Yes, I'm a few decades late
But one thing that confused me - is Raymond really considered high functioning? He was described as such a few times during the film.
Well that explains much. He surely didn't fit my definition of someone who is high functioning, but I thought that maybe the true definition was vastly different from my own personal opinion.
This leads to many questions - How much does a popular film shape our perceptions over time? Is Raymond the portrait of HFA to the general public?
I'm thinking about this at the moment because an interesting conversation occurred in my presence on Friday. A coworker of mine was having a discussion about the possibility that she may take a position with an organization that provides services to people with autism. In explaining to the group gathered about autism she gave as one example that you could dump a box on toothpicks on the ground and they could give an accurate count instantly. At the time I assumed that this was coming from her personal experience, but coincidently I see Rainman this weekend and I see she just lifted the toothpick thing from the movie.
I have also seen the movie Rainman. The movie is what most people's view on autism is, a savant that lives in an insitution. If anyone have not see Mozart and the Whale yet, I would recommend it, since it shows more different functioning levels of autism and the characters interacting with society with three of them (Donald, Isabelle, and Greg) with their own jobs and homes.
I don't think he is high functioning at all. The movie was made in 1988 so the facts are old. We know more about autism now than we did 19 years ago. If he was high functioning he be living a normal life, not in some insitution.
I have also seen the movie Rainman. The movie is what most people's view on autism is, a savant that lives in an insitution. If anyone have not see Mozart and the Whale yet, I would recommend it, since it shows more different functioning levels of autism and the characters interacting with society with three of them (Donald, Isabelle, and Greg) with their own jobs and homes.
I haven't seen M and the Whale. I've heard people talk about HFA and/or Aspergers and mention the Johnny Depp movie Benny and Joon.
I would go so far as to assume a majority of people who have seen Rainman automatically think of Raymond when autism is mentioned, and base their views on autism on this movie. It is somewhat disturbing though to hear of someone who wishes to work in the providing of services to autistics thinking this way.
Nobody liks to think of himself as ignorant, so when there is a void -- a vacuum -- created by ignorance, a half-assed notion rushes in to fill the void. Someone hears "autism" and they think "Hmmm... what do I know about autism?" -- the anser is "nothing" but they don't want to accept the vacuum, so in rushes "RAINMAN! I know all about Autism because 20 years ago I saw RAINMAN!!"
Yes, I'm a few decades late
But one thing that confused me - is Raymond really considered high functioning? He was described as such a few times during the film.
Comparatively high functioning in comparison with those who at the time would have been thought to have autism, or possibly somewhere in the middle?
Yes. If you as a teenager told someone you are autistic they would probably say "so can you tell me the square root of 3,643,221.344 like Rainman?" They either think you are crazy because autistics don't speak (due to Autism Speaks) or that you are Rainman. I usually spend 40 minutes with a person explaining all about the different forms of autism before they "get it." It takes awhile.
Rainman was on recently and I disliked it for its portrayal of being a savant means you are a HFA. The movie winning an Oscar and becoming so popular is what has led many to believe that is what autism is about.
Hello,
Rainman was an interesting film for me. I saw it for the first time a few months after receiving the Asperger’s label, and the feeling I had at the end was… strange. After all I said “yeah” in the same monotone all the time, I was interested in photography and carried a little camera with me everywhere I went and I may have Savant Syndrome... of course I am much higher functioning.
Bizarre coincidence… I am now in contact with a man who was an advisor for the movie.
Willis
Dustin actually studied Autism for two years and met many Aspies to research for his role.
He also had some great one-liners:, "Uh-oh, fart!", "It was wet!" and "Very sparkly!" spring to mind!!
I think that a lot of the criticism of Rainman (that perhaps the character was stereotypical etc) is not because Raymond himself is a stereotype, but rather because so much of people's stereotypes are based on that movie.
That is an excellent point!
The girl in Mozart and the Whale was very accurate, and I related to her more than Hartnett's character, who I felt was still played up a bit. I enjoyed that movie immensely.
The fact is that Rainman is 17 years old now, and the information is outdated, so thats a good thing to argue with people about.
I don't mean to be rude but I hated Rainman. But then I never liked "people movies" take me to where ever they are playing Lion King.
I just find Rainman long and painfully boring.
Yes, I'm a few decades late
But one thing that confused me - is Raymond really considered high functioning? He was described as such a few times during the film.
I don't think Raymond was high-functioning, but keep in mind when the film was made. There wasn't as much (accurate) information available on Autism as there is now.