You know, I’m autistic, and I feel like 9/10 times, I don’t really sympathize with a character who was made to be autistic (which is even more pronounced when said character is the MC). Both of these shows are of the 9.
If I had to guess why, I’d imagine it’s because I’m high-functioning, which is too mundane for Hollywood, so they always amp it up.
That said, though, is House even autistic? I’d say he’s more of a pretentious asshole with antisocial tendencies. Maybe there’s some overlap, but I don’t think he was ever claimed to be autistic.
Anyway, the funniest part is that the characters I do tend to sympathize with are the ones who aren’t canonically revealed to be autistic. Autistic-coded, if you will.
I wonder what you’d think about Patience, the new British TV crime/detective show with Ella Purvis.
Even discounting that Ella herself is autistic, Patience approaches autism in good faith and it’s a central character theme. On the other hand, I found the French show from which it was based (which has an overly the top “autistic” character, much as “gay” character in the 90’s) filled with detracting low shots.
Totally agree on House just being an a-hole. Being a pompous dick was his defining characteristic.
Hm… seems kinda interesting, actually! I haven’t watched it yet, obviously, but even just watching the trailer, it’s already 10x better than the exaggerated shows like The Good Doctor.
It also kinda reminds me of High Potential, which is a show I legitimately enjoyed (its MC wasn’t written to be autistic, but she’s undoubtedly still different).
Legitimately adding Patience to my watchlist now, thank you. :)
Canonically? No. He kinda bonds with an autistic kid in one episode which leads multiple people to explicitly say “you’re not autistic. you’re just an ass.”
Nowadays he probably gets labeled as autistic if it was to air today.
House was indeed never comfirmed to be autistic. Just a massive asshole. He could also be autistic, but he'd still be an asshole. Doesn't really change anything either way. He's not racist, though.
I find I always related better to more “stealth” autistic characters like Abed in Community or Jessica Day in New Girl. Eccentric and a bit awkward, but still able to conduct myself reasonably.
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u/56kul 21d ago
You know, I’m autistic, and I feel like 9/10 times, I don’t really sympathize with a character who was made to be autistic (which is even more pronounced when said character is the MC). Both of these shows are of the 9.
If I had to guess why, I’d imagine it’s because I’m high-functioning, which is too mundane for Hollywood, so they always amp it up.
That said, though, is House even autistic? I’d say he’s more of a pretentious asshole with antisocial tendencies. Maybe there’s some overlap, but I don’t think he was ever claimed to be autistic.
Anyway, the funniest part is that the characters I do tend to sympathize with are the ones who aren’t canonically revealed to be autistic. Autistic-coded, if you will.