Subscribe Via RSSWill You Be Watching Adam?
I came across the trailer for Adam, a movie being released next month. The movie features a romance between a young man with Aspergers and his NT neighbor, and although the trailer doesn’t give away very much of the plot, you can see that there’s definitely some sort of opposition from her friends or family to the relationship as well as requisite awkwardness.
Am I going to watch it? Do I recommend it? My feelings on this one are mixed.
On one hand, it’s amazing that this movie about an aspie romance is on the film festival circuit and winning awards. At Sundance, no less. And that this is not the first movie involving a character on the spectrum in a romance.
But…did they have to make him wear a space suit? That’s bordering on Raymond Babbitt-ism there. And I find it hard to watch what the actor does with his eyes. He picks one point and stares at it throughout the scene, which I’m pretty sure I don’t do. My eyes do move, and I do blink. He looks like he’s trying to play a blind character.
The extent to which they’ve made this Adam character look awkward and bizarre seems almost unfair to the aspies I know who try so hard to be accepted. The tagline for the movie even emphasizes that he is “strange”.
Maybe the trailer didn’t do justice to the plot of the movie and it goes much deeper than this. I sure hope I’m wrong.
4 Responses
Hi,
I hope I’m not intruding with this comment due to the fact that no one else has a comment in this section but being an Aspie myself I thought that I might be permitted to insert an opinion on the matter?
I just watched the trailer and I thought it was an interesting portrayal of Asperger’s Syndrome. I alwys seem to run in to people with AS on the web who talk about Mozart & The Whale and criticise the film because they don’t have any/little connection with the characters due to their severities so they end up saying that the film was misrepresenting Aspies. Despite the fact that the portrayals were of two real people who thought the actors did a great job.
The thing to remember about romance films (and other genres) attempting to portray individuals with Asperger Syndrome is that they have an incredible spectrum of symptoms to work with and then they have to insert that character in to a romantic situation.
Another thing that people with AS usually forget is that we usually don’t empathise with other AS individuals because of our different specialties and symptoms as well as the varying severity of our conditions. However we end up doing well with connecting one another through similar experiences… Which is kind of funny when you think about it. Anywho, a lot of people with AS look at these types of films and go “Well, I have Asperger’s and I don’t do that.” but forget about who wide the spectrum is. For some the spectrum of symptoms suddenly cave in and become an alley.
Usually films like “Adam” with AS characters are generally supposed to be “Quirky” and obviously the writer wanted to enhance that sense by creating the protagonist which is somewhat of a risky move as the people at Fox will always like to do things such as take the word Quirky and replace it with something more extreme… Like “Strange”.
I wouldn’t say that the Space Suit was bordering on Ray Babbit-ism as it was completely relevant to Adam’s specialty (my psychologist recently told me that AS is getting the nicknames of “Specialist” or “Expert” Syndrome) of Astronomy. Plus Adam doesn’t seem to wonder around saying “‘Who’s on First Base, What’s on Second, I Don’t Know Who’s On Third.’ ‘Are you the manager?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Are you gonna tell me the fellas names?’ ‘Who?’ ‘The one on First Base.’ ‘Who.’ ‘The First Baseman.’ ‘Who!’ ‘That’s what I’m trying to find out!’ ‘No, no, no, What’s on Second Base.’”
… Sorry, I’m a fan of that routine and couldn’t help myself. Point is Adam is supposed to be an individual with AS whose apparent obsession on the subject of astronomy has gone to the point that he has his own Space Suit which probably links up with some ambition he had/has for himself. Regardless, I wouldn’t mind furthering reading your thoughts as to why you think the Space Suit borders on Babbit-ism?
Well that about sums it up for me. Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Hi Sean, you’re totally right that the autism spectrum is vast and encompasses all kinds of behaviors and abilities! The chances that one movie and one character is going to speak to all of us on the spectrum are indeed slim.
My comment about Rainman had nothing to do with the actual routine but rather the extremes they went to in portraying him as quirky…or strange. We all come from different places with what we’re hoping to get out of a movie about AS; some of us want to see his quirks and some of us want to see it handled more delicately.
Hey again Sandy,
Okay, sorry for for the confusion on your Rain Man comment. I don’t think the film makers would really risk labelling individuals with Asperger Syndrome as “Strange” by associated Adam with that kind of label through-out the entire film. Mainly because that would risk a PC-Disaster. I think the only way that idea might be thrown in the film would be the views of Adam from one or two characters EG Peter Gallagher’s character.
Either way, thanks for clearing that whole misinterpretation up!
Well Sandy, looks like I’ll be checking this one out with you (in the Aspie way – separately, of course).
I’m curious how someone with Asperger’s will be portrayed ( having been recently diagnosed with Asperger’s myself), so I’ll be watching Adam – if it shows in Nashville. The space suit thing’s got me all “flinchy” already! I’ll be watching through only one opened, cringing eye, seated near the back of the theater (in case an embarrassed dash is necessary) with a LARGE bag of popcorn (that I can either hide behind or bury myself in). Oy.
Why, oh why, do I love to torture myself so?
Luckily for me, if it bombs and burns us, I can recede into the background and re-immerse myself in my beloved neurology studies and artwork.
It would just be nice if it does portray us accurately, and in a good light, and with fairness – which would make it easier to explain the whole thing to someone who is curious. Then we could just reply, “Go watch Adam.”
(…beating head on floor…) I just KNOW this is going to go so WRONG!!! *SIGH* Ah, well. You and I will be able to recognize one another forever afterward Sandy. We’ll be the ones wearing popcorn bags over our heads – with eye holes cut out….