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‘Music’ film with nonverbal autistic lead, directed by Sia

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Whale_Tuune
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01 Jan 2021, 8:29 pm

Ugh, Sia... I liked you.

This reminds me of the first season of Atypical, the TV show that was all about giving us representation, except it included no one with the diagnosis in production, writing, directing or acting. :^) When Rahid finally included a few token actors in the second season, media acted like this was all her, when advocates had been tearing into her to do something about her lack of input since the 1st season came out.


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ASPartOfMe
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04 Jan 2021, 4:41 am

Sia says casting Maddie Ziegler in ‘Music’ over autistic actor was “nepotism”

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Sia has addressed her casting of Maddie Ziegler in her film Music again, describing the decision as “nepotism”.

Speaking on the Australian TV show The Sunday Project, Sia responded once again to the controversy surrounding the movie. “I realised it wasn’t ableism,” she said of her casting decision.

“I mean, it is ableism I guess as well, but it’s actually nepotism because I can’t do a project without her. I don’t want to. I wouldn’t make art if it didn’t include her.”

She went on to say she considered herself as Ziegler’s “bonus mum”. The pair have worked together for years, with Ziegler appearing in Sia’s music videos for ‘Chandelier’ and ‘Elastic Heart’, as well as live performances.

Sia added that Ziegler had expressed concern on the first day on set that viewers would think she was “making fun” of autistic people. “I bold-facedly said, ‘I won’t let that happen,’” explained the musician.

“Last week I realised I couldn’t really protect her from that, which I thought I could. We sent it off to the Child Mind Institute and she received 100 percent as performance accuracy. I realise that there are some things I can’t protect her from as much as I try.”


I can buy into the idea of casting Zeigler was nepotism. There has been a whole bunch of ableism since.


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Shahunshah
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04 Jan 2021, 9:15 am

ASPartOfMe wrote:
Sia says casting Maddie Ziegler in ‘Music’ over autistic actor was “nepotism”
Quote:
Sia has addressed her casting of Maddie Ziegler in her film Music again, describing the decision as “nepotism”.

Speaking on the Australian TV show The Sunday Project, Sia responded once again to the controversy surrounding the movie. “I realised it wasn’t ableism,” she said of her casting decision.

“I mean, it is ableism I guess as well, but it’s actually nepotism because I can’t do a project without her. I don’t want to. I wouldn’t make art if it didn’t include her.”

She went on to say she considered herself as Ziegler’s “bonus mum”. The pair have worked together for years, with Ziegler appearing in Sia’s music videos for ‘Chandelier’ and ‘Elastic Heart’, as well as live performances.

Sia added that Ziegler had expressed concern on the first day on set that viewers would think she was “making fun” of autistic people. “I bold-facedly said, ‘I won’t let that happen,’” explained the musician.

“Last week I realised I couldn’t really protect her from that, which I thought I could. We sent it off to the Child Mind Institute and she received 100 percent as performance accuracy. I realise that there are some things I can’t protect her from as much as I try.”


I can buy into the idea of casting Zeigler was nepotism. There has been a whole bunch of ableism since.


Sia already f****d up when she made the decision not to let an autistic person play the key role in the film. But honestly, since she already decided to cast Ziegler she shouldn't have then called "nepotism." If I was 18 and somebody said that about me in front of the world I would have felt pretty bloody humiliated.

Beyond all this, it sounds like Sia is getting all defensive, self-conscious and is just slam dunk missing the point at every turn. Who cares.



Shahunshah
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04 Jan 2021, 9:28 am

Whale_Tuune wrote:
Ugh, Sia... I liked you.

This reminds me of the first season of Atypical, the TV show that was all about giving us representation, except it included no one with the diagnosis in production, writing, directing or acting. :^) When Rahid finally included a few token actors in the second season, media acted like this was all her, when advocates had been tearing into her to do something about her lack of input since the 1st season came out.


I'm not sure to be honest if the thought even would have crossed Sia's mind. I wouldn't be surprised if she just thought to herself, who to cast? And then come to the conclusion, why not Ziegler I love her.

As for Atypical well what you said kinda reveals what the whole thing was all about. It is stuff meant to pull at people's heartstrings. Not much else to say.



ASPartOfMe
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04 Jan 2021, 11:44 am

Shahunshah wrote:
ASPartOfMe wrote:
Sia says casting Maddie Ziegler in ‘Music’ over autistic actor was “nepotism”
Quote:
Sia has addressed her casting of Maddie Ziegler in her film Music again, describing the decision as “nepotism”.

Speaking on the Australian TV show The Sunday Project, Sia responded once again to the controversy surrounding the movie. “I realised it wasn’t ableism,” she said of her casting decision.

“I mean, it is ableism I guess as well, but it’s actually nepotism because I can’t do a project without her. I don’t want to. I wouldn’t make art if it didn’t include her.”

She went on to say she considered herself as Ziegler’s “bonus mum”. The pair have worked together for years, with Ziegler appearing in Sia’s music videos for ‘Chandelier’ and ‘Elastic Heart’, as well as live performances.

Sia added that Ziegler had expressed concern on the first day on set that viewers would think she was “making fun” of autistic people. “I bold-facedly said, ‘I won’t let that happen,’” explained the musician.

“Last week I realised I couldn’t really protect her from that, which I thought I could. We sent it off to the Child Mind Institute and she received 100 percent as performance accuracy. I realise that there are some things I can’t protect her from as much as I try.”


I can buy into the idea of casting Zeigler was nepotism. There has been a whole bunch of ableism since.


Sia already f****d up when she made the decision not to let an autistic person play the key role in the film. But honestly, since she already decided to cast Ziegler she shouldn't have then called "nepotism." If I was 18 and somebody said that about me in front of the world I would have felt pretty bloody humiliated.

Beyond all this, it sounds like Sia is getting all defensive, self-conscious and is just slam dunk missing the point at every turn. Who cares.

Sia is f*****g up every time she opens her mouth about ‘Music’.

As far as Maddie Ziegler is concerned she is 18 years old and has been working with Sia long enough to know what Sia is about. She is old enough to decide if the negatives outweigh the considerable career benefits.


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04 Jan 2021, 12:15 pm

I hear she has faced some criticism for initially casting an autistic person for the autistic role, but then decided that was too hard and went with a neurotypical.

But not sure what to make of that...


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07 Jan 2021, 5:56 pm

Ziegler made a mistake agreeing to it, but I understand that at age 18 we are still very suggestible, especially with people who we look up to.

Sia. Please. Stop. Asking. Neurotypicals. About. Autism. Representation.

Thank you.


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cyberdad
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07 Jan 2021, 9:00 pm

Whale_Tuune wrote:

Sia. Please. Stop. Asking. Neurotypicals. About. Autism. Representation.

Thank you.


Unfortunately we NTs are gatekeepers so anything on autism she is going to ask an NT just like me as a parent has no choice but to ask NTs about my daughter.



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16 Jan 2021, 6:59 am

New Trailor


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16 Jan 2021, 9:46 pm

I've seen the movie, it came out this week in Aus.

It's understandable why Sia cast Ziegler for the role, as it involves two roles in one - the severely autistic non-verbal girl in the main narrative, and the accomplished dancer in the musical parts. I can see why it might have been hard to find someone suitable, and Ziegler actually does a great job in both parts.

I feel the criticisms of Sia were overblown, if not harmful to autistics in some ways - as it could have reduced or cancelled the screening of a movie with potential to increase understanding and acceptance of non-verbal autism.

My overall thoughts on the movie are mixed, there are aspects I liked and others I wasn't at all sure about, but that's another discussion. I'm just expressing that I think many were too quick to criticise. I know autism representation is important but at least people should watch the movie before drawing conclusions.



Whale_Tuune
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16 Jan 2021, 10:30 pm

I understand your reasoning. What did you think of the character's portrayal itself?


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17 Jan 2021, 6:38 am

The one thing that I can't stand is inspiration porn. Another thing that pisses me off is that Autism Speaks had to get themselves involved. When is Autism Speaks going to go away?


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17 Jan 2021, 6:58 am

Whale_Tuune wrote:
I understand your reasoning. What did you think of the character's portrayal itself?


Well... I'm hesitant to express a definite opinion as I don't have any experience with non-verbal autistics with whom to form a comparison. So I can only say that the portrayal seemed reasonable within my limited knowledge.

I got the impression of an autistic girl with a strong internal life and imagination (represented by the musical numbers), and who's been lucky enough to have had great support from the people around her, and to have a sunny disposition. But the movie did touch on downsides such as her reliance on routines, meltdowns and an instance of bed-wetting.

In many ways the movie centres on the half-sister Zu, and I've seen criticism that we are not seeing things from the point of view of the autistic character so much as from Zu. But I actually think that raises a really good talking point around the whole issue of how one can understand and portray the internal thoughts and feelings of a person who can't speak. And I appreciate that Sia was attempting to present Music's internal world with the musical numbers.

Hm. Writing the above has helped me decide what I thought of the movie. I think I liked the intent of it, overall.



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20 Jan 2021, 1:50 pm

This review was not particularly impressed: Music review – Sia’s controversial film about autism lacks coherence and authenticity



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21 Jan 2021, 6:39 am

Jiheisho wrote:
This review was not particularly impressed: Music review – Sia’s controversial film about autism lacks coherence and authenticity

I would expect a first film from somebody who never went to film school to suck. She probably thought because she has directed a lot of music videos she could make a full length film.


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“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


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21 Jan 2021, 8:04 am

ASPartOfMe wrote:
Jiheisho wrote:
This review was not particularly impressed: Music review – Sia’s controversial film about autism lacks coherence and authenticity

I would expect a first film from somebody who never went to film school to suck. She probably thought because she has directed a lot of music videos she could make a full length film.


In all fairness, these reviews are preemptive and have only been shown to a very small audience of critics. Knowing film critics they probably consider themselves woke, but are also are exposed to different perspectives and the criticisms people have of the film. When "Music" has its debut with the public I suspect that the reviews are gonna be a lot more positive, since the film will be able to appeal to people's sense of sentimentality.