Aspies For Freedom

A post in another forum reminded me of an episode on CSI.  An autistic character was portrayed as a key witness in a murder - relying on his eidetic memory and ability to perceive subtle tactile differences from a forged book.  

I think that it was a misguided attempt to show autistics in a positive light - 'crime-solver'.  Ugh.  

The other positive slant they portrayed was the main CSI character as sensitive to the autistic character and not dismissive of his account.  He even identified with some of the autistic traits they included, such as order and alone time (I'm going by memory here - no doubt have left out some details).  Is Grisham supposed to be an Aspie?

I find it enormously irritating when ppl who attempt to be 'sensitive' to a 'special needs' group end up fostering stereotypes, thereby exploiting the vulnerable party to portray themselves as open minded.

Iron_man -  I agree with you about your take on the quality of most TV and how shows like CSI oversimplify complex situations.  

Is anyone aware of counterculture productions about/by/depicting autism spectrum life situations?  

Digital media and the internet are making it possible for anyone to become a film producer/director/distributor ...

I, for one, would like to see the family unit destroyed altogether. Let the community raise children equally. That may stop child abuse altogether, and remove negative influences of parents.

Of course, that may end up as a disaster, exposing children to too much of society's scum. Or it may work too well and create a creepy utopia where everyone's one giant, happy family.

Accountability for abusers of people who are vulnerable is definitely sorely lacking.  

re:  potential for digital media expression - call it fanciful thinking, but similar to the bits of empowerment that I get out of participating in this forum, and to the self-expression of auts/aspies in the blogosphere, even a scattered film expression of Aspie life that is honest and real would be potent - and it may be that the distribution system will improve over time, so creating cultural artifacts to eventually counterbalance the dominant in any culture is valuable.

I have a camera that can record video in 640x480, with monaural audio. I could simply sit in front of it for a while and talk about just what an impact my autistic spectrum disorder has had upon my life. I would need to prepare a lot, though.

That would be interesting - I also started a thread on self-advocacy and this relates, if you want to throw some thoughts out there (or wherever ...)

Only problem is, I would need to work out a script in advance. It is very difficult for me to talk about, as anyone here can plainly see.

I see your point - I have other ppl in my life often tell me to write a book about my experiences (no doubt to get me to stop talking, but I digress) which would be a significant challenge for me.  

This is why I sometimes ponder the film instead, but again - a significant challenge.

Writing a book, any book, is tough. I have three completed manuscripts of around 96,000 words a piece. It took much suffering and annoyance to get them into the state they are now, but it has been worth every moment.

I would also like to make a film and get a wide release for it, but that requires money. A lot of it.

That's excellent - while I doubt I'll be following in your footsteps, I wish you continued success!