Over the past few years, media has become a rather integral part of people’s lives. With the rise of OTTs, billions of people have access to any episode, show, or movie at their fingertips. Such deep entrenchment also means that most people get their ideas and perception of communities different from theirs mostly through media. And this has been made even more possible by the rising representation that we see in all forms of entertainment, from reality TV to music. There are, although, massive loopholes in this form of representation.
Currently airing its fourth season is the show The Good Doctor, which revolves around a surgical resident and the challenges he faces as a person with autism. While sporting a commendable diverse cast, it also falls prey to the biggest pitfall of autistic representation- savant syndrome. The most famous portrayals of characters with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are accompanied by savant syndrome, even though only an estimated 1-10% people with ASD are actually diagnosed with savant syndrome as well.
Where does this form of representation come from?
Representation of ASD in early media was generally either coded, or in a character that was mainly just the butt of various jokes. Avoiding the label takes away a certain “social responsibility” to play the character true to that diagnosis. Without the label, the writers can have their autism jokes and avoid being accused of stereotyping.
A rather famous example of this would be Sheldon and Amy from The Big Bang Theory, where Sheldon is portrayed as “quirky bordering on insufferable” and his extraordinary brain was the only reason people put up with him. While it is never explicitly mentioned in the show, it is very heavily hinted that the two scientists have ASD.
Characters who make viewers go “aww” over autism spectrum behaviors create an unrealistic expectation that autistic people be consistently endearing and quirky, and ultimately socially successful.
Sheldon is shown to have various “quirks”, like the repetitive knocking pattern, or the obsession with one particular seat in the living room. This ends up becoming a recurring theme that he is often ridiculed for, trivializing behaviours that many people on the autism spectrum exhibit.
Thus, the savant syndrome narrative was added to the characters to give them a sort of “redeeming character trait” and steer away from entirely negative or humorous representations.
While this was almost acceptable given social outlooks against people with ASD in the 90s and 2000s, research around it has come a long way, and various misconceptions around it have been (largely) mitigated. However, the character trait remains because it is seemingly the easiest way to make characters have “depth”. Now, all it does is reduce complex humans to one dimensional characters who are portrayed as “unable to socialize but making up for it with extraordinary skills”.
An extremely large problem with ASD representation is the sheer lack of lived experiences in the making of characters that are portrayed with it. Most characters are based off of stereotypes haphazardly slapped onto them, turned on and off as it helps the story. While somewhat being able to represent ASD, the characters are almost always neurotypical.
The amount of accurate neuro-divergent representation in media is extremely pitiable, and the fraction of neuro-divergent people playing them is even more so.
It is possible that the current state of recording studios and sets is extremely chaotic, causing neuro-divergent people to remain out of them due to the risk of overstimulation as a default.
However, it is also extremely important to actively move towards a society that promotes inclusion, and a barrier such as this one is not something that must be used as an excuse but something that must be actively combatted.
Where do we then see “good” representation?
A stellar example of this lies in a children's show, Sesame Street. The character, Julia, was created to explain to children what ASD was and how it can affect people. Julia is shown to be sensitive to noises and is often shown to calm herself down by stimming. She also can take a moment to calm down or use earmuffs to combat auditory stimulation.
The acceptance shown to her is extremely important for people with ASD, as well as an example to their peers to learn more about it.
Representation is extremely important to everyone, as they are able to see and relate to the characters in a way that they haven't been able to before, and it is important that as a society we try to uphold and propagate this in the most inclusive way possible, even if change is hard and slow.
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