10 Jan 2008, 4:34 am
10 Jan 2008, 4:49 am
10 Jan 2008, 5:05 am
10 Jan 2008, 5:29 am
27 Nov 2015, 1:39 am
I know this is really an old thread, but I was just thinking about this documentary recently and I agree 100% that Nicky's main problem is his parents. Allow me to vent, if I may. The few reviews I read online were favorable, and I knew someone had to feel the same way I did. It's been a while since I've watched the film, so bear with me.
His parents, IMO, played a significant role in how Nicky turned out, and they seem oblivious to it. They knew that their son had – among other problems – major social deficits and don't appear to have ever corrected any of his inappropriate behavior. They seemed to just let him do whatever he wanted because he was a "genius who spoke multiple languages fluently and can memorize dates, etc.". What are good are such skills if he not only can't find maintain employment, but appears to have trouble with basic grooming skills at 21? It's one thing for a developmentally delayed person to wait a little while to "catch up" maturity-wise before getting a job, but there's generally some type of training or preparation in the time leading up to that. Obviously, this never happened with Nicky. His mother seems shocked and saddened when he wants to know why he can't sit at home and watch his beloved TV all day instead of getting a job. Well, why wouldn't he? They allowed him to do just that for the first two decades of his life and suddenly, when he hits 21, decide that NOW is the time to start looking for employment.
His father seems amused that Nicky thinks that his mailroom job is going to be a big executive position like he sees on TV. Does he not find the fact that his 21-year-old son doesn't understand that television shows don't always reflect real life extremely troubling? Moreover, no one seems to talk to Nicky about the fact that he won't be working anywhere near the executives, they just seem to think it's cute. As far as the racial remark that likely got him fired, a reviewer on IMDB brought up the following point about the incident that I never thought of:
If one of the defining factors of Asperger Syndrome is the inability to relate to other people and/or to pick up social cues, then why would you allow a person, who is already at a disadvantage socially, to carry such inappropriate racial prejudices? I doubt that Nicky picked up his fear of "Blacks and Hispanics" from his own experiences, since it seems that most of his time was spent at home with his parents.
When a child ACTS upon a racial prejudice that has been picked up from a parent or family member, you hope that said family member can see how their own prejudicial feelings/thoughts/statements can have a real impact on the actions of their children.
And for a parent of a child with Asperger Syndrome, wouldn't that realization be ten-fold? They've not only passed on a prejudice to their child, but they've done it to a child who already has a difficult time relating to others and whose inner thoughts (no matter how bad) will not always remain subtly bottled up.
And this argument doesn't even deal with the fact that they've taught their child how to hate and fear others...something that child will be a victim of simply because of his/her mental condition.
I was shocked that the story of the racist comment and Nicky's subsequent termination (which was most likely spearheaded by this statement) was not explored. Other issues such as were looked at a lot more closely with even some prodding of Nicky to open up.
I don't think it helps that the parents are extremely wealthy and very well COULD take care of Nicky for the rest of his life. As such, there may not be much incentive for him to actually be independent since he has everything he wants and needs in his parents' home. I felt bad for his older sister because I truly believe that when their parents die, Nicky will basically fall into her and her family's lap. You could tell by the way she was talking to him at one point about his future that she isn't happy with her parents' coddling him.
And am I the only that rolled their eyes when Nicky's father said he saw his newborn son and said he looked like a "philosopher king"? The more I watched the film, it made me wonder if such bizarre statements my have fed into some of Nicky's eccentricities. Sort of like people who have kids who misbehave and justify it by saying things like "Oh, he/she's a gifted prodigy! That's how they express themselves!".
