Do Autists Dream of Electric Sheep?

Well Blade Runner fans we made it!

Yup, the movie is no longer science fiction seeing as from today it's set right here right now.

Well it;s only really right here if you're reading this in Los Angeles but you know what I mean.

Anyway thought that was as good a reason as any to repost this plus if enough folk leave me nice comments it may be the boot up the arse I need to finish it.

Nothing like hinting for (faint) praise is there?

Well at least I'm honest.








A while back I submitted an academic paper on the fun filled idea of Ridley Scott's classic Blade Runner (1982) being the most Autistic movie ever made.

Yes, I know I need to get out more.

Anyway, turns out that although the folk concerned liked it the whole thing didn't really fit in with the conference in general so unfortunately couldn't be presented.

Me not fitting in? Imagine that!

To be honest tho' I've enjoyed the research and groundwork so much that I'm tempted to continue with it and see what happens.

And most importantly they didn't tell me it was utter rubbish and to just stick to the wee drawings which was nice!

So to that end here's a sneak peek at the introduction.





Do Autists Dream of Electric Sheep?





I was always told that it's best to start as you mean to go on, so to that end, let me begin by saying that Blade Runner is, most definitely an Autistic (of which more later) - as well as artistic obviously movie and whilst it's true that Blade Runner features absolutely no characters actually identified as having Autism spectrum disorder - but lets be honest barely any of the characters featured are actually human - it's a fact that every character on screen at some point displays recognizably Autistic traits.



The trick is how to look for them and where to see them.



And all without the aid of our own personal Voight-Kampff machines.



To do this you have to acknowledge that the usual cinematic portrayal of Autism in films such as Rain Man (Barry Levinson, 1988), The Accountant (Gavin O'Connor, 2016) or Please Stand By (Ben Lewin, 2017) are on the whole usually made with a majority Neuro-typical audience in mind, the experiences of any Autistic character shown firmly from the point of view of those who are non-autistic.



And usually solely for the purpose of the Neuro-typical character to be able to grow and become a better person by the films climax.



But Blade Runner doesn't go that route.



Blade Runner is different.



But before we go any further a quick idea of what we mean by Autistic may be useful, according to the National Autistic Society Autism is defined as:



Autism is a lifelong, developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with and relates to other people, and how they experience the world around them.



And just to shake it up a bit the definition of a Replicant is:



A genetically engineered creature composed entirely of organic substance designed to look and act like a human being but lacking in empathy.



And it's this issue of empathy that is the most important theme of the movie as far as seeing it through an Autistic eye is concerned for as much as the films characters use this as a way to 'judge' replicants in reality the neuro-typical community too uses this vague notion to  judge, explain and sometimes marginalize members of the autistic community.



And it's the theme of marginalization, social exclusion and sometimes just blind prejudice that are not only at the films core but issues that affect autistic people every single day.

It even features in the Voight-Kampff machine a test that, when the science fiction trappings are removed is similar to the methods and questions used to diagnose ASD.

But surely it’s not just a – dreaded - sense of the familiar that has made Blade Runner into such a defining film for the neuro-diverse film-going fan?




More to come if anyone's interested.

Comments

  1. Yes. The sub plot of alienation. Dick said he hated the replicants because they did not feel emotionally. The Voight Kampff machine tests for NT responses. Leon can be seen to be struggling at the start to feel things. His eyes bulge. Later, Rachel is defiant in the face of her very humanity being challenged. More human than human?

    You can see it in Roy as he relates to JF Sebastian. The childish behaviour Pris and Roy seem to manifest. Roy stands in the lift, facing his mortality. He is challanged in his expereinces. What does he feel, he seems to ponder. how do I face inevitable death?

    Finally, autistic empathy kicks in and he saves a fellow slave. Deckard.

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