OT-Masters project....more Q
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| Tue, 02-26-2008 - 2:10pm |
OK, I have finally pulled the proverbial finger out and gotten in contact with my advisor of my Masters final project.
For those who weren't here or don't remember (and sure, why on Earth would you want to;), I am writing my final project on The representation of Autism on film and television.
Suddenly it seems there is Autism and especially Asperger's all over the networks (although I take issue with a great deal of how it is depicted). I have a load of films in mind, both obvious and not so obvious.
I was thinking of making the central theme of the paper a mirroring analysis of what was known about autism in the scientific and community at large and how Autism was being reflected on screen at the time. eg: Rainman in 1988 and what was known about ASD then and Snowcake from 2007 and what we know today. It's still very vague but I need to get a handle of the material or I'll just babble on for 20 pages and have no cohesion at all, kwim?!
I would also like to include a chapter on how the screen represents childhood autism and adult autism. Rainman, Mozart and the Whale, Snowcake compared to Mercury Rising, David's Mother etc.
What about the need for Hollywood to either focus on the Savantism or the quirks (thinking, Rainman v's Jerry Espeinson on Boston Legal. I actually think Snowcake was one of the first characters that showed Autism for the middle of the road disorder that it really is.
Finally what about the not so obvious characters and films, that never say autism outright but we can all see the similarities, eg: Forrest Gump, Little Man Tate, Nell, The Piano.
I don't have to register for the project until Spring '09, but I'd like it written and off my plate by the end of the Summer, as I still need to take a Philosophy class this Fall to graduate.
Thoughts on the above???
Dee







Dee-
I've been in lurk mode alot lately, but do remember your initial post on this subject. I was jazzed about for you then and am still! I *can* see how it would be easy to rattle on on this subject (sounds like something I might do ;)
The only thing *I* personally would worry about if I were writing this paper is the conjecture involved in writing about characters that were never described as being on the spectrum. I think it's definately an interesting topic, but might be more appropriate as its own paper. Since you'll be using characters that are known to be on the spectrum, you don't want your point of view or theories to get muddied by characters that may or may not be on the spectrum. Does that make sense? I know you're not proving the theory of relativity here so there isn't as much need for cause, effect, evidence...etc..
I think this could be a very interesting read - have fun!!!
BTW.....Harrison has that same alligator shirt that Cian has on in his pic! alas......he has grown out of it though :(
Good point about the screen characters that are "maybe's." I shall definitely stick to the accepted norm for now (especialy as my advisor is an imbecile in the area of Autism, lol). Ta,
Dee