Movie and TV characters with AS?

Post Reply New Topic

A new one I've decided on is Bret and Jemain from Flight of the Conchords. They both have flat expressions, are eccentric, childish, very socially naive, and very socially unsuccessful. I know of course that alot of that is for comedic value, but still I can't help but see a pattern. I especially relate to Bret. I love how he's always wearing all those dorky shirts with the animal pictures on them.

Hmmm,

Hermione - would take a strong argument to convince me. I think she's just NT nerdy.

Snape - maybe, now that I consider it.

Luna Lovegood - Total Aspie! A mirror image of me in school! I seriously wondered as I read the books if Rowling had AS specifically in mind? Wonder if one of us Potter Geeks has ever asked her in an interview?

I watched an old movie yesterday from 1971 "Harold and Maude". They may not have known what Asperger's or autism was back then, but they knew characters that had "it". Harold was definitely Aspie. Cool movie.

Also, Buster from "Arrested Development" is a good bet for Asperger's, too.

I thought that too about Harrold. I thought Maude could have been too, or mabe just eccentric with ADHD. But Harrold was 100%Aspie. I love his passive agressive sense of humor.

I'm not sure marrying a lesbian is an aspie trait. He does have some traits but I know many NTs who married a lesbian, and the woman herself doesn't always know that.
By the way, his sister Monica doesn't seem to be an AS but I'm sure she has OCD.

Tim Burton is AS? I hadn't heard that but it wouldn't surprise me.

Just got done watching Burton's version of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" for about the thousandth time. I'd say Burton/Depp's Willy Wonka is an excellent candidate - if over the top.

- Jo

I have noticed many of these same topics around, does it have to be live action TV or can it be animated?

Finch from American Pie

Single-D from Ed, Edd n Eddy

Rowley and Fregley in Diary Of A Wimpy Kid. Rowley always seems socially confused and anxious and likes to be very honest, and Fregley seems oblivious to most social cues and immature.

does anime count? If it does than i would say Hikigaya from My youth romantic comedy is wrong as I expected.

If anime counts then... Haruhi Suzumiya. Also, I can't help but feel like Chuckie Finster is autistic. I mean, he has the anxiety and odd phobias down packed for starters. He's also not the most social one of the bunch other than having Tommy and the others either. I've also noticed he isn't big on change, especially with the episode where he was trying to potty train. It took him a while to adjust to the very idea of it. I haven't seen Rugrats or All Grown Up in a very long time though.

I do relate to Chuckie a lot in terms of anxiety though.

Haruhi Suzumiya strikes me as having AS. Why? For starters, she's not big on social interaction. She doesn't understand what having 'friends' really means, even though she has Kyon, Yuki, Mikuru and Itsuki. She also has very narrow interests and seems to be into the abnormal stuff rather than what's considered everyday situations. She once dated a bunch of guys for like a day, and eventually told them she doesn't have time for any of it. She's also the bossy type and gets a kick out of ordering Kyon around.

I also think that if Yuki wasn't an alien, she'd also have AS. She's anti-social. Her only interest she has is reading any book she can, and she has a very flat, monotone voice. She's also someone I find to be very introverted as well.

Knowing that Dan Ackroyd has self identified as autistic, it's not difficult to interpret some of his films as having autistic themes.

The biggest example would be Coneheads. This is a movie about a family of alien immigrants living in America. It has bit appearances from two Seinfeld actors, so you know it's good. I haven't seen it for a while, but I think there were jokes about taking things literally. I think the main message of the film was that there is more than one sort of normal.

Dan Ackroyd also did a Dragnet spoof in the Eighties, and his Joe Friday seemed more autistic than the radio original. The two main traits he demonstrates are a monotone voice, obsessive following of rules both legal and moral, and a lack of flexible social skills.

You could see the Blues Brothers as being autistic. You could argue that the preference for sun-glasses and suits as evidence of sensory sensitivity, that their passion for the blues is a special interest, and that their overall odd manner is the result of a lack of social skills. I'm not convinced, though.

The nice thing about these films is that the plot is not focused on the main character trying to overcome their autism. In fact, their autistic tendencies are the only reason they get anything done.

Lol, that was really weird, but inexplicably hilarious

Nah....The Blues Brothers dressed that way because they thought it was "cool." They are the anti-Aspie.

Their lives involve either getting into trouble to prove their "coolness," or (when not in trouble)constantly trying to be and appear "cool."

Aspies either don't know, or don't care, whether something is "cool."

Wow, someone really mentioned him! Nice pick.