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Sheldon Cooper. Aspie, or offensive parody?

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crystal20
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10 Dec 2015, 2:41 am

I never watch that Show...



PwoperNereguar
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12 Jan 2016, 3:19 am

You guys should look stuff up before commenting. The showrunners didn't have any inspirations from disabilities while writing him, and said that they don't know enough about Aspergers to write an Aspergers character. It can't POSSIBLY be an offensive parody if they aren't trying to write Aspergers. The only person who thinks Sheldon has Aspergers is Parsons, who doesn't write the character.



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12 Jan 2016, 12:28 pm

PwoperNereguar wrote:
You guys should look stuff up before commenting. The showrunners didn't have any inspirations from disabilities while writing him, and said that they don't know enough about Aspergers to write an Aspergers character. It can't POSSIBLY be an offensive parody if they aren't trying to write Aspergers. The only person who thinks Sheldon has Aspergers is Parsons, who doesn't write the character.


The actor who plays Leonard had originally recognized the Sheldon character as being an undiagnosed Aspie, and then in turn told Parsons.


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12 Jan 2016, 2:15 pm

Kraichgauer wrote:
PwoperNereguar wrote:
You guys should look stuff up before commenting. The showrunners didn't have any inspirations from disabilities while writing him, and said that they don't know enough about Aspergers to write an Aspergers character. It can't POSSIBLY be an offensive parody if they aren't trying to write Aspergers. The only person who thinks Sheldon has Aspergers is Parsons, who doesn't write the character.


The actor who plays Leonard had originally recognized the Sheldon character as being an undiagnosed Aspie, and then in turn told Parsons.

Maybe so, but the creators said that any link between Sheldon and a disability isn't correct, because to avoid getting it wrong, they didn't base him on any disability. Dan Harmon did the opposite with Community. As soon as the connection between Abed and Aspergers were brought to his attention, he looked up everything he could, realised he had Aspergers, and then made sure Abed wasn't offensive in any way he could think. I don't think there's a problem with either of these views. As long as the creator isn't writing a character based on a disability and missing the mark completely, I'm fine with it.



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12 Jan 2016, 4:44 pm

PwoperNereguar wrote:
Kraichgauer wrote:
PwoperNereguar wrote:
You guys should look stuff up before commenting. The showrunners didn't have any inspirations from disabilities while writing him, and said that they don't know enough about Aspergers to write an Aspergers character. It can't POSSIBLY be an offensive parody if they aren't trying to write Aspergers. The only person who thinks Sheldon has Aspergers is Parsons, who doesn't write the character.


The actor who plays Leonard had originally recognized the Sheldon character as being an undiagnosed Aspie, and then in turn told Parsons.

Maybe so, but the creators said that any link between Sheldon and a disability isn't correct, because to avoid getting it wrong, they didn't base him on any disability. Dan Harmon did the opposite with Community. As soon as the connection between Abed and Aspergers were brought to his attention, he looked up everything he could, realised he had Aspergers, and then made sure Abed wasn't offensive in any way he could think. I don't think there's a problem with either of these views. As long as the creator isn't writing a character based on a disability and missing the mark completely, I'm fine with it.


But that's the thing, I think. Because the producers didn't want to offend anyone, they never utter the word Asperger's, but as Sheldon is loosely based on a real person obviously who was on the spectrum, I think they knew what they were doing when they created the character.


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13 Jan 2016, 9:23 am

Kraichgauer wrote:
PwoperNereguar wrote:
Kraichgauer wrote:
PwoperNereguar wrote:
You guys should look stuff up before commenting. The showrunners didn't have any inspirations from disabilities while writing him, and said that they don't know enough about Aspergers to write an Aspergers character. It can't POSSIBLY be an offensive parody if they aren't trying to write Aspergers. The only person who thinks Sheldon has Aspergers is Parsons, who doesn't write the character.


The actor who plays Leonard had originally recognized the Sheldon character as being an undiagnosed Aspie, and then in turn told Parsons.

Maybe so, but the creators said that any link between Sheldon and a disability isn't correct, because to avoid getting it wrong, they didn't base him on any disability. Dan Harmon did the opposite with Community. As soon as the connection between Abed and Aspergers were brought to his attention, he looked up everything he could, realised he had Aspergers, and then made sure Abed wasn't offensive in any way he could think. I don't think there's a problem with either of these views. As long as the creator isn't writing a character based on a disability and missing the mark completely, I'm fine with it.


But that's the thing, I think. Because the producers didn't want to offend anyone, they never utter the word Asperger's, but as Sheldon is loosely based on a real person obviously who was on the spectrum, I think they knew what they were doing when they created the character.


Apparently they only found out what Aspergers was after people started bringing it up. It's clear that they had no disability in mind, because Sheldon has plenty of traits that could be applied to plenty of disabilities. People seem to be TRYING to apply Aspergers to him just to be allowed to be offended. The reason it doesn't seem like a good representation of Aspergers is because it isn't a representation of Aspergers.



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13 Jan 2016, 6:14 pm

PwoperNereguar wrote:
Kraichgauer wrote:
PwoperNereguar wrote:
Kraichgauer wrote:
PwoperNereguar wrote:
You guys should look stuff up before commenting. The showrunners didn't have any inspirations from disabilities while writing him, and said that they don't know enough about Aspergers to write an Aspergers character. It can't POSSIBLY be an offensive parody if they aren't trying to write Aspergers. The only person who thinks Sheldon has Aspergers is Parsons, who doesn't write the character.


The actor who plays Leonard had originally recognized the Sheldon character as being an undiagnosed Aspie, and then in turn told Parsons.

Maybe so, but the creators said that any link between Sheldon and a disability isn't correct, because to avoid getting it wrong, they didn't base him on any disability. Dan Harmon did the opposite with Community. As soon as the connection between Abed and Aspergers were brought to his attention, he looked up everything he could, realised he had Aspergers, and then made sure Abed wasn't offensive in any way he could think. I don't think there's a problem with either of these views. As long as the creator isn't writing a character based on a disability and missing the mark completely, I'm fine with it.


But that's the thing, I think. Because the producers didn't want to offend anyone, they never utter the word Asperger's, but as Sheldon is loosely based on a real person obviously who was on the spectrum, I think they knew what they were doing when they created the character.


Apparently they only found out what Aspergers was after people started bringing it up. It's clear that they had no disability in mind, because Sheldon has plenty of traits that could be applied to plenty of disabilities. People seem to be TRYING to apply Aspergers to him just to be allowed to be offended. The reason it doesn't seem like a good representation of Aspergers is because it isn't a representation of Aspergers.


Regardless, Sheldon is still a brilliant, accomplished scientist who is learning to cope with the NT world, and even is in a romantic relationship now. He is a positive character all us Aspies can appreciate, even if the intention was never to have put him on the spectrum.


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Anneliese
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16 Jan 2016, 7:07 pm

I love his character, some things about him remind me of people I know and some things he says and does are things I can relate to myself, even if his reactions are more extreme!



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09 Apr 2016, 4:47 am

Offense Parody, they continue to push the annoying traits yet don't give any light that Aspies can change for the better...they stick to the same formula and its like he has no progress for himself...


I prefer Communities Abed :)



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09 Apr 2016, 1:47 pm

kaiouti wrote:
Offense Parody, they continue to push the annoying traits yet don't give any light that Aspies can change for the better...they stick to the same formula and its like he has no progress for himself...


I prefer Communities Abed :)


Actually, Sheldon has changed for the better, as his relationship with Amy has become intimately physical.


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17 Apr 2016, 10:21 am

Kraichgauer wrote:
Actually, Sheldon has changed for the better, as his relationship with Amy has become intimately physical.


I beg to differ!

In the first couple of seasons, Sheldon did come off as your typical Aspie genius, with quirks many of us can relate to.

In the later seasons, he increasingly comes off as just a child in a grown man's body. I feel like the writers of later seasons don't really understand Sheldon (or any character from the series) as well as the writers of the first couple of seasons.

So, I'd argue that the character did start out as a relatable Aspie but gradually started turning into what might be considered an offensive parody.



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17 Apr 2016, 3:33 pm

They based the characters on a group of people as a whole. Face it, Scientists and Scientific academics are, by nature and cliched definition, quirky, absent minded, socially awkward and just 'different.' And, everything is an extreme version of everything. The loser comic book store owner, the comic book geeks who can't get girls. The tiny woman who is a lion and roars quite a lot, the Jewish manchild still living at home with his mother, the distant mother, the loving religious mother.....they are all extremes.

I have appreciated the show because I found things through him and other characters that resonated with me. They have specified the OCD in Sheldon in the series and he's a hoarder and he's tricky too when he wants something. He can lie like you wouldn't believe when it suits his purpose, even though there have been more than one story line that involved his inability to lie. The OCD was developed during the first season because he did not knock 3 times, every time in the beginning.

If it resonates positively with Auties and Aspies (I really don't know if there is a difference nomenclature-wise), then good. If it helps bring a positive awareness, then good.

I don;t think they portray anybody negatively. They just play upon extremes of things. All the NTs are just as doofy in their own way.

Ka-CHING ya blinky bastards!!


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22 Apr 2016, 12:56 pm

From Paley Festival Recap ‘09: THE BIG BANG THEORY:

Quote:
The origins of Sheldon: “Before I was a writer I was a computer programmer and was working with guys who were amazingly bright and had a little trouble fitting into the world, me among them. I would tell Chuck [Lorre] about a guy I knew who was a human calculator. If you programmed in Z80 assembly you had to convert from decimal to hexadecimal and you could either grab the calculator or you could shout it to this guy and he would be faster. But he couldn’t calculate a tip at a restaurant. And the reason is because the formula for a tip is 15-20% depending upon the quality of the service and he couldn’t put a numeric value on the service. It was human.”



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02 May 2016, 4:58 pm

One time I took a personality test related to the characters of big bang theory and it said I was like Sheldon o-o I never had anyone tell me that I was like him directly but my ex(at the time boyfriend) said that it wasn't exactly a good thing so I didn't know how to react to it.



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27 Jun 2020, 11:45 pm

I can't understand why people like him. Somebody literally told me to study psychology and that it would enlighten me that anyone as smart as Sheldon would act like him. This was after I said the writers weren't consistent because in some episodes he may be autistic (early in the show), but otherwise he's just a sociopath.
I'll give you an example.

Leonard: I did something bad.
Sheldon: Does it concern me?
Leonard: No...
Sheldon: Then suffer in silence.

If people still think he isn't a sociopath after almost getting Leonard killed on that highway, not caring about the fact Leonard "almost died" (in Leonard's words, and yes, Sheldon REALLY did this once), I can't understand them. I haven't yet told them I was autistic, and that's why the Sheldon character pisses me off so much (actually, one of the reasons), so maybe that'll shut them up.

People say that autistic people like him. Well, the news didn't reach this particular autistic person, who can see that the MOST consistent thing about his character is how much of a jackass he is.



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28 Jun 2020, 2:01 am

2007kid wrote:
People say that autistic people like him. Well, the news didn't reach this particular autistic person, who can see that the MOST consistent thing about his character is how much of a jackass he is.


The creators of the Big Bang have said Sheldon is not on the autism spectrum

However, actor Jim Parsons (who plays Sheldon) has mentioned how his character shows some Asperger-like characteristics. Symptoms include finding it hard to understand and relate to others, and Sheldon does find it difficult to sympathise with other characters.

Parsons who is not autistic has expressed his own opinions based primarily on fan feedback rather than his knowledge of autism (it should be noted that actors who portray autism usually do background research, this was never required from Parsons so it is inaccurate to claim Sheldon's character is representative of somebody on the spectrum).