"Since the 1980s and especially since the turn of the century, there has been increasing awareness of autism and its spectrum and how to recognize and understand what we now call neurodiversity. As this has happened in society, it has also happened in popular culture, with growing numbers of autistic characters, some even portrayed by autistic actors or created by autists behind the camera. Pomerance, who is autistic himself, and Palmer have assembled this collection to examine various portrayals of neurodiversity in films and television. The spectrum can be a tricky thing to portray, given that the condition is often more internal than evident and overt signs can descend into broad stereotyping. The contributors to the volume consider the various means by which autism has been expressed in films such as Rain Man, Mercury Rising, and Life Animated, and in television/streaming programs including Atypical, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Stranger Things, and Community. They also examine how the autist in these media is viewed and understood and in what ways they're accepted or marginalized, to show how the reception of these characters informs general societal treatment of or anxiety about autism"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.