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The film rainman

unsurewhattoname

Well-Known Member
So last night my parents and I watched it and I thought it was a good movie, and there were scenes where my parents were both staring at me wide-eyed so I assume they were seeing some kind of resemblance.

But looking through the search button for this site (because I'd seen it and wanted to see if there were any ongoing discussions I could be a part of), any mention of the film seems to be negative. Why is that? Is he used as a comparison to you and you don't like it? When you, for lack of better term, "come out" as autistic, does every new person ask if you've seen it? Something else, like it's actually the movie itself and not what people say? I'm just curious.
 
I have seen the movie plenty of times but never get compared to it. The movie Temple Grandin is the movie that best describes my ride on the autism spectrum rollercoaster. When I first saw the movie,I finally had a way for others to experience how my brain works.
Dr. Grandin returned my telephone call about a year and a half ago,so in all actuality,we have met each other by phone.

Much like Temple,I have contributed many items to our world that have touched every human on our planet in one way or another as a way of sharing what I call my gifts from having what some have labeled a disorder.

Once again,"cure" me of my autism and the gift giving will come to an abrupt halt...
 
I have seen the movie plenty of times but never get compared to it. The movie Temple Grandin is the movie that best describes my ride on the autism spectrum rollercoaster. When I first saw the movie,I finally had a way for others to experience how my brain works.
Dr. Grandin returned my telephone call about a year and a half ago,so in all actuality,we have met each other by phone.

Much like Temple,I have contributed many items to our world that have touched every human on our planet in one way or another as a way of sharing what I call my gifts from having what some have labeled a disorder.

Once again,"cure" me of my autism and the gift giving will come to an abrupt halt...
What about rainman, what did you think of it?
 
I'm going to go off on a limp and say it's probably because everyone assumes that if you're autistic then you behave like Rain Man when we all know the popular saying: "If you're met one person with autism then you've met one person with autism".
 
It's all like, "omg, Hoffman knows how to imitate people! He does his job! Let's all be impressed and feel educated!" And then people assume they know things they don't know, things they simply guess at, and their only base of reference is their interpretation of some actor's interpretation of something the actor clearly does not understand, on grounds of being an actor and not a neuroscientist.

(And while you're thinking of her, all I've heard Bialik say about aspies is that "they are people too", or something to that effect.)

I get it from people watching Bones or The Bridge.

And I hate the objectification, but I'm not blaming that on the actors either.
 
Rain Man unfortunately creates the stereotype that all Autistics should be this way. In its own right, the movie is cinematic excellence but it reflects an outmoded view of ASD.
 
I don't think anything is 'wrong' with Rain Man per se, it's just that for a long time it was the only or only well-known representation of autism, so people took it as what ALL autism is, which isn't true. But that's just how people think (Have you ever seen Chimamanda Adichie's "The Danger of a Single Story" talk?), not really the movie's fault. It won't change until there are more diverse representations of autism both in the media and in people 'coming out' in everyday life.

FWIW, I can see a little of both myself and my friend in Rain Man.
 
I have seen Rainman a couple of times, and I find it both really depressing and really funny all at once. I think the reason people don't like being compared to Rainman is because he is so low-functioning, while most of us here are high-functioning. (I don't really like the functioning labels but not sure else how to say it).

Thank you for the Temple Grandin rec, had never heard of it, downloading it now. :) I've always been a pretty big Claire Danes fan!
 
I think it's because it creates the assumption that autistic people are all savant a of some kind. In media, there's a large focus on autistic people who are good at coding or mathematics, while others are sometimes swept under the rug.
 
Rain Man unfortunately creates the stereotype that all Autistics should be this way. In its own right, the movie is cinematic excellence but it reflects an outmoded view of ASD.
Although it should be noted that (as far as I can remember) nowhere in Rain Man was it said that the guy was autistic.
I think the problem isn't with the movie itself, but is rather with the ignorance and presuppositions of (some of) the people watching it.
 
Although it should be noted that (as far as I can remember) nowhere in Rain Man was it said that the guy was autistic.
I think the problem isn't with the movie itself, but is rather with the ignorance and presuppositions of (some of) the people watching it.
It said it several times.
 
I have seen Rainman a couple of times, and I find it both really depressing and really funny all at once. I think the reason people don't like being compared to Rainman is because he is so low-functioning, while most of us here are high-functioning. (I don't really like the functioning labels but not sure else how to say it).

Thank you for the Temple Grandin rec, had never heard of it, downloading it now. :) I've always been a pretty big Claire Danes fan!
The film says he is high functioning.
 
Who is speaking for the film? In the movie he is institutionalized. He cannot even tie his own shoes. I would not call that high-functioning. Perhaps this is a hugely outdated definition of high-functioning...


Hard to say considering when the film was made versus past and present considerations of what constitutes "high functioning". Technically you both may be right.

Although loosely modeled after Kim Peek, it seemed the fictional character Dustin Hoffman portrayed would likely have fit the DSM-V's level 2 or 3 support requirements. Not what I'd consider to be high functioning. Yet in the film, I don't recall if "Rain Man's" IQ was ever even mentioned. If above 70, at one time that was considered a benchmark for being "high functioning".

Despite being considered a savant, Kim Peek's IQ was equated at 87. Enough to be high functioning using that benchmark, and indeed he did hold a steady job for a decade, being effectively replaced by a computer.
 
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The most interesting thing about Peek was his reading speed, and that he could read two pages at once, which I always imagined must be distracting since you'd basically know what was coming before you knew the whole chain of events leading up to it… But when I watched a video of him talking to Daniel Tammet (who took no offense at Peek's "you'll be straight someday" comment) he seemed to mostly read almanacs and encyclopedias and whatnot, so it might not be so spoilerific for a reading strategy after all.
 
To be truthful, I identified a bit more with the RainMan character than with Temple in the HBO biopic of her life, but I noted similarities with my own tendencies with that film, too.

Because we are all so different, having multiple film and Tv characters on the spectrum can help by showing various strengths and challenges that people with ASD may have. With all it's manifestations, ASD has some nifty flavors.:shavedice::lollipop::shortcake: Yes, people are going to pigeonhole and stereotype, but having some positive portrayals of some totally quirktastic characters brings the strengths and positives of ASD right into people's living rooms.

Autism awareness is good. Autism acceptance is better. But autism appreciation is the best. :D
 

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