Spectrum Sinema: The Return.
It's that time of the year again where I drag this out for its annual airing.
Enjoy.
In those dreamy pre-Coronavirus days, I'd spend the time between drawing stuff for a living and wandering around meeting various folk to find out what they actually want me to draw (it keeps me off - well on - the streets I guess) I spend most of my time inanely blogging about films.
Now I just do that constantly obviously.
You can find my ramblings here but beware as it's frequently not safe for work according to Google.
And it's probably not safe to read at home too.
Especially if you care about the proper use of grammar.
Anyway thought I'd share one of the rare (semi) serious posts I do occasionally over there as it seems fairly relevant.
You see a few years back I got into a discussion with my partner in crime (and token NT person in the house*) Rho about how most films dealing with Autism are pretty turgid affairs full of struggle, heartache and defying the odds to live a meaningful 'normal' life and how, occasionally it'd be cool to see someone on the Spectrum "blow sh*t up".
After watching The Accountant I really should be more careful what I wish for.
After much chat, wine and more chat we came up with this handy (and quite small) print out and throw away guide to the best Spectrum-based cinema available that you may not have seen.
And more importantly not realised was actually Autism-centric.
DRIVE (2011) - Neo-noir thrills meet arthouse style in Nicolas Winding
Refn's high octane heist classic.
Ryan Gosling's uber-cool unnamed driver has become the unofficial hero of ASD in cinema, showing that characters on the Spectrum don't have to be geeky and freaky but can be not only super cool but 'a real human bean' too.....The Spectrum at it's sexiest.
It's pretty obvious really.
And it's also THE bluest** hued cinema of all time.
Especially the second one.
I could wax lyrical for hours as to the reasons for this but it's always easier to show than tell.
Not convinced?
Well here you go.
Suffice to say it's a fact, just accept it.
They should really just name it Trautism and have done with it.
Scarily enough tho' a few years back someone decided that what the world needed was a Tron Legacy/Star Trek The Motion Picture mash-up just to send the Autism levels off the scale.
In a good way that is.
And you can find this piece of cinematic perfection here.
Enjoy.
A special 'not really but could be' award goes to Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein's Freaks, which - without giving too much away - tells the story of Chloe, a 7 year old girl whose father forbids her from ever leaving the house - or from even looking outside their boarded-up windows - for fear of the people outside seeing her for what she really is.
A freak to be feared and ultimately destroyed.
Her days are spent being taught by her father how to pass for a 'normal' person in the hope that her differences aren't discovered, Chloe spends more and more time wanting to be a normal girl, playing with other children and eating ice cream from the dilapidated ice cream van that regularly stops outside her house.
Eventually building up the courage to defy her dad, Chloe escapes to join Mr. Snowcone the ice cream man on an journey where she will finally uncover the truth about her father and why he is so desperate to keep her hidden.
On the surface a real world superhero tale in the tradition of The X Men - but with untidy beards, Freaks does an amazing job of showing how Autistic folk use masking to fit in in an attempt to appear 'normal' (as NT folk would have it) - from the stares and comments encountered by Chloe in the outside world, the film is a perfect example of NT society writ large, obsessed as it is with fitting in and ultimately fearing anything different.
Trust me, it's great.
Just a word of advice when it comes to judging the Autistic merits of cinema in relation to the colour blue, beware of Blue Is The Warmest Colour, I came to it imagining a Kubrick-esque style Autistic film-fest and was shocked and surprised to find that it was, in fact totally neuro-typical in it's storytelling.
Tho' it did feature a couple of toothy French ladies having sex with each other.
A lot.
Oh yes and Craig Baldwin's Spectres of The Spectrum has absolutely sod all to do with Autism (tho' from the editing I'd like to think that there was a fair bit of it behind the camera) but is still worth a look if you like grainy stock footage cut into a rudimentary scifi-style plot.
And 1950's flying helmets.
*Yup it's true, the four of us have to cope with having a non-Autistic person in the house, it's really weird - she doesn't need a schedule, can eat what she likes and doesn't line the DVD collection up with a ruler.
Freak.
And where is the support group for us?
**Oh and for the record I like blue.
And red so get over it.
Enjoy.
In those dreamy pre-Coronavirus days, I'd spend the time between drawing stuff for a living and wandering around meeting various folk to find out what they actually want me to draw (it keeps me off - well on - the streets I guess) I spend most of my time inanely blogging about films.
Now I just do that constantly obviously.
You can find my ramblings here but beware as it's frequently not safe for work according to Google.
And it's probably not safe to read at home too.
Especially if you care about the proper use of grammar.
Anyway thought I'd share one of the rare (semi) serious posts I do occasionally over there as it seems fairly relevant.
You see a few years back I got into a discussion with my partner in crime (and token NT person in the house*) Rho about how most films dealing with Autism are pretty turgid affairs full of struggle, heartache and defying the odds to live a meaningful 'normal' life and how, occasionally it'd be cool to see someone on the Spectrum "blow sh*t up".
After watching The Accountant I really should be more careful what I wish for.
After much chat, wine and more chat we came up with this handy (and quite small) print out and throw away guide to the best Spectrum-based cinema available that you may not have seen.
And more importantly not realised was actually Autism-centric.
 |
| Swoon. |
Ryan Gosling's uber-cool unnamed driver has become the unofficial hero of ASD in cinema, showing that characters on the Spectrum don't have to be geeky and freaky but can be not only super cool but 'a real human bean' too.....The Spectrum at it's sexiest.
And with a cool coat to boot.
Talking of Ryan Gosling, between this, Blade Runner 2049 and Lars And The Real Girl he seems to be the go to actor in ‘The Hollywood’ for Autie-style action but the subtlest one must be LA LA LAND (2016) where Ryan plays an incredibly dreamy and uber talented Aspie guy named Sebastian who meets – and falls for - a ginger NT girl named Mia, teaching her single-minded determination and the history of jazz whilst in return she teaches him the neurotypical skill of heartbreak thru' the medium of song and dance.
DARK FLOORS (2008) - Finnish Eurovision stars Lordi write and star in probably the best Silent Hill adaptation ever made.
A creepy and kooky spookfest centering around Sarah, an Autistic girl residing in the decrepit St. Mary's Hospital.
When her concerned father attempts
to take her home he inadvertently drops her crayons and in the confusion
mixes the reds with the blue and yellow causing a portal to another
dimension to open leaving a ragtag group of patients and staff fighting
for their lives with only Sarah able to save them.
Luckily all the corridors are signposted.
BLADE RUNNER (1982) - What can you say about Ridley Scott's dystopian classic that hasn't been said before - and by much better folk than me?
Well how about the fact that the whole replicant plot (with it's quest to be 'human' - or even to be accepted by humans and it's "Voight-Kampff" empathy test among other things) can be seen as a metaphor for Autism.
The analysis/discussion on this goes much further but would take up an entire post on a blog much more intelligent than this one.
Tho' I'm in the middle of trying.
Oh yes and it's very blue, almost as blue as Thomas and Rainbow Dash forced into a blender and poured into a very blue glass.
MANHUNTER (1986) - Michael Mann's adaptation of Thomas Harris' Red Dragon features the first appearance of not only Hannibal Lecter (or Lektor as he's known here) but of top FBI criminal profiler Will Graham, better known now - and officially an Aspie - thanks to the Brian Fuller TV show 'Hannibal'.
Smart, sexy and quite possibly the second blue-est film ever made.
CHARLIE'S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE (2003) - McG's action
comedy sequel features the frankly magnificent (and undisputed king of the Spectrum) Crispin Glover as the
Aspie hair obsessed Thin Man in a role gratefully expanded from the original, probably his greatest
role outside 'Simon Says'.
Oh, go on then....outside The Wizard of Gore remake.
And River's Edge.
or Willard.
More up to date is Neasa Hardiman's Sea Fever which features an Aspie marine biology student - Siobhán - who has to endure a week on a ragged fishing trawler in order to complete her degree, much to her annoyance.
Her - and the crews - life is turned upside down tho' when a strange sub-aquatic life form ensnares the boat and slowly begins to infect members of the crew....
If scifi is more your thing then look no further than the light blue hued tones of everyone's favourite version of 2001: A Space Odyssey for kids - Star Trek The Motion Picture.
The cinematic equivalent of lying in a really well equipped sensory room ST:TMP (as folk call it) is so laid back and leisurely as to be almost horizontal with no distractingly bright colours (other than blue) to disturb from the overall comfiness of the film and any emotional responses you should have are helpfully cued by the gorgeous Jerry Goldsmith score.
It even has an overture to get you in the mood.
And as a plus point it wins out over the aforementioned Kubrick classic by having the decency to actually explain what happens at the films climax.
Proper genius.
And if you don't cry at the Enterprise flyby then you really are a freak.
And if Gialli tinged blood and sex is more your thing check out Nicolas Winding Refn's ode to clothes and probably THE greatest ASD fueled fantasy ever made that doesn't feature Replicants, Red Dragons or Ryan Gosling The Neon Demon.
DARK FLOORS (2008) - Finnish Eurovision stars Lordi write and star in probably the best Silent Hill adaptation ever made.
A creepy and kooky spookfest centering around Sarah, an Autistic girl residing in the decrepit St. Mary's Hospital.
 |
| Trigger. |
Luckily all the corridors are signposted.
BLADE RUNNER (1982) - What can you say about Ridley Scott's dystopian classic that hasn't been said before - and by much better folk than me?
Well how about the fact that the whole replicant plot (with it's quest to be 'human' - or even to be accepted by humans and it's "Voight-Kampff" empathy test among other things) can be seen as a metaphor for Autism.
 |
| "Hey Harrison..it looks like rain, man." |
The analysis/discussion on this goes much further but would take up an entire post on a blog much more intelligent than this one.
Tho' I'm in the middle of trying.
Oh yes and it's very blue, almost as blue as Thomas and Rainbow Dash forced into a blender and poured into a very blue glass.
MANHUNTER (1986) - Michael Mann's adaptation of Thomas Harris' Red Dragon features the first appearance of not only Hannibal Lecter (or Lektor as he's known here) but of top FBI criminal profiler Will Graham, better known now - and officially an Aspie - thanks to the Brian Fuller TV show 'Hannibal'.
Smart, sexy and quite possibly the second blue-est film ever made.
 |
| Stance. |
 |
| No caption required. |
Oh, go on then....outside The Wizard of Gore remake.
And River's Edge.
or Willard.
More up to date is Neasa Hardiman's Sea Fever which features an Aspie marine biology student - Siobhán - who has to endure a week on a ragged fishing trawler in order to complete her degree, much to her annoyance.
Her - and the crews - life is turned upside down tho' when a strange sub-aquatic life form ensnares the boat and slowly begins to infect members of the crew....
 |
| "Am I ginger?" |
If scifi is more your thing then look no further than the light blue hued tones of everyone's favourite version of 2001: A Space Odyssey for kids - Star Trek The Motion Picture.
The cinematic equivalent of lying in a really well equipped sensory room ST:TMP (as folk call it) is so laid back and leisurely as to be almost horizontal with no distractingly bright colours (other than blue) to disturb from the overall comfiness of the film and any emotional responses you should have are helpfully cued by the gorgeous Jerry Goldsmith score.
It even has an overture to get you in the mood.
And as a plus point it wins out over the aforementioned Kubrick classic by having the decency to actually explain what happens at the films climax.
Proper genius.
And if you don't cry at the Enterprise flyby then you really are a freak.
 |
| "Ahead Spectrum factor one!" |
And if Gialli tinged blood and sex is more your thing check out Nicolas Winding Refn's ode to clothes and probably THE greatest ASD fueled fantasy ever made that doesn't feature Replicants, Red Dragons or Ryan Gosling The Neon Demon.
There's a full review here but all you need to know is that it's the cinematic vision of what the whole damn world would be like if Leo Kanner's kids ruled it.
Think The X-Men but with tidier hair (and rooms) and you're halfway there.
See it or be terminally neurotypical for ever.
See it or be terminally neurotypical for ever.
But the most Autistic movie(s) of all time?
It's pretty obvious really.
And it's also THE bluest** hued cinema of all time.
Especially the second one.
I could wax lyrical for hours as to the reasons for this but it's always easier to show than tell.
Not convinced?
Well here you go.
Suffice to say it's a fact, just accept it.
They should really just name it Trautism and have done with it.
Scarily enough tho' a few years back someone decided that what the world needed was a Tron Legacy/Star Trek The Motion Picture mash-up just to send the Autism levels off the scale.
In a good way that is.
And you can find this piece of cinematic perfection here.
Enjoy.
A special 'not really but could be' award goes to Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein's Freaks, which - without giving too much away - tells the story of Chloe, a 7 year old girl whose father forbids her from ever leaving the house - or from even looking outside their boarded-up windows - for fear of the people outside seeing her for what she really is.
A freak to be feared and ultimately destroyed.
Her days are spent being taught by her father how to pass for a 'normal' person in the hope that her differences aren't discovered, Chloe spends more and more time wanting to be a normal girl, playing with other children and eating ice cream from the dilapidated ice cream van that regularly stops outside her house.
Eventually building up the courage to defy her dad, Chloe escapes to join Mr. Snowcone the ice cream man on an journey where she will finally uncover the truth about her father and why he is so desperate to keep her hidden.
On the surface a real world superhero tale in the tradition of The X Men - but with untidy beards, Freaks does an amazing job of showing how Autistic folk use masking to fit in in an attempt to appear 'normal' (as NT folk would have it) - from the stares and comments encountered by Chloe in the outside world, the film is a perfect example of NT society writ large, obsessed as it is with fitting in and ultimately fearing anything different.
Trust me, it's great.
Just a word of advice when it comes to judging the Autistic merits of cinema in relation to the colour blue, beware of Blue Is The Warmest Colour, I came to it imagining a Kubrick-esque style Autistic film-fest and was shocked and surprised to find that it was, in fact totally neuro-typical in it's storytelling.
Tho' it did feature a couple of toothy French ladies having sex with each other.
A lot.
 |
| Fancy trainers not shown. |
Oh yes and Craig Baldwin's Spectres of The Spectrum has absolutely sod all to do with Autism (tho' from the editing I'd like to think that there was a fair bit of it behind the camera) but is still worth a look if you like grainy stock footage cut into a rudimentary scifi-style plot.
And 1950's flying helmets.
 |
| Hel-met. |
*Yup it's true, the four of us have to cope with having a non-Autistic person in the house, it's really weird - she doesn't need a schedule, can eat what she likes and doesn't line the DVD collection up with a ruler.
Freak.
And where is the support group for us?
**Oh and for the record I like blue.
And red so get over it.
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