I do wonder if neurodiversity awareness will be the next big “thing”, like LGB awareness was, then transgender awareness.
Not to say those other issues disappear at all, but mainstream culture seems to focus on one main “thing” at a time and I don’t think neurodiversity has really had the spotlight yet.
Or at least, it seems to only be the extreme cases that get the spotlight, rather than the more common, unseen struggle that people often mask and hide.
If it comes to pass as you suggest, it will surely be weaponized by conservatives the same way they first went after the gays and now the trans community.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
“[The Queens-based festival] understands the power of empathy and the undeniable beauty of diversity,” says Spiridakis, who now sits on its advisory board alongside Ezra director Tony Goldwyn, as he addressed attendees Thursday night at the opening of its third annual edition.
While autism, along with deafness and cerebral palsy, tends to be featured more frequently in film and TV than other disabilities, according to Zablocki, it still makes up a scant number of the total narratives in mainstream Hollywood, which has a long history of misrepresenting neurodivergence through dehumanizing stereotypes.
“Through my journey in animation and my appearance on Love on the Spectrum, I’ve witnessed firsthand the impact of challenging stereotypes and embracing diverse perspectives,” says Bowman, whose short Starcrossed Destinies screened as part of MoM’s “Unique Romances” program last night.
Launched three years ago at MoMI as part of a year-round initiative at the museum, the 2024 Marvels of Media festival includes 17 films and one virtual reality project, crafted by neurodivergent directors, writers, editors, cinematographers and animators.
Titles like ReelAbilities’ closing night film, the Steve Way executive produced Good Bad Things, selections Rally Caps, starring Judd Hirsch and Amy Smart, and Slamdance award winner Daruma all similarly come from that place.
That follows years of success in the shorts space, which Zablocki says are frequently “the most daring of the films, every year.” At MoM, that includes the “Unique Romances” program, exploring queer and autistic relationships, and the Ayo Edebiri and Seth Rogen-voiced Tree’s Blood, from Exceptional Minds and Reel Start.
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