One of those rare (semi) serious posts I do occasionally so apologies in advance but thought I’d celebrate Autism Awareness Week (or as we call it a normal seven day period) by blatantly rehashing this handy (and quite small) print out and throw away guide to the best Spectrum-based cinema available.....enjoy!
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| 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.
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 quite a bit actually if I ever get around to finishing writing this.
And just in case you can't be arsed clicking the link then 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.
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.
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 detract from the overall comfyness 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.
But the most Autistic movie(s) of all time?
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 quite a bit actually if I ever get around to finishing writing this.
And just in case you can't be arsed clicking the link then 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.
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. |
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| No caption required. |
Oh, go on then....outside The Wizard of Gore remake.
And River's Edge.
or Willard.
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 detract from the overall comfyness 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.
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| "Ahead Spectrum factor one!" |
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.
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.
A lot.
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| 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.
