Best portrayal of autism in movies

Mental illness is a topic that many people still find taboo. The complexity and varieties of the conditions it comes with can be overwhelming. Among such mental health issues comes autism, a rather serious developmental disorder that impairs the ability to communicate and interact. It affects the cognitive, emotional, social and physical health of the affected individual and impacts the whole personality.

People are merely aware about PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) let alone autism. Did you know that approximately 1 in 44 children are diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)? Well, now you do and the fact that boys are more likely to suffer from it than girls.

The percentage used to be less but it has been increasing and this is when, media representation of such disorders is needed. Media is a powerful and helpful tool to represent serious issues and that being said, here are some of the movies that offered beautiful representation of people with autism that can be informative and well, are a good watch too.

My Name is Khan

Whenever there’s a mention for good movies, it is highly unlikely for Shah Rukh Khan to not be there and with saying that, My name is Khan enters the list. Shah Rukh, himself, has played the role of a middle aged man having ASD and he played the role with utter perfection showcasing the real struggles of a person with autism, more specifically Asperger’s syndrome. The story is centered to a Muslim Man being questioned for the 9/11 incident for his “odd” behavior and later, he seeks help to meet the President. The portrayal of the character, the engaging story on an important yet sensitive topic and lastly the beautiful direction, this movie will surely leave you reaching out for tissues. It is must watch and one of SRK’s best works as well, do watch it if you haven’t already.   

What’s eating Gilbert Grape?

A movie that talks about Autism and has Johnny Depp with Leonardo DiCaprio in it? What’s eating Gilbert Grape is that movie for you. It is a representation of disorders and the struggles of it faced by the affected ones and their friends and family. It showcases an intellectual disability in a kid, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and he did such an exceptional job that many people claim he should’ve gotten his Oscar for his debut movie. The kid’s character reflects the actual symptoms of Autism and how it affects a person. The movie does a splendid job in reflecting this issue among others as well. Do give this movie a watch if you want to learn about health issues and see some class acting of Leonardo.  

The Boy Who Could Fly

The Boy Who Could Fly is American drama, fantasy movie representing autism in a child with serious symptoms such as social withdrawal, no sense of language and stereotypical behaviour. It represents a teenager with autism whose parents died when he was 5 and he continues his journey with a new family until later, it is found that the can fly. It is significant to the fact that he has magic in him, his own uniqueness. The character of Eric is played by Jay Underwood and he was honoured by the Young Artist Foundation, “The Lifetime Achievement Award”, making it obvious how good he was in the film. The movie reflects various emotions with an interesting plot. It is definitely a must watch. 

Ocean’s Heaven

A Chinese drama where, after discovering he has less than five months to live, a father tries to prepare his autistic son for life without him. A truly heart-touching story where the son represents Autistic tendencies, played by Wen Zhang, struggling to perform basic tasks. The movie focuses on the kid getting help through institutions and his father helping him in order to make him independent. It is a beautiful movie and as said infamously, you will witness amazing movies once you overcome the battle of subtitles.  

Please Stand By

Starring Dakota Fanning, the movie represents Autism in a powerful light. The protagonist is seen to be struggling with autism and despite the society determining what she is supposed to be doing, she overcomes that to go and, the live the life she wanted to. The movie represents a young autistic woman running away from her caregiver in order to boldly go and deliver her 500-page Star Trek script to a writing competition in Hollywood. On an adventure full of laughter and tears, Wendy, played with exquisite delicacy by Dakota Fanning, follows the guiding spirit of Mr. Spock on her journey into the unknown.

“It is there for us to conquer, not to fear.”

Many of the world’s population struggles with Autism and not as many are aware of it, however we can be if we educate ourselves more often and watch movies, documentaries related to it. The media representations are plenty for many serious issues and if we watch more of such movies, we can ask for what we want to see as well.

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