what are ur thoughts on the new netflix show ATYPICAL?
StarTrekker
Veteran
Joined: 22 Apr 2012
Age: 31
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,088
Location: Starship Voyager, somewhere in the Delta quadrant
I spent today watching all eight episodes of the first season, and honestly I liked it. It reminded me of Parenthood, but they spent more time focusing on the autistic kid, which was nice. I thought it was a pretty realistic portrayal of autism; a lot of Sam the protagonist's behaviour was similar to my own, and his meltdown in one episode wound me up a lot because I knew exactly how he felt; his meltdowns even look just like mine. I kind of wish there weren't so much side drama with the rest of the family, it felt unnecessary and detracted from Sam's part of the story, but apart from that I really enjoyed it.
_________________
"Survival is insufficient" - Seven of Nine
Diagnosed with ASD level 1 on the 10th of April, 2014
Rediagnosed with ASD level 2 on the 4th of May, 2019
Thanks to Olympiadis for my fantastic avatar!
I felt so empathetic for sam during the meltdown, it makes me tear up everytime, i really relate to sam too with his meltdowns!
_________________
Obsessing over Sonic the Hedgehog since 2009
Diagnosed with Aspergers' syndrome in 2012.
Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder Level 1 severity without intellectual disability and without language impairment in 2015.
DA: http://mephilesdark123.deviantart.com
Let me guess, you also thought he acted sexist and had no respect for women?
_________________
Son: Diagnosed w/anxiety and ADHD. Also academic delayed.
Daughter: NT, no diagnoses.
At first I did not like it. It seemed too stereotyped and cheesy. But I finally started to like it. I felt sorry for Julia and I wished there had been more closure between her and Sam's family. I wish they knew that Sam caused her relationship to unravel.
I could relate to certain aspects of Sam's nature, such as not liking light touches and preferring firm pressure, but it seemed like they crammed every symptom in one character. Other than that it was good.
Let me guess, you also thought he acted sexist and had no respect for women?
Not at all. He seemed like a horny teen. The thought of him being sexist never crossed my mind.
Let me guess, you also thought he acted sexist and had no respect for women?
Not at all. He seemed like a horny teen. The thought of him being sexist never crossed my mind.
Oh that's why you thought he was unlikable. I thought maybe you had the same thought as that one blogger online who also wrote about the show and how disappointed they were.
_________________
Son: Diagnosed w/anxiety and ADHD. Also academic delayed.
Daughter: NT, no diagnoses.
The Big Bang Theory. The Sheldon character obviously has some form of autism or A.S., but the people behind the show (like Chuck Lorre) will never admit to this because it could land them in a lot of trouble for deliberately making fun of a character simply because he is different and has a hard time understanding how the unwritten rules of society work. It's bigotry, pure and simple, despicable nerd blackface.
So no, it wouldn't necessarily be "cool", because it can seriously backfire (as it does with T.B.B.T.).
ASPartOfMe
Veteran
Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 34,491
Location: Long Island, New York
Yeah. I've never seen a TV show based on an autistic character, but it would be cool .
The Good Doctor will premiere on ABC three weeks from today (Sept 25)
_________________
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
meh, they tried.
that's commendable at least.
i wouldn't have watched it except for that my mom and sister wanted to watch it with me. i've only seen 3 episodes and i'm not super interested in seeing more on my own time, but i do think they tried to do right and they made it really accessible too. i am happy with it in that respect.
I agree with you, Kaybon, about Julia. It really irked me that Sam's parents don't even bother to teach him about what is and isn't appropriate. Like, when he broke into Julia's house in the first place, that was Sam's dad's responsibility to tell Julia what happened. I felt really badly for her, too, because she had a lot going on in her life, she lost her cool, but honestly, she had the right to lose her cool. That was a highly inappropriate thing that Sam did, and while he may not have known at the time that he did anything inappropriate, that was his parents' responsibility to teach him and to alert her! I didn't like how many times Sam's dad talked with her and didn't say anything. Julia was made out to be the bad guy when, really, she was the only one trying to teach Sam anything.
As for the emotionless special interests, I totally agree. That's why I connected more with Paige than with Sam, because she got all geeky excited about her passions.
I binged the whole thing. Like "Parenthood" I'm pretty sure this series is written so that people relate more to the families of the kid with autism. This whole isn't-my-life-hard-for-having-a-weird-kid trope bothers me a lot, honestly. I'm sure it's not the wonderful NT life, but it's not as bad as being the autistic person yourself, so stop whining! OMG! As comforting as these series may be to the NT community who has to deal with interacting with people on the spectrum, AS kids are going to watch and blame themselves for the unhappiness/breaking-up of their families!! ! That is not okay! The truth is that it's not their fault. If you have a fair-weather spouse, that is not the kid's fault. I think Hollywood needs a reality check on this.
I have started watching this yesterday, with my parents and sister. I knew beforehand what it was about and that it was a comedy, so the exaggeration of Sam's autistic traits and the unbelievably ridiculous situations didn't shock me at all; I was expecting them. And I had no problem with the kind of humor because I am often able to laugh about funny situations, mistakes and misunderstandings, even at my own.
I have only watched the first episode, but I mean to keep watching it. So far I have nothing to criticize about the ASD portrayal (yes, they gave Sam every possible autistic trait and then exaggerated them a bit, but that is the only way to help NTs understand it. Besides, it showed some things that not everybody knows, such as sensory issues and echolalia, and they managed to make Sam relatable, instead of portraying him as an emotionless robot, like some movies have.)
While I can't say I actually feel identified with Sam, there were some general things we have in common (aversion to light touch, special interests, taking some things literally, etc.) I think it will be a good show overall. However, I think we seriously need another one, or maybe a movie, about an autistic girl or woman, with less pronnounced traits. That would make autistic women feel more identified and it would help NTs recognize, understand and accept real autistic people.
_________________
Professionally diagnosed with PDD NOS as a child, but only told by my parents at the age of 21.
Autism Quotient: 30
Aspie quiz: 123/200 aspie; 75/200 NT
RAADS: 135
I binged watched Atypical and it was hilarious! I loved it! But... It wasn't the most accurate depiction of ASD. What do you expect though? At least the topic is getting more exposure these days. Plus, it was a good show nonetheless. However, I think the main issue was that Sam simply suffered TOO MANY of the commonly shared ASD/Asperger traits, that it felt a bit much... It's like they read a list of the common traits, and threw them all in to get the point across. But I'm sure some people on the spectrum related more closely too him. It is a spectrum after all.
_________________
"If the lessons of history teach us anything it is that nobody learns the lessons that history teaches us."
Similar Topics | |
---|---|
Netflix’s new Avatar the last airbender makes no sense |
06 Apr 2024, 5:38 pm |
Is G4 MLP a baby show? |
23 Apr 2024, 11:11 am |
What are your thoughts on PDA? |
Today, 6:44 pm |
What is your all-time favorite TV show? |
12 Apr 2024, 11:33 am |