Before I was diagnosed I saw "Adam" and never would have linked Asperger's to myself. Later, I realized that I was very Aspergian, in my own way.
However, I still think the interpretation is "Adam" is tragically NT and condescending. He is presented as a shy, odd, yet lovable clown. He is so vulnerable and endearing. I feel the portrayal of this sweet, disabled little fellow is very limited. Oh, look at the poor, defenseless, adorable little autistic!
The portrayal of autistics in movies like these is, ironically enough, very literal. These characters are such stereotypes.
Are other Aspies really like this? So... textbook?

This post was last modified: 08-29-2011 06:52 AM by tambourine-man.

I did a review on it back last year
http://prismsong.blogspot.com/2010/01/th...-adam.html

My big issues with it was the fact it completely disregarded the fact that autistic people do have real tangible feelings and we do feel love. It really infantalized autists in that movie.

Read it and agree. I cried when I first saw it... But then I just kept getting angrier about it. As much as I relate to Adam, stereotypical as he may be, the ultimate message, while poetic and bittersweet, is terribly disheartening for autistics. That film makes me feel as if NTs want me to believe I will ultimately be trapped in my own little world forever.

They seem to have the same perspective of themselves as well...

Ha ha. Love it!

Mozart and the Whale is more of pos"aut"tive film. I recommend that than Adam.

Really? I watched the trailer of Mozart and the whale and thought it looked a little silly but wanted to like it. I will have to check it out now.

But yet, there are Autists that have that type of personality.

I don't quite understand? Like Adam? Well yes, but not portrayed like that in the movie

I'm watching it now...

Loved it! As an obsessive cinema buff, the film left a lot to be desired. However, had I seen this earlier in life I would have immediately recognized that I have AS and understood it so much better. I found the characters to be far more relatable. Honestly, I didnt know whether to laugh or cry as I recognized so much of my behavior. It also made me feel less alone, and more alone... I just can't believe how abnormal I am. That movie was inspiring, and hard.

The guy that wrote it was the guy who wrote Rain Man...

I know, when I found out, it made me laugh.  I like Mozart and the Whale.  Rain Man has too much cursing, also, he is not a good driver.  Adam was too depressing, also, he is not a raccoon.

On the one hand, it hit all the points of what's possible for an Aspie to seem like; scenes like the ones with the cops and such were, for the most part, accurate.
But quite frankly, I didn't finish it. I got tired of seeing the straight-up stereotypes; but I was happy to see that the whole thing between Adam and his nieghbor/girlfriend wasn't all sweet and nice. If there's one thing that would've made it worse, it would be if she, being an NT, had been all understanding and biting down on her anger when they had the argument.
Anyways, there was some good, but it had to keep to the stereotype since they don't want people actually thinking we can 'act normal'.

I didn't see Adam, because what I gathered from the preview, is that it was just a story based on common stereotypes of Aspies. Who would have a family memeber say, "Oh but he lives in his own world", like someone on the Autism spectrum is mysterious. That saying always came across to me as childish, i'd expect it from a 2 year old, but whenyou're an adult, you should be old enough to know that playing "mystery theater" when you don't understand something is immature. What about asking questions like a big boy or girl?