Touch: Why Are We Obsessed With Autistic Kids Having Superpowers? Kiefer Sutherland’s new show Touch premieres this week, and the plot hinges on the “superpowers” of a non-neurotypical child Jake. Jake can predict the future, which is of course not only impossible, but dangerously stereotypical of autism spectrum disorders. Actually, “stereotypical” is the wrong word. “Bullshit” or “insulting” are closer to the word I am looking for. I am sure there will be plenty of the terrorist ass-kicking and 1,000-yard stare neo-MacGuyverism that Kiefer Sutherland has come to be known for, but is this really how we should portray autism on television, or anywhere? From io9: The danger here is that the autistic character could be akin to the “magical negro” or the “noble savage” in popular culture, says Steve Silberman, a frequent contributor to Wired who’s writing a book about autism to be published in 2013. Silberman explains that these are “… characters that were significantly disabled in a social sense, but who had a kind of innocence and purity that enabled them to play their central role in the narrative: that of redeeming the hero, who wasn’t disabled and was only temporarily an outcast. Those characters usually faded offscreen when the hero attained his rightfully high status in society; they were only valuable for what they could render unto the mainstream characters — very much like the gay “best friend” in a million TV shows who coaches the female lead on her romantic problems but never has a sex life of his own (“gross!”), or the fat girl who’s “like a sister” to the geeky-but-hot male lead.” (via io9)
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Touch: Why Are We Obsessed With Autistic Kids Having Superpowers?

Kiefer Sutherland’s new show Touch premieres this week, and the plot hinges on the “superpowers” of a non-neurotypical child Jake. Jake can predict the future, which is of course not only impossible, but dangerously stereotypical of autism spectrum disorders. Actually, “stereotypical” is the wrong word. “Bullshit” or “insulting” are closer to the word I am looking for.

I am sure there will be plenty of the terrorist ass-kicking and 1,000-yard stare neo-MacGuyverism that Kiefer Sutherland has come to be known for, but is this really how we should portray autism on television, or anywhere? From io9:

The danger here is that the autistic character could be akin to the “magical negro” or the “noble savage” in popular culture, says Steve Silberman, a frequent contributor to Wired who’s writing a book about autism to be published in 2013. Silberman explains that these are

“… characters that were significantly disabled in a social sense, but who had a kind of innocence and purity that enabled them to play their central role in the narrative: that of redeeming the hero, who wasn’t disabled and was only temporarily an outcast. Those characters usually faded offscreen when the hero attained his rightfully high status in society; they were only valuable for what they could render unto the mainstream characters — very much like the gay “best friend” in a million TV shows who coaches the female lead on her romantic problems but never has a sex life of his own (“gross!”), or the fat girl who’s “like a sister” to the geeky-but-hot male lead.”

(via io9)

Source: io9.com

181 Notes/ Hide

  1. ilovethevillain reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  2. takemetoponyisland reblogged this from thinksnake and added:
    People need to avoid awkward analogies.
  3. thinksnake reblogged this from jtotheizzoe and added:
    whole ‘Hey! You must have some superpower, yes? That means we don’t need...worry about...
  4. eldinire reblogged this from jtotheizzoe and added:
    Today in distressing TV show premises…
  5. mooglets reblogged this from itsdetachable
  6. fourtoedcreed reblogged this from ninestories
  7. zchyrs reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  8. gradstudentx reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  9. ashleynicole999 reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  10. rantsquotesandtruth reblogged this from malicesilver and added:
    Autism is not a superpower nor does it lead to them any more than any other mental problem does.
  11. jewelsbyjess reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  12. captain-sonic reblogged this from janeavrils
  13. janeavrils reblogged this from femmenoire
  14. chr0me reblogged this from writeblack
  15. thesixpennybook reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  16. johncoxpl0x reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  17. darziel reblogged this from myasphyxiatedmind
  18. myasphyxiatedmind reblogged this from itsdetachable
  19. ninestories reblogged this from jtotheizzoe and added:
    this io9 article was an interesting read.
  20. grrleconomist reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  21. teslagirl reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  22. fauve-paw reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  23. sunshinemymiddlename reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  24. justan0therrand0mpers0n reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  25. behavioralintervention reblogged this from jtotheizzoe and added:
    Because, it’s trendy? “autism” is a great keyword according to google.
  26. danschkade reblogged this from project-argus and added:
    Also, blind people can see into your soul. Did you know that? I bet you knew that.
  27. birdwithapeopleface reblogged this from jtotheizzoe

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