Portrayed by Dustin Hoffamn
Ray is an Autistic savant who has an incredible memory. He is seen memorizing phone numbers, baseball statistics, and has a great ability to count. The movie focuses on his new relationship with his selfish brother after their father dies and leaves his property to Ray.
(Trailer)
(scenes from the movie)
This movie was a huge turning point in Autism awareness. Since was release in 1988 and won an academy award in 1989, it has been one of the most well-known movies with an Autistic character. Ray's character has both behavior and rare savant skills which has, unfortunately, helped to form the stereotypical view of Autism, while ignoring/debunking some of the prior misinformation and stereotypes. Savant skills, especially those as extreme as Ray's, are extremely rare, but many people believe this is a symptom when looking to label others. But, I'll say it again, everyone with ASD is different and no two people present the same way. However, the movie increase public awareness of the disorder when it was still relatively unknown and started the inclusion of characters with ASD into our popular media. Most importantly, I think the popularity of this movie has lead to the increased understanding of a need to include and accommodate for those who are not "typical" outside the entertainment industry. Everyone should see this movie!
No comments:
Post a Comment