1: a decade ago I watched a robot chicken episode with a parody of Monk called Cork the autistic detective. You can probably guess the amount of nuance and sensitivity this portrayal had, I actually called my mom over to show it to her to see if she could help me understand why it made me so sad
2: just watched Good Time, featuring one of the Safdie brothers playing a disabled adult who at the end of the movie gets put in a kind of adult daycare group therapy, the movie as a whole is pretty grim with a downer ending but that aspect especially made me depressed
Important context is that I have autism, and from the end of 6th grade to graduation I went to a school for kids on the spectrum, ranging from high functioning like me to completely nonverbal, and I fucking hated it and the resulting effects and trauma are probably a big part of why I'm Like This today, but that's a story for another time maybe.
I have a lot of really complex... complexes regarding developmental disabilities, especially my own, most of which would either be rightfully challenged or get me cancelled if elaborated upon them
Content Warning: discussion of disability and addiction
I feel the same way while watching any movie/show that portrays physical disability/serious injury/disease or addiction. There's never any nuance or anything, either the character recovers fully from their injuries with no ill feelings and goes back to how they were before or dies or ends up in a wheelchair. No in between, just either of those extremes. It's the same with addiction, either the person attends a few AA meetings and kicks the addiction effortlessly or they spiral into a viscous cycle of substance abuse and lose everything they have or die. No nuance, just either of those extremes.
As someone that's been though these kind of things, the reality of recovery/disability or fighting addiction is no where near as cut and dry as it's portrayed in pretty much any popular media. Literally any portrayal of it makes me have flashbacks to my past, feel tense or straight up depressed. Maybe I need to see someone about it, but still media portrayals of these kind of things are really bad a lot of the time.
Is there a comm for autism or ND in general? Big vibes with what you're saying. To me even the most nuanced takes on autism are serious trash that seems to be made to pander to drama fans rather than represent a true to life experience. Though I suppose you'd need autistic writers and actors to really nail it down.
Can you elaborate on how Good Time's ending is a downer? I mean sure, as a member of society I can relate to the plight of Pattinson's character who is desperately trying to avoid the scrutiny and condescension of neoliberal, means-tested bureaucracy but you got to recognize that he is a sociopath at worst, lumpenprole at best, and is honestly just trying to salvage his own pride as sole provider for his family in a capitalistic framework. I'm probably just being a dumb, neurotypical lib but isn't it a good thing the developmentally disabled Safdie brother finally gets the government assistance that he needed?
It's not really clear how Nick feels about the situation he's placed in, but my own experiences with those types of condescending adult daycare style places would make me wanna hang myself within an hour
