My dear friends,
I would like to share these movies with you all. We need to know more about the autism. We should teach our kids to avoid bullying and hurting their autistic classmates.
1- Rain Man (1988)
In 1988, the film “Rain Man,” about an autistic savant played by Dustin Hoffman, shed a humane light on the travails of autism while revealing the extraordinary powers of memory that a small number of otherwise mentally disabled people possess, ostensibly as a side effect of their disability.
Pic ref: https://www.amazon.com/RAIN-1988-SPECIAL-WS-1-85-ENG-FR-SP/dp/B0000YEEGM
The film won four Oscars, including best picture, best actor and, for Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass, best original screenplay. But it never would have been made if Mr. Morrow had not had a chance meeting with Kim Peek, who inspired him to write the film.
Mr. Peek was not autistic — not all savants are autistic and not all autistics are savants — but he was born with severe brain abnormalities that impaired his physical coordination and made ordinary reasoning difficult. He could not dress himself or brush his teeth without help. He found metaphoric language incomprehensible and conceptualization baffling.
But with an astonishing skill that allowed him to read facing pages of a book at once — one with each eye — he read as many as 12,000 volumes. Even more remarkable, he could remember what he had read.
Text ref: https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/27/us/27peek.html
2- What's eating gilbert grape (1993)
This 1993 drama centers on Gilbert, who has to care for his challenging brother Arnie and his obese mother, which gets in the way when love walks into his life. What's Eating Gilbert Grape is the story of a young man whose family depends on him to the point where he's facing personal burnout. His teenage brother has autism-like challenges, which seems to pull the attention of the family away from more pressing concerns.
Pic ref: https://www.amazon.com/Whats-Eating-Gilbert-Grape-Johnny/dp/B000EWBNNC
Some feel that this movie accurately shows everyday life struggles for families impacted by autism spectrum disorder. While there are points at which the caregiver feels trapped or exhausted, ultimately it is a bountifully rewarding and deeply exciting journey. It’s felt that while the story doesn’t specifically identify that Arnie has autism, the behaviors he displays may imply it.
The film was nominated for multiple Academy and Golden Globe awards.
Text ref: http://www.navigatingautism.org/apc.html
3- Mozart and the whale (2005)
a 2006 romantic “dramedy” about a man and a woman with Asperger syndrome and, in many ways, it makes a very neat thematic companion to the other film. In Adam (2009), the protagonists’ relationship ultimately fails because the title character’s autism prevents him from fulfulling an appropriate “masculine” role. In Mozart and the Whale, the relationship succeeds because both characters are autistic; neither of them can successfully maintain a relationship with a “normal” person but, as the tagline says, “They don’t fit in. Except together.” The troubling implication is that if autistic people are going to pursue romantic relationships, it’s best if we stick with “our own kind.”
Pic ref: https://www.bitchmedia.org/post/double-rainbow-mozart-and-the-whale
The relationship also works (well, “works,” but I’ll get to that) because Donald (Josh Hartnett) can take on a normatively masculine role in relation to Isabelle (Radha Mitchell). Even though he is arguably “more autistic” than she is (his behavior is much more rigid and ritualistic, and he is less socially aware), she is ultimately “more disabled.” She exhibits mood swings, manic outbursts, and petulant, domineering behavior that prevent her from integrating into normative society. This renders her sufficiently dependent, and Donald can take on the role of emotional and financial caregiver.
Text ref: https://www.bitchmedia.org/post/double-rainbow-mozart-and-the-whale
4- Snow cake (2006)
An ex-convict is mysteriously drawn to two intriguing women after becoming involved in a car accident while passing through a sleepy Ontario town in director Marc Evans’ enigmatic drama. Invited into the home of Linda, a woman with high functioning autism played by Sigourney Weaver, after getting into a car accident that involved Linda’s daughter, ex-con Alex Hughes (Alan Rickman) does his best to gracefully accept Linda’s selfless generosity.
Pic ref: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Snow-Cake-DVD-Alan-Rickman/dp/B000IMVERI
His situation grows increasingly complicated, however, when Alex finds the seductive allure of town sexpot Maggie (Carrie-Anne Moss) too powerful to resist.
Text ref: http://autismtn.org/library/snow-cake/
5- Ben X (2007)
Ben X is a film about, as his onscreen psychologist puts it, "an extraordinary boy who every day has to try to be normal". Severely autistic, Ben suffers at the hands of school bullies and the concerned adults who have such difficulty in communicating with him. His only comfort is online video gaming, a controlled fantasy away from the increasing humiliations meted out at school, and where he fosters a friendship with the attractive and mysterious female gamer Scarlite.
Pic ref: https://www.amazon.com/Ben-X-Greg-Timmermans/dp/B001DYRL22
One particularly brutal attack at the hands of Ben's main tormentors coincides with Scarlite's decision to pay him a personal visit, and her sympathy with his frustrations leads them to plot an action that no one will forget.
Will Ben go through with killing himself? Or might his plans turn to bloody revenge? And is Scarlite really a guiding light, or an angry co-dependent?
Text ref: http://socialistreview.org.uk/328/ben-x