Hey Look Guys, More Types of Stereos! (That's What It Means, right?)

Welcome back to the Audacious Aspie, where today we continue to look at stereotypes of LD...in the movies! We’re going to hollywood people! (metaphorically). I see these things as a post of healing, we look at the harmful things some people say about us, analyze the inaccuracies of them, and have a good laugh (Everyone should do something like this, even the KKK and Neo-Nazis. But they'd probably just get angry and rant about it some more). In any case, let's move along shall we?

 

The victim: We are helpless people, unable to change or do anything other than cry for help (think lost kittens in the woods hoping to not die that instant). Or, we can be people that the audience is supposed to sympathize with (think of those same kittens but now a metaphor for the characters situation...who is also hoping to not die that instant). Or it can be used for a comedic thing (not the dying part, unless it's a dark comedy a really dark comedy with/about kittens).

 

Now who would want to see these cute little guys die? My money’s on the Brits.

 

The hero: conversely, we we can also be portrayed as someone who proves our worth (yes, you read that right) by overcoming any and all obstacles...namely our disability (you also read that right. If that ain’t ableism, than you, me and the duck/phone beside me are secretly millionaires). Also known as the Supercrip; someone who “conform to the individual model by overcoming their disability and becoming more normal” (Paragraph 3). You can see the...did you even read this far? You-(sighs), you're still fascinated/disturbed that I have a duck/phone, aren't you. Look ,this is an important topic try to keep up.

 

Or, and let's be honest, this is pretty popular and not just in movies, the villain: Now, I’m not saying that we can be evil. Heck, I’d argue that those with LD and other disabilities can be more Saw-like, Freddy Kruger-like or Michael Whatnot-like, than most people when it comes to video games (if Hollywood star’d a hero that acted like us in a video game, it’d get pulled for advertising murder, explosions, and being a sick, sick person). But I think we can all agree that it’d be nice to see the good guy, or any good guy, be someone with disabilities more than once in awhile. At least make us anti-heroes-heroes, the cool good guys.

 

 

You know what they had under the caption of villains? Super man. Just, Super man. Maybe it’s the fact that he wears some red, bloody commie.

 

So, let’s do the comparison: we are, to put it bluntly, poorly educated (Trump loves us) either by virtue or other means. Compensation possible: we can be smart, but we need to work harder, or we take longer, or we need more time, or etc. Processing deficit: we’ll always be slow, we don’t have to be challenged as much, we will never be academically high achievers. Basically we’re stupid and should be treated as much.

 

But: we know how to work the system. We lie, we never try, and we ask for special privileges. Kind runs counter to us being stupid eh?. But that’s just the real life stereotypes, now let’s compare hollywood stereotypes. We are the victim: we are helpless, weak and in constant need of saving. Best we can hope for is to be a martyr for the hero, but even that requires some courage.

 

But: we are also the hero/supercrip: of course our main villain is our own disability rather than someone trying to destroy the world. Best leave that to the professionals. Or, we can be the villain: because we are smart? Nope. Because we are devious, wily and deceitful, like the real life stereotype? Nope. Because we are disabled, and therefore inherently criminally insane and outcasts? Is there any other reason.    

 

Gotta admit though, at least we look cool doing...wait, Ronald Mcdonald? My god, they were right all along.

 

And that, my friends, is how society, (real and fictional) see us as. Stupid lazy deceivers who are at once both the victim, hero and villain in the movies. Hey, no one accused them of being intelligent. Maybe if they learned to work the system like we do. Or be anti-heroes-heroes. While you're trying to wrap your heads around that, this continues to be the Audacious Aspie.     

 

Sources used:

http://mediasmarts.ca/diversity-media/persons-disabilities/common-portrayals-persons-disabilities

http://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1141&context=honors-theses