get crucified.
I have one video in which I attempt to commend a film for portraying the autistic in an accurate and positive manner. I tried to make a second, but ... (continued)
aspie182 10 months ago 3
@aspie182 What kind of a person makes themselves out to be completely what they have? You're entire being isn't made out of being an aspie, you know. I don't care if this movie portrays it "badly" and I don't care if you get pissed at me or don't respond or ban me. I have an aspie friend and I would never thing of him as just being aspergers, he's my friend, that's what he is, not whatever a stupid book that calls a personality trait a disorder (introversion) says.
DeathnoteBB 8 months ago
@DeathnoteBB What kind of asshole makes out something that shapes and forms every perception I have of everything that I see, hear, or feel to be something separate to me? Oh, that's right, it is called a curebie.
aspie182 2 months ago
@aspie182 I'm not entirely sure what you mean.
DeathnoteBB 2 months ago
-c- on movies is complete fact and truth, they're idiots, not the people who make the movies. They're not telling anyone "this is exactly how they all act" it's just a fictional movie. I also find it strange that the only good portrayals of aspies and autistics people aren't even that, they're just coincidental quotes that would describe how you/they feel. I can't help but agree with you though on the Autism Speaks though, but I don't want to make this ramble any more.
DeathnoteBB 8 months ago
@JustEmbers (continued) ... YouTube decided that quoting films (albeit extensively) in order to point out good things about them was not on. Effectively nixing the idea. Last year, the most evil, conservative multinational corporation in the world gave us one of the best portrayals of the situation we find ourselves in, ever. It is called TRON: Legacy. TRON: Legacy gave me visions of the ghost of ten year old me coming to me, holding my and, and saying "it's okay... I now (continued) ...
aspie182 10 months ago
@JustEmbers (continued) understand why we are what we are." The subject of this video, on the other hand, made me so angry at being mocked that it almost caused me to vomit into the vents on the top of a $2500 plasma television.
Another good film to check out would be Låt den rätte komma in. A lot of comments I get from "my child is still in nappies" types reflect society's present desire that everyone be kept a child forever. It makes me sick.
aspie182 10 months ago
@HoneyNVinegar You had better care, because if you bothered to view the sketch and learn what it is about you would know where I am coming from. As opposed to coming off as a pompous, uninformed idiot.
And I will be blunt with you, since you are in the habit of only hearing what you want. If you are putting your son through ABA, you are the kind of child abuser I get enjoyment out of hurting any way I can. You have no place talking to me about the colour of the sky. Good day.
aspie182 10 months ago
@HoneyNVinegar The ignorance you demonstrate is pretty amazing. Let's take this step by step. The legally retarded crack is a reference to a Darrell Hammond line during a Celebrity Jeopardy! skit when he is addressing a Robin Williams impersonation. It would do you well to seek out and watch the skit I mean, because that is exactly what comes to mind when I write it.
Second, your failure to observe that the autistic are unique and therefore deserve unique consideration is precisely my point.
aspie182 10 months ago
@HoneyNVinegar If you do not realise that mentioning Autism Speaks' name in a description is a tip-off to what I think of the subject, then you are more likely to be legally retarded than autistic.
aspie182 11 months ago
I heard about this movie while reading an article by Jerry Newport, an author who was on the board of directors of the Los Angeles Autism Society. He also founded an organization of his own for people with autism. The story is based loosely on his and his wife's relationship. Ronald Bass read about it and was inspired to make a movie about it, if you wanted to know.
I can also say on a personal level that so much about the characters rings true for me in such a way that I rarely experience.
VegaNadir 11 months ago
@VegaNadir No less a real expert on the autistic spectrum than Anthony Attwood told me face to face that the members of the real-life version of the support group depicted in scenes like the above were, shall we say, less than impressed with the film. Having spoken with the real Jerry Newport online about the film on one forum, I am also curious as to what possible value a group run by him could have.
aspie182 11 months ago
Hmm i dont understand what your so angry about. their are many nerotypical people in the world, and evern though they are all neurotypical. they are all different none of them are the the same, it true they may be similar but none of them are the same. the same goes for thoses or the autistic spectrum. we are all autistic but we all different none of are the same even though some of us may be similar.
In the film:
1 they did not all have as some of them had other asd.s
CydeFaloo 1 year ago
I totally saw myself in one of those clips. Instead of "breaking records" I "hit the road". And I "barked like a dog" until the first day of 6th grade. Amazing!
11herbsandspices 1 year ago
I disagree with you, I loved that movie! Of course a lot of people won't recognize themselves in the movie but it doesn't mean it doesn't portray ASD well. I think all the actors did a great job, and I liked Donald and Isabelle very much, I could relate to both eventho I don't have all the same issues that either of them has. There is plenty of movies with very high functioning Aspies but most people simply don't even know the character has AS.
Shadowkiss1 1 year ago
Comment removed
nmarin789 1 year ago
i have never met a woman with this type of autism but i imagine they wouldn't be like the woman in this movie. I also don't buy that two people with asperger's would complament eachother
509west 1 year ago
Manic Pixie Dreamgirl gives a disjointed PSA in an increasingly weird accent.
pesematology 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
I didnt see anything in the movie that said they were trying to rid the world of people with aspergers. Its a story about two people that have it and their relationship. I mean come on, why do we have to attack everything and always feel like we are being attacked. This world sucks not because of stereotypes or opinions but because of the way people feel threatened by everything. Take a deep breath!
TheTizzy64 1 year ago
i still love isabelle. i do relate to her very much... i understand how you feel about the peripheral characters though, in some ways.
bluebanshee3 1 year ago
Who in his or her right mind would watch such a bad movie? What exactly is the premise?
HappyHawaiinSauce 1 year ago
@nagaempress BARK BARK! Just from this scene I can tell you I was like her! I need to watch the movie though. but I barked as a kid and sometimes do still!! I am some where between classic and aspergers syndrome my symptoms match classic perfectly but I tend to come off more like an aspie in socialization (sometimes) and verbal skills
ASDogGeek 1 year ago
The portrayals does seem to reach unrealistic proportions in some points, but I think this movie was poor in the sense that the acting seemed a bit forced.
UrbaniteLN14 1 year ago
@UrbaniteLN14 When something is totally outside of your sphere of knowledge or contemplation, attempting to play it in film or on stage is always going to look somewhat forced. To make the same point by contrast, it is not a coincidence that the people who have portrayed autistic adults the best have not only done so by accident but have also worked with the most unusual and unique directors.
aspie182 1 year ago 2
Nice music pick ;)
SusanStoHelit 1 year ago
@SusanStoHelit Given my ability to listen past a voice when I hear music, I thought an open celebration of this fact might help subtly reinforce the message of this commentary. *grin*
aspie182 1 year ago
I'm an autie (I'm autistic) & can relate to a lot of the emotional/social issues portrayed in this movie myself. The main areas I will give you the movie doesn't apply to the general autistic pop. is the savant syndrome (its fascinating as are the people the characters are based off of) but their unusual cases. But in general, though I don't like sappy romances, but I like the fact it portrays autistic individuals as loving people (we need more of that so badly).
Pekoautika 2 years ago
My sister is a aspie. The parts of the movie when they showed the constant talking and taking everything literally and certain sounds causing them destress was dead on for me. but other parts were completely off. I am happy that people can watch this and get a better understanding of aspies.
carse101 2 years ago
You have to remember that it's just some cheesy romantic comedy, very few of which portray ANYONE realistically. To not exaggerate and use average, every-day aspies would be too subtle for most audiences, most of which either don't know what aspergers is or picture the afflicted as mildly retarded "Rainman" types. I think what you say is valid but you're also exaggerating like a motherfucker.
Daxmcneil377 2 years ago
This is like some kind of fucking adaptation of a NHS leaflet about the subject. the irony is it that the film is incredibly blunt and misses the point completely.
AtticPhace 2 years ago
Attic, I am so glad to see that someone "got it". I would not be at all surprised to learn that an NHS leaflet is the breadth and depth of research that screenwriter Ronald Bass did.
These kinds of portrayals are like Stephen King's description of the old pie-in-face routine: it stops being funny when it starts being you.
aspie182 1 year ago
I have not seen this film. Is it as bad as "Adam"?
33hegemon 2 years ago
our son is an Aspie. We saw this movie and a lot of it does not apply to him. In August 2009 a new movie was released in the States called "Adam" with Hugh Dancy. This is an excellent example of our son's being. This Asperger's man potrayed with such respect. You can see the trailer on You Tube. Check it out.
ourhousetx 2 years ago
Whoah there. It's kind of a big leap from this film maybe not depicting autistic people exactly the way you want, to it being propaganda to have us all exterminated!
yerk3 2 years ago
Mozart and the Whale has problems, but on the whole, I think it's more good than bad. Many Aspies will derive value from being able to finally identify with someone in a film even to a small degree.
I lent this film to my parents after getting my Asperger's diagnosis, and I found it invaluable as there was no other film on the subject that came even close to portraying the syndrome.
TGvision 2 years ago
"no other film on the subject that came even close to portraying the syndrome."
It was called Blade Runner, and it came out in 1981.
aspie182 2 years ago
I don't see what's wrong with this film. I quite enjoyed it.
daughter189 2 years ago
As I enjoy saying in classroom environments and the like, ignorance is bliss, but only for the ignorant.
aspie182 2 years ago
I'm ignorant?! There are many comments below from people who like this movie but you're not taking any of their points into consideration. It may not fit YOUR idea of Asperger's but the characters displayed the necessary symptoms just in different ways because personality plays an important part and everyones' personality is unique.
daughter189 2 years ago 15
Considering they all weakly defend the film with the same phrase that is the basis for complaint about it, that everyone is different, I do not have to take their so-called points (in reality they do not have any) into consideration. Not only that, but this pathetic "everyone's personality is unique" defense does not even begin to address the primary complaint levelled at the film, that it is exploitatively exaggerated.
aspie182 2 years ago
@daughter189 That's right. I am not taking any of their points into consideration. Partly because they don't really have any point except to make life more difficult for those of us who don't want to wind up being forced and abused legally. But mostly because their ignorant inability to get the concept that I am entitled to consideration as an actual person means they do not have anything worth the time of day to talk about.
aspie182 1 year ago
I don't exactly like nor dislike what you had to say/reflect. I do like your wording.
amyvalkyrja 2 years ago
Well, that is fair enough. I think that in this context, it is worth pointing out that my wordings and phrases are all influenced and shaped by the fact that I am autistic.
aspie182 2 years ago
I didn't think Mozart and the Whale dehumanized us.
AutisticWhoLives4God 2 years ago 2
..... what the fuck is this shit? XD;;;; This is a real movie? Wow. That's kind of amazing. I might have to get high and watch that.
GuacamoleKun 2 years ago
Haha yes, this is a real feature film that was released a few years back. Unfortunately, it is not even very entertaining when stoned out of your gourd on downers. If you are looking for films that portray the autistic badly and are good fun to watch under the influence, then you cannot go past Exorcist II. If you want a film that portrays the autistic well and is good to watch under the influence, well, Repo Man portrays one aspect well by accident.
aspie182 2 years ago
Okey I agree to disagree with you...you have several other points that I agree with... As I said we are all different .
nagaempress 2 years ago
You fail.
You do understand that I tend to have regular conversations with one of the foremost autism experts on Earth, and subjects like this film come up quite regularly, yes? What do you think the Professor told me about what the people this scene was "inspired" by thought of the film?
aspie182 2 years ago
Well, I've never actually seen this movie before, and thank you very much so for giving me a good reason to never ever watching it.
LthrnZack 2 years ago
it was a lovely movie.
helenHeller01 2 years ago
Booooooo!!!!!
Gl4d2B 2 years ago
Oops, that's my wife's account. Sorry XD
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LthrnZack 2 years ago
I saw it and it was pretty accurate of myself and my husband. I would just see it and make your own decision about it.
nagaempress 2 years ago 2
Arrrgh, I could scream, everytime I see that stupid scene from that movie. It's sooo baaaaaaad!!!
TheDailyGonzo 2 years ago
I'd like to add that I liked the fact that the highest functioning characters were shown to have issues since the media often pays more attention to the situations of low functioning individuals while paying less attention to the problems of those on the higher end of the spectrum.
Portraying stereotypes, even if they may be true for one individual is not useful because they are stereotypes; it affects public perception of all of us - who are individuals with our own set of quirks.
shuckydog 3 years ago
I think there needed to be more of a variation on the different expressions of the spectrum; there was variance but it was shallow- in lower functioning characters it was limited to personality.
What was largely missed is the fact that many autistics will respond differently in public vs private situations depending on their ability to camouflage and their response to environmental stimuli- they're not static. It would have been useful to have explored that in more depth- for all characters.
shuckydog 3 years ago 6
There is different kind of aspergers. There is no stereotype. Therefore stereotypes are just as good portrayals as non-stereotypes.
tetrica 3 years ago
Napoleon Dynamite is an almost-accurate portrayal of autism. I was a bit like that as a kid. My movements were clumsy, my coordination was terrible, and my speech was even clumsier. People were either disgusted by me, or they viewed me as an amusing freak.
MondoBeno 3 years ago
i agree with you. i have many friends with aspergers and their behavior is far from the portrayal in this movie. although i'll be honest, i did enjoy the movie, despite it's inaccuracy.
chandelierlife 3 years ago
(cont.)
While there are some things about the female character that I can identify with, most of it was over done.
Sorry, it wouldn't let me post it all in one comment.
ravenmoon001 3 years ago
I too am on the spectrum. I watched this with a friend that's on the spectrum, who had recommended it to me, and after the first ten minutes, I turned to him and said, "This seems very exaggerated to me." I get told all the time that "I can't possibly be autistic" because I appear to be aware of my emotions and and some other crap by NT people who really do not know what Asperger's is.
ravenmoon001 3 years ago 2
You rock, mate!
SusanStoHelit 3 years ago
i do believe there are aspies like the girl shown in the movie, and i won't call such a person hyperactive crackpots. now who is insulting who?
vampypiano 3 years ago 2
Well, it is funny you should ask that. Because I just got back from a visit to the offices of Prof. Tony Attwood and this very film came up as a subject related to my interest in media studies. He has actually met the real-life members of the group ("agua" was how he pronounces the name of the group). I asked him if I could quote him, but suffice to say that words like "stereotypical", "Hollywood", and "exaggerated" came out of his mouth, too.
The filmmakers are insulting the people depicted.
aspie182 3 years ago
Oh dear God...
I also have Aspergers, and I find this very offensive. I mean, come on! Us Aspies ain't hyperactive crack heads!
CrazyRhi123 3 years ago
Movie tends to = exageration. Fictional representation. Perhaps this particular movie was not deep enough, dealing only in neurotypical surface portrayal. Like Jack Nicholson As good as it gets. I am severly affected, spent several years struggling to dress, wash, get through school, get out of PE changing rooms.
jenkins4488 3 years ago 3
I related to the pacing and hand flapping, microwave counting, freaking out over moving things in my room, her laugh outbursts, the pressure she feels sporadically, plenty of traits exemplified within the film were disturbingly accurate, it was odd to see a portrayal such as this. I had not considered what I may look like to others before. It simply did not occur to me. It hurt my pride. Though the diagnostic criteria also hurts my pride. It is inaccurate and needs serious revision.
jenkins4488 3 years ago 2
Humans hurt one another, inadvertently or otherwise, they sensationalise pain and suffering; fained nostalgic concepts to those that have not endured. Though, like many other topics in this world, as knowledge of Aspergers increases in accuracy, so will the portrayals.
jenkins4488 3 years ago 2
At the moment, we are going backwards in that respect, so pardon me for not holding out much hope.
aspie182 3 years ago
You are quite right, and it is frustrating, I am not judging you, do not pardon yourself as I am not persecuting you. I understand your greivance. I am sorry for it. I hope, that is all I can do, I hope for an ignorance decrease, though I doubt this will come, so for now, these films will do. If those who claim to love us can seperate fact from fiction, accuracy from exageration, we are lucky. Take care.
jenkins4488 3 years ago 2
Refer to good will hunting, "You're an Orphan right. Do I understand how hard your life has been, who you are, because I read Oliver twist?"
Truth, deep knowledge and understanding, acute sensitivity, littered with injustice. It will come. Patience.
jenkins4488 3 years ago 2
Well, aspies don't take everything literal, we may take figures of speech literal on occasion, but we have a good understanding of people.
aspie101 3 years ago
In my honest opinion, Mozart and the Whale is a very good portrayal of Asperger's syndrome. I have AS myself, and I've never identified better with any fictional character than I did with Donald Morton. Both of the main characters in this movie are based on real persons, by the way.
ozmodiar88 3 years ago
It gets funny when defenders of this film think they are telling people something unknown.
I have actually run into the person this film is apparently based on discussion boards. And I can say without exception or favour that just like I do not want this film representing me, I do not want the real Donald Morton representing me, either. He is a creep of the highest order, and would fit in better with Autism Speaks than any affirmative group of autistic individuals.
aspie182 3 years ago
What precisely is it that makes Jerry Newport a creep? Just because YOU don't identify much with the characters in this movie doesn't mean that it's a bad portrayal of Asperger's syndrome.
ozmodiar88 3 years ago
He is a creep because it is his preference that only one kind of person who meets the diagnostic criteria for Asperger's Syndrome be portrayed in film or other media - his.
aspie182 3 years ago
Can someone tell me if having autisim can lead to alchol and drug abuse?
harrytw55aa 3 years ago
Well, when you make your own videos, you can put whatever ear-torturing Top 40 rubbish suits your desires in them. I will continue to select music based on how well it ties in with the theme of what I am trying to communicate.
aspie182 3 years ago
I saw this movie. I thought it was actually quite good. I agreed with part I of the bad portrayals but I don't think this fits. IMO, this is actually quite a good portrayal, and that is rather hard to find.
I understand not everyone agrees with what they see but I don't see why you feel the need to insult practically everyone involved with this film.
okelay 3 years ago
This portrayal is very insulting, and I suspect Ronald Bass wrote it this way because he felt threatened by the fact that there is a whole mob of twenty-somethings on the spectrum who would crucify him for Rain Man. Since the people who made this film are allowed to make me violently ill, I am allowed to insult them at my leisure, simple as that.
Good portrayals are always accidental.
aspie182 3 years ago
i think autistic actors playing autistic roles would be better.
Aspies4Life 3 years ago 2
Better writing is the key. Oh yeah, and better direction, better research, et cetera ad nauseum. The actors themselves can only work with what the writer and director give them.
aspie182 3 years ago
You make a good point. That way, no one would have to go all that trouble- although it wasn't like that on Rain Man. I have Asperger Syndrome, as well.
TwilightLink37 3 years ago
This music was not chosen to please you. It is quoted from a song that is (in part) about the same kind of attitude that drives Autism Speaks and the making of films like this one. I would have thought that the quotation I spelled out in text at the end would have made that much obvious.
Being autistic also compels me to not listen to la-la-la Disney shit. Go figure.
aspie182 3 years ago
What would be your opinion of the Korean autism movie "Marathon"? See here - watch?v=Mi-etCxm2y0
dhawal1 3 years ago
Or here - view_play_list?p=01E5CEC0761D581B
dhawal1 3 years ago
Dude, i don't know if it's how u say, i didn't even see the movie yet...but i'm gonna cuz i only heard good things about it. Anyway, even the dude whose story this movie was inspired by gave it thumbs up...so if he said it is ok...who are we to say it is not? :)
10nutz413x 3 years ago
It is funny you should say that, because I have run into a person claiming to be "the dude" you refer to on forums. And he is quite simply the most obnoxious little twat to disgrace the name of autism since Ronald Bass himself. His idea of diversity is that everyone on the autistic spectrum who is not waved around by the likes of Autism Speaks as a wedge issue has to conform to the absurd and degrading picture shown in this film, lest they risk his wrath. (cont'd)
aspie182 3 years ago
I, on the other hand, have a very different view of myself and others on the autistic spectrum. I believe we have a right to be portrayed as individuals, complete human beings, who just happen to be autistic. This film portrays us as a collective of mindless children who are of no import. I would want my son to grow up in a world where people are allowed to be themselves without such offensive caricaturisation in the media, so it is my *duty* to say this portrayal is not alright.
aspie182 3 years ago
I don't know if this film is a good or a bad portrait of autistics, but... i really like this movie! :)
awixumayita 3 years ago
Thats really a shame:(
Gl4d2B 3 years ago
I agree with you, this video makes aspies like us look like extremely disfunctional freaks. The made the characters to eccentric compared to reality.
tshudyb 3 years ago
If I ran this YouTube outfit, you would be gone in a New York minute!
Aspergian 3 years ago
If you ran this YouTube outfit, you would have legal staff telling you to not make threats electronically that you cannot make good on in person.
aspie182 3 years ago
What are you going to say next, that the movie with Sigourney Weaver; "Snowcake," was just as bad? Give me a break!!!!
Aspergian 3 years ago
It is, and until there is a major change in attitude within Hollywood, the only good portrayals of the autistic will be accidental ones.
aspie182 3 years ago
Another reason I really like this feature film is its humor and heart. A very touching movie in my eyes. If you think I am a blockhead for enjoying it, that's your problem!
Aspergian 3 years ago
Continuing my response to Aspie182, Donald Morton could have said "Excuse me," while he had his hand raised while Isabelle Sorenson was rambling on and on to his work boss about plans she had in mind for the house. The third strike against him came with his marriage proposal to her in the lavish restaurant, and she exclaimed something like "Thanks for taking the pressure off!", as she slammed her hand on the table! The number of chances I would get to not screw things up would be only one!
Aspergian 3 years ago
I think this movie is wonderful! To each their own!
Aspergian 3 years ago
WHY do you think it is wonderful? Assume for a second you are in a university and I am in front of a class, delivering a thesis on dehumanising portrayals of minority groups, using this film as an example. When you try to refute me, you need to be able to say more than "I think this movie is wonderful!". You need to be able to give credible reasons, which I would waste no time in tearing to shreds, anyway.
aspie182 3 years ago
Okay, I am sorry I ever said anything! Why I think it's wonderful is because unlike Donald Morton, I never had such good luck in being forgiven for the mistakes committed like those he had towards Isabelle Sorenson, like his going bananas over her cleaning his apartment, then later slamming his hand on the dinner table, exclaiming "HOW MUCH IS THIS ALL GOING TO COST?" when he could have said "Excuse me," when he had his hand raised while Isabelle was rambling on and on to his work boss...
Aspergian 3 years ago
Well, that is fair enough. However, I have had opportunities to speak with the "real" Donald Morton on the IMDB when I voiced my objections to these portrayals there. A more contemptible person, you would have to go to another town in order to find. The idea that he is being used to represent me to the unwashed public fills me with dread.
aspie182 3 years ago
Who do you mean by the "real" Donald Morton; Jerry Newport himself? Do you go by the nickname of Mentalcritic on IMDB by any chance? Thank you for making me feel stupid over my owning this movie in my DVD collection!
Aspergian 3 years ago
Yes, I mean Jerry Newport himself. If I were to meet him I would probably ask him who the fukk he thinks he is to be speaking for me. As for making you feel stupid, that is not my job. My job here is to simply ask you to look at this disc and ask yourself "why?".
aspie182 3 years ago
I don't have to ask myself why. This is a poignant film, very touching to me that I refuse to dislike. If you were meeting Newport, asking him something like that, you could expect to be verbally blasted and heavily by him, if not by others! Since you can't say anything kind about what is a moving film to me, please don't say anything at all! You must see this film as sort of childish, even with its mature content. If there were an ignore members button on YouTube, you would be on it!
Aspergian 3 years ago
His verbal blasting would be silenced by a very large fireman's boot impacting with his teeth. You have presented what you believe I should think about a film in an increasingly disrespectful and aggressive manner. Your inability to understand that I am not in the habit of repeating other peoples' thoughts back to them makes you unworthy of judging a thirty-second commercial.
aspie182 3 years ago
fuck, that film is fucking horrible.
SpazzDog 3 years ago
i agree nadskies i have a son with autism and i dont think anyone can actualy portray them perfectly
bluesidegirl 3 years ago
We are not asking for perfect. We are just asking for something better than the twenty-first century equivalent of Jumping Jim Crow.
aspie182 3 years ago
i also think that you have to understand that these actors are actors not people with aspergers or autism.
nadskies07 3 years ago
Again, this defense just does not wash. Actors who are worthy of commendation do their level best to sell you the belief that they totally grok their character. For an example of success in this, try Anna Paquin's performances in the real X-Men films. These portrayals do the exact opposite of convincing me the actors grok their characters. These portrayals convince me the actors view their characters with derision and even contempt.
aspie182 3 years ago
hi i dont think that what the director was doing was exaggerating but instead they were taking some of the most common 'symptoms' of aspergers or autism and showing to people how they are not different from everyone else.
i had a brother that was autistic and i know for a fact that he acted like some of the actors in this film. i also met some other people like him and this movie made me cry because of how much they reminded me of those kids.
nadskies07 3 years ago
I am sorry, but that defense just does not wash. These portrayals are extreme to the point of being ludicrous, and compared to accidental portrayals such as that which Brion James contributed to Blade Runner, completely unconvincing.
aspie182 3 years ago
Hey i feel you...even my psychologist goes off the stereotype that I can't have AS because I don't look like Spock.
But no one's shocked that I have it...no one that's known me intimately for a year or more anyway.
ReineDeLaSeine14 3 years ago
I suspect that if things do not improve soon, we will have to start a registry of psychologists who know a damned thing about autism. But that would require us all to organise in a mafioso-fashion so we can back up demands for better service with some kind of credible threat.
aspie182 3 years ago
i still dont get this ?? is this a mozart and whale josh hotnett ad?
hohohee1 3 years ago
No. It is an attempt to make people like you understand that this is a horrible portrayal that only serves to further discrimination against us.
aspie182 3 years ago
They're not trying to rid the world of aspies, It's a movie about love and the hardships even people without Asperger syndrome have. Forget the acting, take in the real meaning of the story. I do understand the point that you are trying to make, but I don't think you see the long and short of it. Good editing
secumax 3 years ago
Please do not make blanket statements like that. The reality is that there are numerous organisations that pose as speaking out for our best interests but fund research into prenatal cleansing and brain surgery, and they would not be able to do so if they did not have material like this to shape the public consciousness of autism. All the acting in the world will not make a blurring of the line between autistic and retarded acceptable.
I suggest you think to yourself about what you can see.
aspie182 3 years ago
Good for you and I think you should complain to people who care. This is youtube. people want to see guys getting hit in the nuts. Im not even talking about Asperger, Im talking about love. It's there, and the relationship is the same no matter what, Asperger or not.
secumax 3 years ago
If you are unable to handle people making their voice heard to the effect that they object to being dehumanised, it is your business. It also makes you the person that nobody else wants to hear.
aspie182 3 years ago
The movie wasn't promoted because Josh Hartnett and other actors were not pleased with the finished product, which was re-cut after the director was fired.
And the original choice for his character was Robin Williams - oh my god! That would have been even worse - he would have been a big jackass...
dmodlin71 3 years ago
I cannot imagine what the cut they fired the director over looked like. Although given that they seem to think this was a good cut, I suppose it cannot get too much worse.
Robin Williams. Of all the people I can think of whom I would rather not be represented by. One day I might get around to doing a video based on a scene in The Fifth Element with Chris Rock and Bruce Willis, and explain why Bruce is more like this autistic man than anyone else in the film (save maybe Brion James of course).
aspie182 3 years ago
Anyone who would open a story with that babble about Baby Ruth candy bars is not an aspie - maybe severely autistic and retarded, but not AS . And the guy who keeps bumping everyone he talks to - an aspie would've done that as a CHILD - and learned quickly that it was inappropriate. Again, we're not retarded.
A few things about Josh's character - hiding his face to avoid contact - freaking out when she cleans his place - that's like me. I like relationships but I don't like to be "invaded."
dmodlin71 3 years ago
The biggest problem I have with films like this, and with people like Oprah Winfrey now, is that they do not understand the distinction or understand that it is there.
I have this thing about the sounds of words. The pronunciation of Asperger in the film, on top of being wrong, feels like excrement rubbed into my ears. That was what really began to set me off about this film. The footage I show in the video above is just the point where I nearly vomited into my display unit.
aspie182 3 years ago
I have a whole list of words that I won't say, because their sound disturbs me - especially when I hear them repeated by someone over and over.....in fact, I don't really like the word "asperger" because one of the words that I really hate the most is "burger" haha
dmodlin71 3 years ago
Norwegian is a beautiful language that I have yet to hear an offensive sound in. Granted, I only hear it regularly in musical recordings, but compared to some of the sounds in the English language...
Say "ah-spear-ee-gar" out loud. When you do, congratulate yourself on learning the closest approximation the English language has of the actual pronunciation of Asperger.
aspie182 3 years ago
Yeah, that does sound better than "ass burgers" - which is how Americans say it! Ha.
dmodlin71 3 years ago
Yeah, the words "vomit-laced shit sandwich" sound more listenable.
aspie182 3 years ago
I was excited about this movie, but when I heard it was written by the RainMan guy, I was prepared for the worst. AS is only diagnosed in people with normal IQ - some of the movie's characters seem retarded. Those of us with AS spend most of our time in public striving to appear "normal" - so that we don't stick out, unlike the main lady. Nobody ever guesses that I have AS. And the math genius crap - such bulls**t! Like the stereotype of Tourette Syndrome=swearing - very, very rare.
dmodlin71 3 years ago
Here's a real kid with AS - very funny and very typical of the "real deal." Also, if you want to see real actors who really have AS - Dan Aykroyd and Matthew Laborteaux (Albert on Little House on the Prairie) - both diagnosed with ASD.
dmodlin71 3 years ago
I always wondered about Michael Ironside. Something about his body language and speech mannerisms just make me wonder.
aspie182 3 years ago
One movie character who is not labeled as AS - but who I associate with being on the spectrum - is Donnie Darko. He's smart, obsessive, awkward with girls, bullied, at ease with his family, in therapy, is an artist...normal with eccentricities. That's an aspie.
dmodlin71 3 years ago
Another big problem with films like this one is that they assume one size fits all, that all people on the spectrum are alike. That is why Blade Runner always gets my recommendation. It has no less than seven different characters who all resemble someone on the spectrum, and none of them share more than one or two similarities.
aspie182 3 years ago
Every so often, someone in a film or on the Internet or in the street will say exactly what I am thinking at the time, and it makes me feel fuzzy all over. I have never striven to appear normal, however. It just comes naturally. I do not speak to people unless I need to, I do not say things that I do not need to, and I get really sodded off when someone asks me to repeat myself, so I make sure to get the point across the first time. Ronald Bass would not have a clue there are people like me.
aspie182 3 years ago
I don't think that the director meant to hurt anyone by this, he just doesn't understand what it feels like. It's hard for people to walk in other peoples' shoes, so to speak, if they haven't gone through the same situation. But I'm sorry that you were offended by this movie, and I can understand why.
Unfortunately, stereotyping is one of the largest, overlooked problems here. My best friend and my brother are victims of it all the time... and no one realizes it.
MelodyDearest 3 years ago
I have Asperger Syndrome as well. I'm guessing that woman has AS because she said she takes things seriously. And that's one of the things that has to do with AS: taking things literally.
TwilightLink37 3 years ago
One reason this film is so offensive is because one of its subjects insists that everyone on the spectrum has to be the same and think the same things about his film or else they are not autistic. Truly a contemptible human being if there ever was.
Some people like to screw with other people on the basis of how literally you take them. And at the same time they strive to say exactly what they think. This video is an attempt by one such person to be heard.
aspie182 3 years ago
Well, do you take certain things seriously- metaphors, expressions, jokes, etc.? I already understand sarcasm and puns, but some puns I can't really tell if they are puns. I'm starting to understand metaphors. What about you- do you understand sarcasm, metaphors, etc. very well?
TwilightLink37 3 years ago
I hated that movie. It ruined me on that actress who plays the main female role. She was so obnoxious.. I know you can only act as well as the script, but please. It still is not a good portrayal of the depth of that which is autism. Did they even study anyone with asperger's for that movie?"
dawndeleon 3 years ago
I have had a few online conversations on the IMDB with the masculine half of the couple this barf is based upon, and let me tell you, he is a real piece of work. He apparently thinks all Aspies should be cute, cuddly, and limp-wristed, otherwise they are "trolls".
I would literally cut off five lanes or more of traffic to run him over. Even if it meant driving on the footpath. I am sure there are plenty of other Leon-type Asperger's children who feel exactly the same way.
aspie182 3 years ago
i'm an aspie and been that official in a half year now .. i've seen and have Mozart and the whale and love that movie (:
Asp1e 3 years ago
One of the subjects of the film is basically a Nazi who expects everyone to praise and talk up this film in spite of how much pain it might cause them to look at. After the abuse I received from him for being honest about how this film almost caused me to throw up into a $2500 TV, I am more adamant than ever. This film sucks at portraying autism, and Mr. Newport is a fake as well as a liar so far as I am concerned.
aspie182 3 years ago
But i still like the movie and i wont let me control of what other people think
Asp1e 3 years ago
You give the impression that English is not your first language. So for the benefit of everyone else, I will say this much. The lowering of my opinion of people who say "but I like this movie" is not a reflection upon them so much as it is a reflection upon Jerry Newport. He is exactly the kind of representative the autistic can do without, and I put him in the same basket as Autism Speaks. This film is a big part of the reason why.
aspie182 3 years ago
I have asperger's the movie it great it make better that I am not the only one that have this problem every asperger's is very unquid at there own way the movie show only half of it thanks for posting it!
ballboy102 3 years ago
i have asperger, and believe, nothing more far from the truth than mozard and the wale
joako534 3 years ago
I have aspergers. This movie was apallingly inaccurate.
ArcanVmXII 3 years ago
What makes you the expert on this subject?
LilliesAndDaisies 3 years ago
Being that I have seen more films in the last three years than you will if you live to be three hundred years old and happen to be autistic, well... it's like this. Would you like me to draw you a map?
aspie182 3 years ago
i enjoyed it
i have aspergers and think that any publicity is good publicity
obviously these are stereotypes everyone is unique and individual in there own way
kayribbons 4 years ago
If you think any publicity is good publicity, then your ignorance of the situation makes you a liability. In the past four years I have seen a number of deliberate attempts at portrayal go by the screen, and all of them have been so very wrong on a fundamental level that, thanks to the healthy case of PTSD my teachers left me with, they left me curled up on the floor for days. This film still makes me afraid I am going to vomit into my television.
aspie182 4 years ago
Your logic seems pretty subjective and naive for an aspie.
ArcanVmXII 3 years ago
The German film "the eternal jew" was publicity. But it wasn't good publicity by any means. Negative portrayals of autistic people aren't good.
purplemutantas 3 years ago
"If Blade Runner can portray no less than seven different variations of autistic individual in two hours," So, you would prefer we are represented by androids, and that human interest is too bland and dull for you to follow. Thanks loads. YOu may not want this movie representing you, I don't want you and your SF cookie cutter fantasy representing me! I'm asspie, but Im a HUMAN not an android. Try using some human role models and maybe you can see that.
ihatestupidsignups 4 years ago
I would prefer to be represented by three-dimensional characters. Human interest is one thing, but an insulting, unidimensional caricature is something completely different.
I am terribly sorry you confuse Blade Runner, one of the greatest science fiction films ever made, with "cookie cutter fantasy". Maybe you should stop watching films altogether, as you clearly lack the ability to understand anything other than the visuals.
You have given us no reason to believe you are on the spectrum.
aspie182 4 years ago
I'm an aspie and I loved it. as far as I'm concerned its the first film to even try.
ihatestupidsignups 4 years ago
1) I do not believe you.
2) Trying is one thing. Trying, however, only gets you so far. If our world gave people the key to the city for merely trying, our world would be in even worse shape than it is now.
aspie182 4 years ago
2) Oh yeah, I forgot. Blade Runner got it right without even trying twenty-eight years ago. This film is not even one of the first or one of the best. It is a fail.
aspie182 3 years ago
Personally I do not like Mozart and the Whale (I prefer Amadeus, now there is a character)
To me it was classic Hollywood Boy meets Girl, Boy loses Girl, Boy gets girl and they all live happily ever after, with autism as the McGuffin.
You could take the autism out and put anything else in and the story would be the same.
inregionecaecorum 4 years ago
Albeit many aspies I know seem to regard Mozart almost like a cult movie. As for me I certainly would not want to go to any Aspie group like the one portrayed
inregionecaecorum 4 years ago