www.hollywoodreporter.com: Television’s portrayal of neurodivergence has long suffered from a persistent blind spot. By casting neurotypical actors to play stereotypical — and often heavily coded yet undiagnosed — white male savant archetypes, Hollywood built a rigid standard that has largely erased women, people of color and the broader diversity of real-world neurodivergent experiences.
5 comments:
This was a really interesting article because I feel like I've seen a greater number of neurodivergent casting show up more in the media I was watching. Learning that non-fiction television shows like Love on the Spectrum were creating visible interest and engagement with neurodivergent people at their center and influencing fictional shows into representing more neurodivergent characters in less stereotypical ways. An idea that came to me was how neurodivergent actors can play neurodivergent characters. So far the better representations of neurodivergent characters have come from neurotypicals who are invested in the experience of neurodivergent people, through personal relationships and research. However I wonder how real neurodivergent representation would work in complicated shows like the Pitt as well as how the media can better show the spectrum instead of focusing on high functioning people. Having family members who are neurodivergent I think these increasing levels of well enacted representation is extremely beneficial for their real life experiences.
When I picture an example of an autistic or otherwise neurodivergent character, sadly, immediately what comes to mind is the white male savant stereotype. It is an unfortunate truth that what we see in media really shapes our perception of stereotypes, and that media has not done a great job of representing neurodivergent characters. I thought the perspective about Love on The Spectrum was really interesting. I have never watched the show and don’t know a ton about it, but I’ve seen clips pop up. I’ve also seen commentary pop up of people not liking the show and not liking how it represents autistic people, so it is an interesting example of it being incredibly challenging to try and portray a wide range of people in media. I really enjoyed to portrayal of Mel’s sister of this season of the Pitt, and thought it did a really good job of showing a very different person than who we typically see in scripted media.
Autism inhabits this really interesting place in media where autistic characters are always some genius detective or literal robot that exists for exposition dumps and big drama who-done-it’s. It's very interesting that something that is literally known as “the spectrum” has such a one note depiction in media. I really liked the autism representation in the pitt, though I did find it a little funny that the short code for this character is autistic on that show was just that the doctor would turn off the lights in their room and suddenly everything was fine, but beyond that the writers on that show did a really good job of showing a compassionate way to interact with someone on the spectrum, and the very realistic situation of people getting upset towards people on the spectrum. I hope this article is right and that the success of this show, and love on the spectrum will both serve to create more and better representation for all points on the spectrum rather than Sherlock Homes and no one else.
I personally don’t see anything wrong with casting neurotypical actors and actresses in roles of characters with mental disabilities. I think the problem lies with the stereotypes written into the characters themselves. While some neurodivergent people may identify heavily with these stereotypes and traits often portrayed, there are whole parts of the neurodivergent community that feel underrepresented. Not every neurotypical character in TV acts alike, so why should the neurodivergent ones act the same in every instance. Neurodivergence is a spectrum and should be portrayed as such. While reality tv or documentaries can help to spread more realistic representation it is also important to showcase representation in fictional media that is not monolithic. Another aspect of this is the characters who are portrayed as neurodiverse but never talked about as such. This is also not helpful to communities because it can make it feel as if their differences are being shown as something that shouldn’t be discussed or named, something to be ashamed or quite about.
As someone who is neurodivergent I really love to see it represented in ways that doesn’t make us seem weak or like we cannot function properly. I especially love what they’re doing with The Pitt, not only with Becca’s character, but with Mel’s. While not directly confirmed through dialogue (but confirmed by the actor) Mel is also a representation of neurodivergency, she is just less concerned about herself because her sister’s is more prominent. I see so much of myself in Mel and her habits, it is very validating to see a character be successful while also going through similar struggles that you do. I think the idea of Love on the Spectrum is lovely and I truly think it has no ill intentions, it could be encouraging some autistic stereotypes that neurotypicals would deem as “normal” behavior for autistic people. I would really love to see more depictions of high-functioning autism or neurodivergency in media because there are a lot of us, it just isn't as present as people see.
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