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PODCAST

Autism Through Cinema

Autism Through Cinema

Investigating autistic presence and expression on film and TV. We push beyond the obvious and seek out autistic themes and concerns in films from across the cinematic spectrum. We consider the ethics of performing autism, while also celebrating the autistic pleasures offered by the camerawork and the soundscapes. We delve into the works of cult directors who have hit upon an autistic way-of-seeing, perhaps without ever intending to. We entertain new possibilites for re-thinking beloved films in a

arts visual arts

All Episodes

01:07:29

Mary and Max (2009) dir. Adam Elliot, & Pixar shorts...

Autism Through Cinema ·

2021/10/01

In this very animated episode, the team turn their attention to a pair of SparkShorts from Pixar that deal directly with autistic experience; Float (2019) by Bobby Rubio, and Loop (2020) by Erica Milsom. Followng this, they pull apart the imagery, metaphors and characters of Adam Elliot's stop-motion feature length film Mary and Max (2009). They consider what animated film can do for the depiction of autism that is not as easily acheived in live-action, while also debating the ethics of working in

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01:06:52

Keep the Change (2017) dir. Rachel Israel

Autism Through Cinema ·

2021/09/17

We've addressed concerns in past episodes about autistic characters being portrayed by non-autistic actors. Well here, with Rachel Israel's romantic drama Keep the Change, we get the opportunity to enjoy a film with a predominantly autistic cast. Brandon Polansky plays David, an aspiring filmmaker whose life takes an unexpected turn when he's assigned a partner from his Community Centre workshop in the form of the vivacious and energetic Sarah, played by Samantha Elisofon. We find the presence of

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01:19:07

Temple Grandin (2010) dir. Mick Jackson

Autism Through Cinema ·

2021/09/03

In Mick Jackson's TV film Temple Grandin, Claire Danes shines in the title role, portraying one of the world's most famous autistic women. Temple is shown to be a formidable force of nature as she takes on the professors of her college, and the workers of the feedlot where she will eventually design her famous cattle chute system. We discuss how the film makes use of animation techniques to offer a visualisation of Temple's way of 'thinking in pictures', although we reserve concerns that this may

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01:08:53

Orlando (1992) dir. Sally Potter

Autism Through Cinema ·

2021/08/20

The podcast takes a queer turn as we link up with Sally Potter and Tilda Swinton and Virginia Woolf through Potter's exuberent time-bending period drama, Orlando. We enjoy the film's take on the artifice of society, which we connect with the autistic way of viewing the often nonsensical neurotypical world. Swinton's intimate fourth-wall-breaking gaze befriends the autistic viewer in a wry nod of collaboration, but also evokes the spectre of eye-contact which has such an emblematic status in the

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01:07:39

Eraserhead (1977) & The Grandmother (1970) dir. David...

Autism Through Cinema ·

2021/08/06

This week, Georgia can barely contain her excitement about making us watch not one but two David Lynch films. We get up close with the angst-ridden Henry of Lynch's debut feature film Eraserhead while taking a brief detour through his earlier short film 'The Grandmother' from 1970. We wonder whether Lynch is contrary for the sake of being contrary, or if there's some deeper expression of divergence going on in his weird and wonderful worlds. We enjoy both films for their take on the idea of 'matter

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01:14:00

Cat People (1942) dir. Jacques Tourneur

Autism Through Cinema ·

2021/07/23

We welcome special guest PhD student Ethan Lyon to the podcast, who brings along the 1942 horror classic Cat People for our scrutiny. Starring Simone Simon in the lead role, this moody horror noir folows Serbian immigrant Irena who believes herself to be a descendant of an ancient tribe of persecuted people who metamophorsize into bloodthirsty panthers when aroused. Ethan asks us to consider whether Irena might be understood through the lens of autism as a societal outsider who struggles with a

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01:00:04

Under the Skin (2013) dir. Jonathan Glazer

Autism Through Cinema ·

2021/07/09

A sci-fi film, based on Michel Faber’s novel and set in Glasgow, follows Scarlet Johansson as a nameless alien recently arrived on earth to prey on men and harvest their organs. The discussion considers whether Johansson’s character offers an outsider’s view of neurotypicality that is close to that of autism, looking on at a world of perplexing social rituals of seduction and consumption, or whether a suggested affinity between autism and a character who is alien is problematic. Also debated are the

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59:24

The Gleaners and I (2000) dir. Agnes Varda

Autism Through Cinema ·

2021/06/25

Varda’s film explores the history and contemporary practices of gleaning (picking up leftovers after the act of harvesting), putting digression at the centre of its approach. Following wherever intuition and coincidence lead, the film becomes a non-linear accumulation of stories and objects. The discussion considers whether Varda is a trickster figure in her style of striking up ‘stranger familiarity’, and whether it is a film of peripheral outsiders or a display of how different people are

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53:14

Pi (1998) dir. Darren Aronofski

Autism Through Cinema ·

2021/06/11

Aronofsky’s first feature film is discussed in terms of its closeness to autistic meltdown, an affect that appears rarely in film, driven by the character’s fascination with patterns, a propensity for maths as the language of the universe and a magical number. Computers feature heavily in the film, debated as either a potentially problematic alliance between autism and automatism, or possibly autistic attention to the material world and its many capacities. The film’s ending proves controversial:

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45:26

The Rider (2017) dir. Chloe Zhao

Autism Through Cinema ·

2021/05/28

The discussion of Chloé Zhao’s second feature film addresses the fine line between fact and fiction with actors playing themselves. We debate whether autistic sister Lily (Lily Jandreau) is the only free character in this western set in the badlands of South Dakota, resistant to the demands of the hyper-masculine patriarchal world of rodeo and refusing the trappings of femininity by cutting up a bra her father buys her. There’s also debate about whether difference is drafted into the film as story

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01:11:24

Good Time (2017) dir. The Safdie Brothers, & Music...

Autism Through Cinema ·

2021/05/14

Can non-autistic actors play autistic characters motivates this discussion which takes as its focus the Safdie brothers’ film Good Time, and references Sia’s Music along the way. The problematic performance of a learning disability in Music is considered in its reductive and child-like presentation. We discuss whether Nick in Good Time, a character with a learning disability played by Ben Safdie, can offer something more positive as a vehicle for exploring autistic meltdowns and masking. Or is he,

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01:17:33

Punch-Drunk Love (2002) dir. Paul Thomas Anderson

Autism Through Cinema ·

2021/05/07

Adam Sandler’s intensity as a character and actor garners much love in this discussion of autism, comedy and romance. The relationship of the neurodivergent character with his neurotypical siblings is discussed in terms of its pain and discomfort, and the character’s romantic relationship as an antidote to this. The character’s chaos meets a certain otherness in Emily Watson’s character, perhaps her Englishness featuring as Other. The discussion debates whether the film sets and colour palette, and

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03:00

Autism Through Cinema: Preview

Autism Through Cinema ·

2021/05/07

Welcome to the Autism Through Cinema podcast!

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