it almost never is the actor's fault, they are only doing their job, it's their fault ONLY when they do this out of will(as in acting like a stereotype on purpose and not bc it was on the scrypt) or when they allow with a smile to do that, and Maddie ain't any of them
" I did 3 years of research." Honestly, it seems like she read a few mommy blogs about how hard it is to raise an autistic kid. She could have sat in on a college psychology class, she could have traveled the world interviewing autistic people with different experiences, she could have talked to specialists, she could have read books. It seems like she didn't even do the bare minimum.
She could've took 5 minutes on GOOGLE! It's not that hard! I'm autistic myself but I don't know all the answers, so one day I went online for about 30 minutes and learned a lot! Like how Autism Speaks is a shit company who doesn't represent autistic folks correctly. And interesting stuff that I never noticed my whole life about myself! 30 MINUTES! She was just lazy and didn't care.
Weird definition of "bare minimum." "Doing what I say" = bare minimum. I say that you running out in front of a bus is the bare minimum. Don't disappoint.
Exactly. She is privileged enough to have the resources to collect good research, and to understand that it’s not okay to have Maddie to play that role. She needs to understand the feedback she’s getting from this community. I’m personally not apart of this community, but I know their input is the most important. She shouldn’t just shut their educational and constructive criticism down.
The other thing about Sia firing the original actress because she was "too stressed"... Maddie cried constantly over the role, which some people would also consider "too stressed."
@@rachelmdiamond Maddie is actually a really good actress. Just because she's involved in a film like this does not mean she's not a good actress, one of my personal favorite performances of hers is her role as Christine in The Book of Henry
@@aliciab.b.1837 I disagree; my opinion of her acting talent has nothing to do with her involvement in this film. It comes from seeing most of her past performances. And as a professional myself, I have some perspective.
Yeah, Maddie admitted that she cried the entire time because she thought she was mocking people. And if Sia really did hire an autistic actress why didn't she change the set to fit the actress's needs?
It’s really disturbing how obsessed Sia is with Maddie. She said that she couldn’t cast anyone else because she herself cannot create art without Maddie.
Unfortunately society tends to ignore female p3d0s. Especially female p3d0s that target young girls. I worry that too many in the autism community will ignore the inappropriate interactions between Sia and Maddie because our community leans left and the right has pointed this out. Too many on the left feel the need to automatically oppose the right. I am not a fan of Republicans but they are dead on about Sia being inappropriate with maddie. I watched a video on vaush's channel about this. The so called progressives on his channel attacked me and others in our community for being offended by this movie. The very same "progressives" that canceled a scarlett Johansson movie because she was playing a trans woman as a cis woman. According to vaush fans, trans characters must be played by trans actors or the movie can't be shown but people on the autism spectrum are snowflakes for thinking a neurotypical person shouldn't play neurodivergent. Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans support us. We are alone.
She's her Muse. Sia probably doesnt think there's anything wrong with it, she cares for Maddie and wants the best for her, that doesnt mean its not unhealthy
and the fact that Sia even admitted that Maddie was crying saying "I don't want people to think I'm making fun of them" in an interview disgusts me. She still made her do it smh
@@sheepyhead0399 I agree I was with my best friend at the time (he is autistic) (we knew nothing about the movie it was just on my recommendations) and we watched it and I felt so bad for him that he had to watch it. cus not all autistic people can be put in a box and say “they all act like this”. pls don’t watch the movie if you can sia should not make money from this.
The autistic person she initially hired had problems filming and had many breakdowns. That should've been a red flag but she FIRED the autistic actor and hired Maddie.
Same here! I have a non-verbal autistic sibling and seeing Maddie's facial expressions (especially in the music video, which came across as grossly over-exaggerated) really rubs me the wrong way. It really comes across as someone MOCKING rather than acting.
But keeping in mind guys, I’m pretty sure Maddie didn’t really feel comfortable portraying the role of a non-verbal autistic girl and it was more the fault of SIA. Whilst I do agree with you, I just don’t think the blame should be put on Maddie.
@@erin5149 Yeah. Since Maddie is and always has been a performer, she was just performing, and exaggerating stuff because that's all she knows/what she was told to do. The entire thing was done worse than poorly. Sia was not in the right mind at all for sure. I feel bad for Maddie
@Chlo'e Dreyy It feels so heartwarming to read comments like yours, I am so grateful that people are able to support a minority community that they are not apart of. I have been diagnosed with Aspergers for a while now. I hope your twin is doing alright :)
My daughter is autistic and the best actress I have ever met. She's been masking all day, everyday in school for years. It's the most challenging thing to watch my child not feeling comfortable with who she is to the extent that she is exhausted and shut down every afternoon. She can't tell me what she is feeling, and it breaks my heart knowing how difficult everyday living is for her. She's also the most loving and affectionate child I know. She has amazing insights! I would never ever want her to be anything other than her beautiful, wonderful self!
As an autistic woman this made me tear up. Autistic girls & women are special and precious souls, we’re very sensitive and eccentric and moody and we often get taken advantage of and mistreated, but we are also some of the strongest and most loving girls you’ll ever meet! ❤
Melissa- I could say the exact same thing! And my daughter finally has some core friends (mostly guys) that she laughs with! True friends. It’s still very hard, but at 17, it’s sooo much better… I hope she meets “ her people” soon! ❤❤❤ to you for really seeing her!
Wow! What a beautiful comment! You made me tear up. It’s exactly how I feel EVERY SINGLE DAY I come home from work and NEED to be alone and decompress from acting alll day. I just found out I am autistic after going to get a formal adhd diagnosis. Surprise! I am also autistic. I never really knew much about it until now. Realizing all these things I do and am, how I view and be in the world made sooo much sense! I cried at first. People have always told me I’m weird my whole life which really hurt me. I always felt so different and out of place. Funny thing is I LOVE being alone but that doesn’t mean I don’t want a friend or to feel included. For once in my life I don’t feel ashamed for who I am.
I’m not autistic but I have a tic disorder and seeing Maddie do the tics was so uncomfortable it literally reminded me of kids who made fun of me by mimicking my tics. I don’t blame Maddie at all btw.
@@ryanong3517 Tics are basically uncontrolled movements or actions, such as blinking, clapping your hand, biting lips, grimacing, yelling, etc. - a tic disorder is a disorder where you experience these things and cannot stop it, and it often gets worse under stress. Which is often made fun of in exactly that way which Maddie is made to move during the movie, as autistic people often get tics when stressed (Maddie basically moves like I do during a meltdown, but ALL THE TIME).
@TheThirdTime Tic disorder - or at least tourettes, which is at least 3 different motoric tics and one sound tic (like yelling, coughing, etc.) - for as far as I know is pretty much always linked with ad(h)d or autism (or both), so you might have one of the two?
I think there are other autistic people in the film just not the lead. How did we get to such a disgusting place as a country where people spew such hate at each other?
@@samrah25 Some spew hate, but others are just stating their opinions which they have the right to do when She's claiming to do this for their community. Please remember that movies are made to generate mass profit before anything. She claimed it was to help yet, Sia is making more money than any of the autistic characters, and so is Maddie the main who plays what they think an autistic character acts like (they threw her into an asylum after her episodes which was overdramatic and not how it works irl. Imagine someone said they are representing you and then being represented like that?). This movie was more about what she wanted to do rather than "for the autistic community" which she used as a marketing tactic btw. Now she is apologizing after making nasty remarks to autistic people that rightfully scolded her
What's the right word here? Irony? Coincidence? that Paige looks like just like Maddie but *is* actually autistic, while also able to sing and dance. Yet Sia was like 'there's no one out there'. I see you, Universe.
I was severely bullied in middle school because I'm autistic. I watched sia's movie hopeing for some representation, I proceeded to cry. The movie was incredibly hard to watch. I'm still disgusted at how this was allowed to happen, Unbelievable.
@@lukesimas excuse me, but you are fucking wrong If a person who is supposed to be represented in a media is offended by this media and/or made to relive negative memories related to the subject - it IS an offensive media If you are not a representative, you cannot decide whether it was or wasn’t offensive for those who are
@@soon_to_emerge that’s exactly right. This girl is not a non verbal autistic. I’m high functioning just like her and we don’t get to chime in as if we have any idea what being non verbal is like. And just like the trans community with the Chapelle special, just because your feelings are hurt, doesn’t mean it’s offensive. Cry me a river.
When Sia said “I fired her because she was stressed” of course she would be. It’s a fricken movie! Wouldn’t you be a little stressed? Also having the pressure of “as soon as you make a mistake you are getting fired so a professional dancer can play the part” even if she quit by herself there are many more autistic people who could play the part.
Not to mention the scenes they wouldve had to deal with... complete sensory overload like wtf? There are SO many actors out there, she just wanted to hire maddie all along
I don’t have autism but I do have ADHD (the two are very identical and overlap) and I’m disabled. I saw the trailer and I hated it. The meltdowns and episodes the autistic actress would of gone through because of all the damn bright colors and movement with the weird clothing... no wonder she said she couldn’t do it (if the actress even exists... apparently there are rumors going around that Sia lied about the autistic actress part.) But if someone with autism is too stressed because of the movie, maybe you should change your damn movie.
Yeah but I seen this girl get stressed she hits screams balls up or runs away without looking where she going. The hole thing was a stupid plan from the start. And if the autistic girl was always in a stress fit she shouldn’t be applying for acting jobs. That’s like me applying to sky dive but I’m afraid of heights then expect accommodation and then blame the jump outfit cuz they can’t accommodate me then get pissed off cuz the cancel the flight. Duh
@@MrJstorm4 I both LOVE AND HATE how Hbomberguy made the Autism-Community proud but the Autism-Community has largely not noticed just cause it is so incredibly scattered.
Oh the irony of Sia defending herself by saying she hired diverse people but then denigrates sex workers and addicts as if those people aren't human too. The woman has no clue at all.
Oh absolutely. Narcissists have savior complex, they like to belittle other people to feel better about themselves. Also making other people do things they don't want to normally do (like convincing Maddie to act the part even if she had obvious doubts about it). Sia sounds like a textbook narcissist, and boi how do they like to manipulate autistic people. I bet she thought making this movie would make her look "empathic" and she would be adored. Turns out we can see her bullshit.
@@moonbathing2002 to me it sounded like she ‘gave’ these jobs to trans/autistic etc. people instead of prostitutes (way to mock sex workers like their job is somehow bad) that they usually occupy
@@thumpdragfilms I do see what you mean, however, it really is so subjective in that A) She is sincere, naive & authentic!. B) she is puffing up her ego as an 'autistic savior'!. I've also wondered if her harsher responses to comments on Twitter were because she felt these were trolls, haters, not legitimate autistic voices - Either way not a wise move considering the sensitivity/importance of this matter.
I was once mocked for covering my ears when something got too loud. A boy looked at me and said in a mean way “Aw, is it too loud for you?”. I nodded and he smirked one of those smirks that are like “Wow I’m so sly, they don’t even realize I’m mocking them”. My girlfriend noticed and told him off but he just continued smirking. After she was done, he covered his ears and made a strange face in a way to mock me. It really made me upset, I don’t know why though since when people mock or insult me I usually don’t care, I guess it was because it was the first time someone had directly made fun of me while all my other past experiences were indirect. The worst part is that this was at school in front of a teacher but she did absolutely nothing about it and looked the other way.
I didn’t realize those labels came from the Holocaust. Thank you for teaching me that. That’s a horrible history behind that. I’ll never say those again.
What's really sad is I've continued to hear those terms by doctors, well-known ones as well, multiple times, for as long as I can remember, so how does one know that they were something from the Holocaust if their school history didn't teach them that (it should), and especially considering humans are made to believe and trust in doctors from being young. So stupid the way the world works.
It didn't. Someone just recently brought up, that Asperger had to deal with Nazis and there were some accusations in recent years and it obviously got popular. Well ... it's easy to point at people now. The term Asperger's syndrome was used by Lorna Wing in 1976 and later popularized. (according to Wikipedia)
It’s funny that Rain Man, a film made 33 years ago, had more thought, care, passion and research put into its depiction of autistic people than a movie shot in 2017 and released in 2021. Music is baffling and makes Tropic Thunder’s Simple Jack, which was a parody of bad performances by able bodied people “acting” autistic, look nuanced.
For Rain Man, Dustin Hoffman worked with autistic men and their families for over a year, and spent a lot of time with Kim Peek, the inspiration for his character. So despite being neurotypical, he at least did his homework correctly and that dedication really comes across.
While I'm not a fan of Rain Man for creating the savant autistic trope and the whole story of "turns out i actually love my disabled brother" thing, it's far more respectful when it comes to autism than music (which is funny cause the inspiration Kim Peek turned out not to be autistic lmao)
@@harlequeenchannel Yeah, I was gonna mention Rain Man is somewhat problematic too haha glad I'm not the only one to think so. It's also pretty guilty of validating the hero syndrome thing with their neurotypical characters, the whole "autistic people need you to be their saviour" trope.
My superpowers are being stressed out whenever a family member I distrust enters the room, zoning out, and always feeling like I'm going to explode a million times per day because I have to many feelings about things I like and no outlet.
@@musicalbookworm3567 well, occasionally having the ability to hyperfocus and do incredible amounts of work in a short time is almost a super power... Would be nice if I could also choose when it happens, what topic I focused on and to be able to remember to eat/sleep/take my medicine while it's happening. Still on occasion it's kinda cool.
That’s like hiring a deaf person and not accommodating it so that they can understand what’s going on and since they can’t understand shes like oh u can’t handle it, then ok your fired, like r u serious !?
As someone who is not autistic, I appreciated seeing your perspective and also learning about this controversy. I didn't even know about this Sia movie before today. Also, I didn't realize that "high functioning" and "low functioning" were offensive terms, since I've been using them up until now, but I'm glad I know now.
great comment! i’m an autistic person and i get so happy when people (like you) learn and grow their understanding of autism 💕 keep it up :) also, i love your profile picture! i’m a huge miku fan.
I agree since I have friends, who are on the autism spectrum, and I didn't know about the "high functioning" and "low functioning" thing being offensive. I love learning more about the spectrum so I can be more respectful and understanding their struggles.
Same. My *brother* is autistic. (I’m going to the doctor soon to see if I’m on the spectrum as well) and I didn’t even know that high-functioning and low-functioning were offensive terms. The more you know :)
Comments like yours make my day! I'm autistic and even I am still learning about offensive terms and wordings. But to see someone who doesn't have to deal with the disorder themselves try to better themselves and learn.. it's great! I hope you have a wonderful day and that your loved ones are happy and healthy!
A quick note about the "special ability/differently able" bs. I keep hearing this in academic circles and I swear I am gonna get a special ability from how hard I roll my eyes.
Exactly. Disabled does not mean “differently abled.” It means they can’t do some things, but that doesn’t mean they can’t do anything or aren’t capable of doing great things. Expectations for people with disabilities (especially more mental ones) are usually either too high or too low and are usually in comparison to “normal” people. Like, if all my older sister (who has a rare genetic disorder) does today is go to animal therapy and brush and feed an alpaca and then makes beaded bracelets or listens to the Hannah Montana soundtrack twice through, then I’m still proud of her bc she has something she’s passionate about and isn’t doing nothing with her life like some people think they, themselves, would do (and be able to do) if they were in her position. Everyone is different-and that’s okay. Note: my older sis has definitely mastered the eye roll.
One of my college professors unironically used the term "differently abled" and I remember thinking that if anybody ever called me that I would laugh in their face
@@christinabiancofiore4195 There are plenty of autistic actors who could’ve played this role. But like Paige said even she would feel uncomfortable playing it because of the way Music is potrayed
@@itsayesha2811 I agree I feel like sia made the wrong decision casting Maddie and she could’ve easily found an autistic actor, but what I was trying to say is even tho Maddie wasn’t sure about playing the role sia convinced her too
How did sia do 3 years of “research” about autism and still end up supporting autism speaks? After my parents told me about my diagnosis, I found out how terrible AS was after like maybe a month of research, and that’s being generous.
they act like they're helping autistic people but instead just talk about how much of a burden they are and get moms with autistic kids to talk about how much of a burden their children are... right in front of them. you can look up the other kinds of stuff they've done, but there's definitely other organizations dedicated to helping autistic people that are worth supporting!
You know it's bad when even Maddie said she felt like she was making fun of them and didn't wanna play the part. She didn't even know much about autism and she could tell something was wrong
That made me so sick when I heard it. I'm not autistic so I can't relate directly, but I'm black and that sounds exactly like the bs apologetics around whitewashing, etc.
@@athenarocks7657 Even if the trait is different, discrimination often shows it face the same, yeah. I literally don't care WHAT the disabled person is doing - if that drug addict had well-rounded development and was given a full personality, I'd much rather have that than a minor / background character with little to no lines.
That is as stupid as people saying "I'm not racist, my best friend is black" Having black friend's doesn't make you less racist. Having other disabled people on your set doesn't make you less discriminatory to autistic people. Sia needs to get her head out of her ass.
She was expecting a special reward for doing what people should be doing in the first place; treating each other as equals and accommodating for disabilities in the work place. You do not get a cookie and gold star for treating disabled people as equals. That's just using people as props to get praise for yourself. Disgustingly egotistical. That comment just showed that she wanted to be viewed as doing social justice more than she cared about actually listening to people with disabilities. An aggressive hero-complex overtook her original intention for the film.
I might say just because they are an autistic person playing and autistic character doesn’t mean they are good at acting in that particular role. Yes there are probably heaps of good actors/actresses on the spectrum, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t bad ones. Again I’m not here to troll or start a fight just feel like sharing my opinion too. And like I said in my comment, the acting in the movie is rather bad but that’s not because she isn’t autistic. It’s poor directing and poor research into the role that is the real issue
All I’m saying is that the bad actors comment isn’t something bad. It may be the case that some are bad actors. It’s a spectrum disorder and just because someone is on the spectrum, doesn’t mean they can portray the role well. acting isn’t just one thing, it’s a whole arrangement of things and just because they might tick the autistic box doesn’t mean that they tick the rest. I know it’s an autistic role so your argument is they must be perfect for the role but it isn’t always the case. In terms of your question you asked me about what I think is a criterion for an autistic role, there isn’t really an appropriate answer to that because it is a spectrum disorder and ultimately it is the decision of the director in where they want to go with the movie. Was it the right decision to go with Maddie? no I don’t think so, but it was the decision that was made. Does it have to be an autistic person in the role? No, plenty of non autistic people could play that role very well, as too would a good autistic actor. In my opinion It’s just like straight people playing gay roles or the other way around, it doesn’t matter as long as it is done tastefully and respectfully. Should there be more autistic representation? Yes of course there should be. Do I agree that non autistic people need to cater for ever single need autistic people have to make them feel comfortable? Yes and no. Obviously help them but within reason. The world is a hard place and even more so for autistic people but sheltering them from it isn’t helpful. I’m lucky to get through life fairly easily my older brother has it a bit tougher than I do as he is on the spectrum but he manages. The reason for this is that my parents didn’t give him the ability to use his autism as an excuse (like I see heaps of people doing) and treated him the exact same way that I was treated. So Samin, I am sorry if what I have said has offended you or anyone else. I might have a different view but I do understand yours as well. I think the world needs to be able to understand different opinions without the other side being shut out that is how everyone can flourish in society. Also sorry for rambling on. I tend to do that quite a bit.
I told my mom about this movie and we decided to watch it but ended up watching a studio ghibli movie instead because I went through sensory overload during certain parts, I am on the spectrum and have some really bad sensory issues and seeing the "representation" I felt like I was being made fun of
For real, why fill your movie with an over abundance of sensory overload while you know a vast portion of your audience who will be consuming it might have severe reactions to stuff like that?!!!! Mind boggling stupid and out of touch... You made the right choice with deciding to watch Studio Ghibli instead!
So do you agree sia was correct in not casting an autistic person because it would have been too stressful for them? I imagine if you cant even watch the movie then acting in it would be impossible
My favorite review of the movie was talking about how this wasn't a movie about autism but a movie about how the sister got over drugs and autism was used a prop in the movie to get the sister out of a dark place and that THE SISTER was the center of the movie not Music Just another perspective
Yeah but to be honest that isn't really a new perspective, that is a trope that has been used in many movies and those movies have been called out for it as well. That is why it is so disappointing that Sia still falls for that 'trap'. Rain Man was kind of like that too.
Okay so there used to be a teacher's aide at my school that was part of a program for disabled students like my older sister, and I vividly remember having a conversation with her where she suddenly started making fun of a little boy and how he talked, literally impersonating his voice and mannerisms. I had to restrain myself from lashing out at her because I was so mad that she'd mock him like that. She also made fun of how my sister sat (no seriously, she made fun of how her legs were positioned when she was on the ground) when we were kids. I'm so glad that a couple years after I graduated they finally fired her because she's such a disgusting person to bully people like them.
Yeah as a former fan this was really disappointing to see. Like I know celebs aren’t perfect but this was pretty bad. I still rock out to her old songs like Titanium but I no longer support her as a person
I actuallt start to unrespect sia because she destroyed a masterpiece of a song that is BTS "On" and that one pretty bugged me but then Music came in and while i am not autistic , i know that Music representing Autism in the wrong way .
Ah yes, I have the special ability of being unusually sensitive to sensory stimuli, and sudden uncontrollable tantrums when I’m overwhelmed. Not all heroes wear capes 😌
A wonderful portrayal of Autism is in the book/play “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time”. The author did 10 years of research, talked to psychologists, talked to actual autistic people, and has people with autism in his family. Autistic actors are the only people considered for playing the main character in the play, so that is great representation.
Omg yes we actually had to read it in school and it was a great representation. People kinda didn’t like (made me very upset) But we did get to talk about autism and I felt like it added some great insight and should always be read by students
I’m autistic and I really liked What's Eating at Gilbert Grape.. I don't think Leo went there to misrepresent, considering he spent time with children with disabilities to get an idea on who they are and their differing behaviours. He did a lot of research for the role.
I’m not autistic and I had no idea that high functioning and low functioning had its origins rooted in Nazism and ableism. I don’t think I ever used those words in the past but if I did I’m truly sorry and they will never EVER find their way in my vocabulary again
Same-- I had no idea. I just sent an email a few days ago using the words "high functioning" to describe a student at a nonprofit I help run because that's what the student's parent put on their application and I thought it was just part of their diagnosis... I feel really bad now 😬
I was recently diagnosed and my family and I have been calling my diagnosis higher-functioning. I never knew about how those words are offensive, tho, can someone explain this a bit more?
I'm very interested as to melissa's (maddie's mom) thoughts does she not see anything wrong with this or does she want to get maddie out of this situation because she knows it's wrong. Or does she not care because of the fame?
@@crys_cornflakez I believe she basically just uses Maddie in every music video and stuff, but other than that idk, so I'm commenting if anyone responds I wanna learn too :)
@@crys_cornflakez I think it’s that sia includes Maddie in everything, also she started collaborating with Maddie since Maddie was like 11 years old, and sia was like 37. So it is weird for her to want to collab with a child. I mean sia does kinda seem obsessed with maddie
Oh yes! Especially full face on. I'm autistic, but I know I won't get a platform because I'm not exactly what you'd call beautiful... Beautiful people do have a sort of privilege compared to everyone else.
As an autistic person, I think our generation is a bunch of entitled snowflakes for getting pissed at Sia when all she did was make a movie to raise awareness. Y’all don’t realise it’s called acting it’s not that deep.
@@mvx2066 here we go with that word again. you should listen to other people more... Just because YOU weren’t hurt by it doesn’t mean other people couldn’t have been. Sorry, but you are part of the very few who see nothing wrong with how Sia handled this whole debacle. Unfortunately for you, people are actually trying to be considerate of others and calling people (like Sia) out when they make mistakes and act disrespectfully towards her target audience. Apparently all you got from this was that people misunderstood the acting, when there was a lot more that people had a problem with. Have some goddamn empathy, or fall behind.
@@eli_are_ftw And just because he's not offended, it doesn't mean other autistic people won't... as they clearly are. And honestly, judging from what I saw of the moive... THEY HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO BE OFFENDED! Seriously some of the stuff portrayed in the movie is so harmful for autistic people, you'd think it came out of an Autism Speaks ad.
I hope you get over that. Being diagnosed as autistic for many people like us creates a sense of loss, grief and mourning. But finally being able to understand myself (better, at least) also was a big relief and a good start on the road of self acceptance and becoming more myself. Take care 👍
Honestly it sucks that people mock us Autistics. To me at least being Autistic isn't disabling, it's that fact that the rest of society doesn't seem to be willing to care about and accommodate us that is disabling. Being Autistic doesn't mean that there is something is wrong with you it just means that you think differently then Neurotypical people, which can honestly be a good thing as Diversity of any type is great for any living species and Neurodiversity is just another form of diversity and in my opinion just as important as physical diversity.
I don't think I really felt self conscious when I saw this movie. Just made me realize that there are still alot of uneducated people out there that don't understand autism, despite it becoming a common diagnosis. I got my diagnosis in 2005, and no one really understood it. I mostly got it as my current teacher was harassing me and making my life a living hell, and a diagnosis from the state got her to back off. My psychiatrist came to my school to teach the students loosely about autism. So many questions for him I never hear anyone ask today. Society on average has advanced, but it still needs work.
She was incorrect in saying that the terms "low-functioning" and "high-functioning" come from the Holocaust as I cannot find any evidence of that online and the first known recorded usage of low-functioning was in 1969. It would have been helpful if she had referenced any sources for claims like that (that are not directly related to her experience) because that one line being cap has me doubting some of what she says unfortunately despite her having a really good message.
@@jadethirteen5306 There's actually a time article I found when I googled "high functioning autism label for holocaust" time.com/5255779/asperger-syndrome-nazi-germany-history/ Idk if this helps, but she certainly isn't pulling this information out of her ass
I mean, it's going to be in German, so you might not be able to find those exact terms due to the translator of the source, but he did use them, just in German. The vast majority of people translate them as "high functioning/ mid functioing/low functioning" and that is the origin of the terms, but I have seen a couple other translations, but in general, in English that's how we translate it. But even if it's not the EXACT terminology because linguistics is weird, the classification system was all Hans Asperger. But again, MOST sources do translate his- oh we're at that part where she talks about this. She mentions Hans Asperger by name and told you everything I'm telling you. So how is that not sourcing the information? Hans Asperger is the one who first published these terms. She did cite him.
i’ve never understood rotten tomatoes rating scale because i thought the higher the rating the worse it was: like it’s getting more rotten tomatoes idk maybe i’m just an idiot
@@lali6979 low scores are represented by a green splat while high scores are represented by a nice ripe tomato. Plus all the negative reviews have a green splat next to them while the few positive ones have a ripe tomato. So low number=not well liked.
@@tikkilover4890 its not that nobody should ever be physically restrained. Its that if we are trying to help someone having a meltdown, touching them and aggravating them is the worst way to help, and we need to teach kids coping strategies for their emotions from a young age, and give them room to be upset instead forcing them to be calm at all times. If someone is harming others or harming themselves then that needs to be stopped immediately.
This is an over simplification you wanna be as accurate as possible bc representation is important. Like if you were making a movie about a trans woman early in their transition your probably gonna just cast a man unless you want to ask a fully transitioned trans woman to de transition enough to play the role.
@@nottoomanylines8733 yeah that’s also incredibly hyper-specific. How many actors are out there that are beginning their transition while also going out auditioning and being scrutinized at a time where they’re still semi vulnerable ab appearance. There’s a fine line between representation and doing what’s best for the role. . It gets fuzzy just bc should trans women always have to play trans or if a part is being cast for a character that’s gay and they’re down to the last 2 and one guy is straight the other is gay. Let’s say this role is a biopic of a gay figure in real life guy no.1 has the character down to a tee in looks and mannerisms whereas guy no.2 doesn’t quite fit should the casting director cast him bc he’s actually a gay male. I kinda rambled here but representation means to me that these characters are well thought out and tell multiple types of stories for multiple types of people. The character being done well and nuanced is the most important. You could flip my example the other way and say a trans female is perfect for a cisgender roll why should they cast the cisgender person who’s not as good just bc she’s a cisgender bio female. Hollywood’s problem is that they typecast and stereotype instead fulfilling the creative process
@@nottoomanylines8733 if you don’t wanna read my super long ramble I’ll use a quick example of why that’s incredibly hyper specific. In the hbo show boardwalk empire there’s a character called Richard Harrow who’s an ex WW1 sharpshooter who’s face and throat are horribly disfigured and he wears a tin half mask to cover it. The actor who played him was not handicapped did a phenomenal job though. Should HBO have tried to find an actor who had half his face blown off with a shotgun?
when i was younger, i was heavily bullied. i don’t have autism, i have severe ADHD. and i often act in ways that people have assumed was autism. i used to get called autistic or the r slur all the time, and when i’d stim or even have meltdowns, i got mocked by people acting the same way maddie acted here. i watched the trailer and it made me so uncomfortable. i almost cried because it frustrated me so bad and triggered those bad memories of how people used to mock me. i can’t even begin to imagine how triggering and shocking and just overall mortifying this performance must be to those who are non vocal and experience the severities of being autistic in public schools. my heart really goes out to everyone with autism. i know i do not understand it, but i can relate as someone who is also disabled, and i’m just repulsed by this movie. absolutely revolting.
This is so hard I have a child like this. I have ASD and I look at her and she does too. According to UC Davis in a sanitary room with one person some of her symptoms dissipate so she's not. And I am like what? How does that work when that isn't ever to happen on the real world. And our insurance won't pay for ABA unless she has ASD. The lack of diagnosis real hurts her because it keeps resources that could help her out of reach.
I’m autistic (+ADD) and have selective mutism as a symptom, which means I lose the ability to talk/communicate under severe stress. I’m 25 and still in therapy for PTSD from the childhood bullying. I’m so deeply sorry you had to walk in our shoes growing up. Nobody deserves to be treated that way. It’s a cruelty impossible to understand by those who haven’t lived it. When I first saw Maddie’s portrayal (aka Sia’s writing/directing), I genuinely didn’t think it was real. I figured it must’ve been a shock trailer to draw people to a vastly different movie. I’ve been a fan of Sia since she frontlined Zero7 and still can’t believe she did this to us a month after first hearing about it. I wish VR was more advanced so she could’ve tried a virtual experience for one average day of an autistic child in public school. Even that would’ve gotten her to understand more than her “3 years of research.” Simply hurtful and disappointing. Nothing but solidarity for the neurodivergent/disabled kids who were bullied for too closely resembling autism. You’re our horrible collateral damage, just like we’re collateral for other nd/disabled folk. We’re not invisible and we are not alone. ❤️
What's ADAD and what's the r slur whats stim. And sorry for what happened to you and to anyone else who dealt with that (the teasing and mocking and other bulling)...... But why didn't Sia just hire a person that has autism? Because the role is an autistic person...right? Wait does the person who was acting even have autism or not because I don't really have any evidence to say anything really. Hope your doing okay.....
Oh my god, the savior complex thing I can relate to, like a lot. I don’t have autism, but I am a part of several groups of minorities and so like- I really understand the stupid savior complex thing. I have a difficulty processing things as well as an inability to focus on a single subject and because of this I’m often treated like someone who is incapable of doing things themselves, or someone who needs to be “saved” by others who aren’t part of my communities. It’s like the only support that I ever receive as a person who’s Native American, or transgender, or neurodivergent is pity. This is very detrimental to my own self confidence because it seems as though my identities are all that I’m seen as. Anyways, your criticisms are refreshing to me, and I appreciate you for explaining to the world the struggles that you and your communities face because it seems like in educating the world on these issues, at least some efforts can be made to stop more offensive portrayals like this from being created in the near future! Thank you!
My 3 year old daughter was just diagnosed with autism level 2, she’s verbal and I didn’t see anything different about her other than avoiding eye contact and getting extra excited when hugging our dog or when kissing me good night. To be honest I freaked out because I didn’t know anything about autism but the more I look videos of autistic people I feel like autistic people is so smart and wonderful. Thank you for educating people about autism. You are beautiful and smart.
Foxy - Long reply but please bear with me and read to the end. If that's all you think autism is you need to educate yourself for your daughter's sake as it it is far far more than not making eye contact and getting excited. You are (or at least were a year ago, maybe that has changed?) focusing on a couple of external signs or "tells" of what is a completely different wiring of her brain and the way she will think, feel, perceive the world and act in it for the remainder of her life. For example you commented about autistic people being "smart" based on YT videos when many have very low IQs and are severely developmentally disabled. The savant or genius or high IQ is true of some as is a very low IQ, many are simply average. The autistic savant is a stereotype and naturally most people running YT channels will be of average to high intelligence. They are not representative of all autistic people. The intellect/intelligence aspect of ASD is like the rest of it on a spectrum. A person outwardly appearing to the uneducated "severely autistic" may have a very high IQ while another who seems to function quite "normally" may be intellectually very challenged. Of course I will state that IQ is irrelevant when it comes to a human's worth. As an autistic father of an autistic daughter I can tell you first hand the biggest barrier to understanding, accommodating and truly accepting autism is to stop looking at it as what you see or don't see physically. It may have overt physical signs, they may be or become very subtle or masked almost altogether later in life. That is not a measure of how autistic or neurologically/psychologically different that human is. I recommend people read up on the DSM5 criteria and actually seek to understand it, books by autistics and autistic experts such as Temple Grandin and Tony Atwood. Another excellent book is Neurotribes for a full history of the disorder. It's natural to not see, or want to see anything different but it's not necessarily helpful to you or her. She is very different to most (and even to other ATs) and different in a way that will be both a benefit and detriment to her in life. Recognize which differences do or will cause her to struggle in certain aspects of life and need assistance and which make her far stronger or more abled than many NTs. I hope you see where my comment is coming from. I am not being negatively critical of you. it comes from hard learned lessons and as a 47 year old autistic I am still learning about myself and my now 17 year old daughter and still making mistakes 🙂
you’re a wonderful mother for actively going out and researching for your daughter, my mother did the same once i got my diagnosis and it made all the difference ❤️
As a filmaker with autism it does kind of get under my skin when I see people make movies who don't have any personal connection to autism make a film about a character with Autism just to add to the story.
But its fine when people who doesn't have cancer, plays a role of a person with cancer? Or a straight person playing an LGBTQ+ person? I'm not trying to start anything, I'm just asking.
@@stephen4681 well it’s certainly just as debatable when a straight person plays and LGBTQ+ character, because to be perfectly honest I never said that was fine either, which I don’t really think it is.
@@JosephReviewsFilm so what is acting about? Like..i can only act a blond straight girl . I get why people says those things about autism , but why sexual orientation has to be the same that we have in life?
i'm writing an essay about all the ways this movie failed (and after all the controversy, i actually got diagnosed myself HAHA) and so i just want to say thank you for this video!! at the time i had a lot of misconceptions about autism despite studying it and having friends with it. it's so misrepresented it's actually baffling. and also, you're so beautiful!!!
As an young adult who is autistic, It saddens me that people such as Sia think so little about our community. Plenty of autistic people have made names for themselves, and (pardon my language) have done a damn good job at what they do. Satoshi Tajiri is my favorite example, being the creator of Pokemon. When I was growing up, I was harassed and beaten by my so-called "classmates", because I was autistic and also have the last name Tardie. Pokemon was the one thing I had to go home to and be thoroughly entertained by. Being autistic, I had a hard time grasping certain social situations growing up, and always obeyed social contracts, hoping it would help me be more social. I don't know if anyone will read my comment, but its out there. Life Story Comment Over
I’m sorry to hear that happened to you. As a kid with an ASD, I was fortunate to be treated better. I dig your Espeon picture. Satoshi Tajiri is awesome. Pokémon is one of my favorite franchises, and the most successful one yet in world history. I’m not young anymore at 31, but I do remember having a difficult time, especially in my teens.
I read your comment and even if i am not autistic, i have several other problems (Depression, ADHD, Panic disorder...) i know the problem with beeing bullied so many years at school and i feel very sorry by reading your comment! I hope you feeling a little bit better now and have this situation behind you, i wish you much power, selflove and more people near you, who recognize you as a lovely person and lovable character to support your way of life! (Sry about my english, it isn't my native language^^)
That's really shitty. I have PTSD from different things and people think it's funny to play pranks on me and jump out randomly or sneak up on and pop balloons or bags :/ people suck Pokemon rocks
can we also address how Maddie's character is meant to be biracial, and is represented in one seen with a far darker skin tone than Maddie (a white person) has, and is shown having braid buns at the side of her head. Not only have many autistics themselves said this is offensive to them, and is clearly ableism, but is also appropriation.
I in no way intend to be rude with this, I’m just curious: how are braid buns appropriation? I thought anyone could wear braids, and I’m white and have worn braid buns before... I feel really bad now 😬
@@yourlocaltheatrekid900 if you look at the trailer she’s in the yellow dance scene, the braids are really tight and if you see them it just doesn’t look right. i think there were some posts on instagram addressing it and probably some stuff on twitter. i think it was the particular type of braid buns xx
I was really quite offended by 2 things in this movie. 1 music's vocals. Typically when non-vocal people speak it actually sounds like they're trying to have a conversation and music just sounds random. The other is this movie actually portrays what people want autism to be. A person who's perpetually a toddler and is the main reason I hate special ed. It was more of a daycare instead of treating us as people they treated us as our disability.
And now it turns out Sia just recently came out with her own recent Autism diagnosis... My brain doesn't know what to make of this, I don't know how to process this
Generally, you don't. People that narcissistic tend to just live on being bitter about it forever; public embarrassment is a wound that never heals for egotists. And we know what happens to wounds that don't heal.
I just realized that Sia herself is claiming to be autisitc recently... I know that nobody's here anymore but I just found out about this and idk how to feel about this...
Amazing isn't it the way she is apparently hypersensitive to things on her skin and yet has a full face of make up and jewelry. I'm not autistic and can't tolerate that. So what actually are her struggles that actually make her have the disability that is supposed to be autism?
@@cq1903 Yo....Are you denying the fact that she has autism? Are you saying you know what she can tolerate and what she can't? Not every autistic person has the same struggles
i have two friends with autism and literally within a few days of talking to them about neurodivergent related things (i have adhd) i learned more about asd than sia knows from three years of research
I know right! I have multiple friend who have autism and I can see the things wrong with this without even being told. Like.....one of those friend I have known for literally less than a year and due to covid we mainly just text but I've learned enough from him alone to know that this movie is extremely disrespectful. Just goes to show that just sitting down and talking to an autistic person would have taught her more than her three years of "research". I bet she just talked to care takers and people from autism speaks who can't know first hand what it's like and what is offencive.
growing up i was on/off in a foster home. i had many siblings come and go, and a fair share had a disability of some sort. it isn’t that hard honestly to sit down and talk to a person about them and their experiences.
Good lord, I didn’t know the history of ‘low function/high functioning,’ and that’s actually fucking terrifying. Also, I’d be hella uncomfortable of someone said I had ‘special abilities’ because of my autism
Mhm like for most disablitys have mental disorders often get used of 'low function/high functioning' I have dispraxia I'm extremely clumsy and it takes me a normally long time to process sertain things, people have said that I am low/high functioning and I personally don't let it affect my life to much but it does affect me. But like when was I ment to sign up
Thank you so much for posting this. I just got a diagnoses last week and have been struggling with standing up for myself when people say I’m “high functioning” or question whether or not my autism is valid because I’m verbal and am good at masking. This was not only informative for some things I didn’t even know about our community, but great for awareness
It's actually kind of amazing... I've been trying to figure out if I'm autistic myself and have been doing some light research for the past 3 or 4 months and she really COULDN'T have researched for more than 5 days without finding out how ALL OF THAT was problematic and ableist, that's such a weak excuse
I agree 100% however when I started my research journey there was a huge amount of information put out primarily by autism speaks and another associate that seemed correct to a point. Knowing through further research how wrong all of those articles were is heartbreaking because of how many people don't make it over that hump in their desire to help.
Sidenote, who names their kid Music? English is not my native language, so I don't know, but is that an actual name? Also, on another level, no wonder the movies name is Music. That what Sia knows. That's what she knows and does best.
@@samuellaakso7012 i'm American and people love to name their kids weird shit like Music or North or Treasure so technically anything can be an "actual name" if the parents want to be "unique" or "quirky" :)
@@annika6592 Strange. In Finnish we also have words that can also be used as names, like you said treasure (fin. Aarre), but there are limits. Music (fin. Musiikki) as a name would never fly here. Also most names that mean something here are nature-related. Exmp. Aalto (wave), Aamu (morning) or Kuura (frost).
i’m not autistic but i had selective mutism from when i was 2 til about 18/19 and hearing Sia (someone i used to adore) agree that people who can’t speak are essentially inanimate objects cuts deep man :/
I'm so happy to have finally found a youtuber who I can relate to. I'm an autistic millennial non-American woman, it feels so damn good to be seen. Thank you so much for being you, Paige!!
I do not have autism. I do not claim to have autism. But I do relate to many things about autism as someone with PTSD, ADHD, and anxiety many things I do were mocked in this movie (self stimulatory behavior, headphones, ext.) And I can only imagine how hurtful it is to autistic people so I am so incredibly angry, not to mention I know so so so many people with autism (4 siblings and stepfather) and this makes me angry not only for myself but for them. Much love to my beautiful autistic people ❤
I was thinking the same thing. (I have PTSD and anxiety). The scenes that they “edited out” where the sister is learning how to “handle” Music was pretty upsetting. If that’s how people tried to deal with my episodes like that it would cause WAY more problems both for me and the person involved. I can’t imagine how autistic people would feel about that.
Sia going on and on about her “good intentions” is literally just her refusing to take accountability for her actions. You can have the best of intentions and still majorly screw up and hurt people really badly. You don’t get to decide that because you didn’t mean to, you didn’t actually do any harm.
I also hate how she highlighted the "purity" of """"special abilities people""""" people (since she does not even say the word disabled out loud), she is infantilizing a whole group of people and every tweet "defending" herself just digs her hole deeper. She is so ignorant!! I cannot!!
if the girl who was actually autistic was feeling stress they could have either made accommodations to make her feel less or hired another person who is also autistic sia acting like there was only one autistic actress
She's said before in an interview that she made the movie for maddie, like, to have an acting role, and it's starting to feel like she hired that autistic girl just to say "welp, I tried, didn't work out, calling it a day and putting my goddaughter in instead" which is really cruel when you think about it
@@meganmullis5386 I know Sia does everything with Maddie in mind since the Chandelier music video so saying that they tried one girl was just so it looked like she tried
What I don't get is Sia says that she originally hired an autistic actress, but then also says that she and Maddie "studied" for years about the role. So why were they studying if the original actress apparently pulled out as production started ramping up due to stress???
Asnwer Sia Lied . So She Made Up An Alibi That She Work With An Autistic Actress Than Fired Her , Thinking The Filming Is Too Cruel For Her (Which Is Not The Right Thing To Do) . Ofc That Was Easily Debunked And The Truth Is That She Never Worked With This Autistic Actress .
That's kind of prejudice. Nobody ever talks about how brown someone's eyes are and how black their hair is. Aryan thinking. Especially considering your pfp.
@@OzCroc not really? Shes complimenting her? And as a person who's built a mixed family, yes people who talk about black hair and brown eyes exist. Blue eyes are the ocean or pools but eyes of amber, honey, chocolate, or black eyes hold all the sweetness and depth of the universe, blonde hair is nice but black hair holds mystery and prestige, it can be soft like wool or wispy and graceful like the finest silk strands. Its talked about a Lot where im from literally nobody talks about blonde hair unless its platinum and blue eyes are so common and cut and paste usually that nobody notices unless their colours are vibrant or glistening like silver. Prejudism is prejudging somebody with hatred, not compliments.
@@deannashopa3058 Well I never see people say "I love how brown your eyes are". If OP simply said "I like your eyes and hair" that would be one thing, but saying it's beautiful BECAUSE it's blue and blonde is different.
The only time I've been even *remotely* okay with a non-autistic actor playing an autistic person was Claire Danes as Temple Grandin. Claire Danes actually put *effort* into her research and into portraying Temple in a respectful and accurate manner. When I saw the movie for the first time, I was in awe of how many *little* details she picked up on- the intonations we use when we speak, the way we sometimes shake one leg if we're sitting still. She clearly studied Temple Grandin's mannerisms, and even Grandin herself was in awe of how accurately Danes captured her voice. But playing a specific person who has a disability that you don't have is a far cry from casting a non-autistic person as a fictional character who's a stereotype *at best*. It's damaging and disrespectful.
I was just about to comment about Clare Dane’s portrayal of Temple Grandin. Her attention to detail really stood out to me, having read Temple Grandin’s autobiography and seeing her speak.
I find The Good Doctor (the American series) to be a good representation of how I experience my autism, which was diagnosed by a doctor. I don't think it's problematic at all.
@@stonefruitlover It matters because, like she said in the video, it sounds more like a mockery when people who arent actually autistic, make movements, sounds or pronounce their words differently. It sounds less offensive when people are just talking as if they are autistic when acting. Not to mention that the makers of the good doctor knew WAY more about the subject than sia ever cared to figure out. She even made rude remarks when people pointed out the flaws in her movie that should have been changed.
i feel so bad for maddie, she even broke down and said that she didn’t want to do the role but sia forced her to. i’m not autistic myself, but i’m so sorry she’s made this movie and has done all of this, it’s truly disgusting.
@Paige Layle "Non vocal" means they have no voice (vocal = voice); while "non verbal" means they don't/can't use words (verbal = words, from latin "verbum" = "word") So "non verbal" is definitely more respectful than "non vocal", because they sure have a voice and can use it and can use "non verbal communication", that is vocal communication without words (humming, shouting, yelling is non verbal but vocal communication, both in autistic and in neurotypical people)
Hey, have you seen "hors normes"? It's a french movie about two guys who tries to help autistic kids, it's a real story and they used autistic actors and real autistic helpers to do it. (sorry for my english I'm french)
This is literally like Blackface for Autism and hopefully will be looked at in the same way as we look at blackface. Paige has done a FANTASTIC JOB exposing what SIA has done. Much love to you Paige 💖
Funnily enough, the movie did have actual blackface in it with Maddie having her skin darkened and wearing cornrows during a dance sequence because the character was supposedly half-black. Made me so uncomfortable as a legitimately half-black autistic person.
14:30 I used to really love Sia's music, but... _damn_ . One of the first things that comes up when you search "Autism Speaks" is 'electric shock therapy'. HOW COULD YOU _NOT_ KNOW!?
i’m not autistic or on the spectrum but the beginning and the pool party scene made me feel very overwhelmed and stressed. i couldn’t imagine how those who are autistic or on the spectrum felt watching those scenes. i’m so sorry, this movie felt like mockery.
@@sagemonke55 You might not need it, but the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (which is awesome) wrote a book for newly diagnosed autistic people, and it is free: autismacceptance.com/read-the-book/
I was diagnosed in August and knew about all the bs around Sia's movie, but did not know that Hans Asperger was a fucking Nazi wow lol that's fucking great
And it's like in a certain way that's still the way the term is used. I. E., as she alluded to in this video, functioning labels really only denote how well someone fits into our late-stage capitalist society, and the ableist standards of NTs. So much of this category of "disability" is all relative to what people are expected to be able to do, and if people are too different, they wind up being considered incapable and not whole people.
My biggest two issues with Sia is 1. she did not consult or listen to autistic people and 2. instead of listening and learning from the criticism she got, she got very defensive and mean. I get that people can make mistakes but not owning up to them and learning is the least any human should do
I love how the entire community can agree that this wasn’t Maddie’s fault.
honestly at first I was upset with her but that was until I saw her saying she didn't want to
An actor/actress can only be as good as its writer/director (in most cases)
it almost never is the actor's fault, they are only doing their job, it's their fault ONLY when they do this out of will(as in acting like a stereotype on purpose and not bc it was on the scrypt) or when they allow with a smile to do that, and Maddie ain't any of them
Maddie should do her own movie later to roast Sia. I'm going to roast Sia publicly as well! Mwahahaha! 🤣🤣🤣🔥🔥🔥
Fake community, no person with a similar spectrum of what was in music can act that out, stop being crazy
" I did 3 years of research." Honestly, it seems like she read a few mommy blogs about how hard it is to raise an autistic kid. She could have sat in on a college psychology class, she could have traveled the world interviewing autistic people with different experiences, she could have talked to specialists, she could have read books. It seems like she didn't even do the bare minimum.
she is literally a BILLIONAIRE, she could’ve gotten so much more done so that autistics could watch comfortably.
She could've took 5 minutes on GOOGLE! It's not that hard! I'm autistic myself but I don't know all the answers, so one day I went online for about 30 minutes and learned a lot! Like how Autism Speaks is a shit company who doesn't represent autistic folks correctly. And interesting stuff that I never noticed my whole life about myself! 30 MINUTES! She was just lazy and didn't care.
Weird definition of "bare minimum." "Doing what I say" = bare minimum. I say that you running out in front of a bus is the bare minimum. Don't disappoint.
Exactly. She is privileged enough to have the resources to collect good research, and to understand that it’s not okay to have Maddie to play that role. She needs to understand the feedback she’s getting from this community. I’m personally not apart of this community, but I know their input is the most important. She shouldn’t just shut their educational and constructive criticism down.
@@macedindu829 Huh... get some help and stop telling people to kill themselves ? Maybe
The other thing about Sia firing the original actress because she was "too stressed"... Maddie cried constantly over the role, which some people would also consider "too stressed."
And also, I wish all the best for Maddie, but she's a fucking awful actress.
@@rachelmdiamond Maddie is actually a really good actress. Just because she's involved in a film like this does not mean she's not a good actress, one of my personal favorite performances of hers is her role as Christine in The Book of Henry
@@aliciab.b.1837 I disagree; my opinion of her acting talent has nothing to do with her involvement in this film. It comes from seeing most of her past performances. And as a professional myself, I have some perspective.
Yeah, Maddie admitted that she cried the entire time because she thought she was mocking people. And if Sia really did hire an autistic actress why didn't she change the set to fit the actress's needs?
@@girlishgamer1 the only problem sia did was casting Olbama as a white man.
It’s really disturbing how obsessed Sia is with Maddie. She said that she couldn’t cast anyone else because she herself cannot create art without Maddie.
Maddie will probably grow up traumatized from that
Look up Epstein Island and you'll see how it's connected with Hollywood exploiting minors.
Unfortunately society tends to ignore female p3d0s. Especially female p3d0s that target young girls.
I worry that too many in the autism community will ignore the inappropriate interactions between Sia and Maddie because our community leans left and the right has pointed this out. Too many on the left feel the need to automatically oppose the right. I am not a fan of Republicans but they are dead on about Sia being inappropriate with maddie.
I watched a video on vaush's channel about this. The so called progressives on his channel attacked me and others in our community for being offended by this movie. The very same "progressives" that canceled a scarlett Johansson movie because she was playing a trans woman as a cis woman.
According to vaush fans, trans characters must be played by trans actors or the movie can't be shown but people on the autism spectrum are snowflakes for thinking a neurotypical person shouldn't play neurodivergent.
Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans support us. We are alone.
She's her Muse.
Sia probably doesnt think there's anything wrong with it, she cares for Maddie and wants the best for her, that doesnt mean its not unhealthy
Ahhhh I want to unlearn this
and the fact that Sia even admitted that Maddie was crying saying "I don't want people to think I'm making fun of them" in an interview disgusts me. She still made her do it smh
Maddie needs to get the hell away from Sia before she completely ruins Maddie's career that she's worked so friggin hard for.
How'd she make her do it 😭u always have a choice.
@@aaliyah4538 idk Maddie probably felt guilty or something
@@aaliyah4538 sias known maddie sense she was 11 i heard she was like 14 so maddie probs saw sia as a mother figure and felt bad
Did you know that it was Sia who said it?
Imagine making a movie about accommodating and making a safe space for people with autism but refusing to do the same on set..
@@oliviawoloshyn5824 Yeah, I could barely watch the trailer without muting it, it's so overwhelming and unaccessible.
@@sheepyhead0399 I agree I was with my best friend at the time (he is autistic) (we knew nothing about the movie it was just on my recommendations) and we watched it and I felt so bad for him that he had to watch it. cus not all autistic people can be put in a box and say “they all act like this”. pls don’t watch the movie if you can sia should not make money from this.
my thoughts exactly
The autistic person she initially hired had problems filming and had many breakdowns. That should've been a red flag but she FIRED the autistic actor and hired Maddie.
@Rose Redmayne Maddie also had breakdowns! Sia is thinking about herself, that’s it.
from a neurotypical person with a disabled sibling, maddies acting reminds me of when people would make fun of my brother. it just feels SO WRONG
Same here! I have a non-verbal autistic sibling and seeing Maddie's facial expressions (especially in the music video, which came across as grossly over-exaggerated) really rubs me the wrong way. It really comes across as someone MOCKING rather than acting.
But keeping in mind guys, I’m pretty sure Maddie didn’t really feel comfortable portraying the role of a non-verbal autistic girl and it was more the fault of SIA. Whilst I do agree with you, I just don’t think the blame should be put on Maddie.
@@offbrand0reos86 no, not at all. Poor maddie
@@erin5149 Yeah. Since Maddie is and always has been a performer, she was just performing, and exaggerating stuff because that's all she knows/what she was told to do. The entire thing was done worse than poorly. Sia was not in the right mind at all for sure. I feel bad for Maddie
@Chlo'e Dreyy It feels so heartwarming to read comments like yours, I am so grateful that people are able to support a minority community that they are not apart of. I have been diagnosed with Aspergers for a while now. I hope your twin is doing alright :)
My daughter is autistic and the best actress I have ever met. She's been masking all day, everyday in school for years. It's the most challenging thing to watch my child not feeling comfortable with who she is to the extent that she is exhausted and shut down every afternoon. She can't tell me what she is feeling, and it breaks my heart knowing how difficult everyday living is for her. She's also the most loving and affectionate child I know. She has amazing insights! I would never ever want her to be anything other than her beautiful, wonderful self!
As an autistic woman this made me tear up. Autistic girls & women are special and precious souls, we’re very sensitive and eccentric and moody and we often get taken advantage of and mistreated, but we are also some of the strongest and most loving girls you’ll ever meet! ❤
Melissa- I could say the exact same thing! And my daughter finally has some core friends (mostly guys) that she laughs with! True friends. It’s still very hard, but at 17, it’s sooo much better… I hope she meets “ her people” soon! ❤❤❤ to you for really seeing her!
Wow! What a beautiful comment! You made me tear up. It’s exactly how I feel EVERY SINGLE DAY I come home from work and NEED to be alone and decompress from acting alll day. I just found out I am autistic after going to get a formal adhd diagnosis. Surprise! I am also autistic. I never really knew much about it until now. Realizing all these things I do and am, how I view and be in the world made sooo much sense! I cried at first. People have always told me I’m weird my whole life which really hurt me. I always felt so different and out of place. Funny thing is I LOVE being alone but that doesn’t mean I don’t want a friend or to feel included. For once in my life I don’t feel ashamed for who I am.
weak genetics
And u even still think she would pass the hard job of an actor?! They wait all day long for their scene! Plz, stop being delulu
I’m not autistic but I have a tic disorder and seeing Maddie do the tics was so uncomfortable it literally reminded me of kids who made fun of me by mimicking my tics. I don’t blame Maddie at all btw.
I blame her parents
I remember the time my teacher stopped the whole class to focus on my tics and everyone started looking at me that was pretty horrible
What is a tic disorder
@@ryanong3517 Tics are basically uncontrolled movements or actions, such as blinking, clapping your hand, biting lips, grimacing, yelling, etc. - a tic disorder is a disorder where you experience these things and cannot stop it, and it often gets worse under stress.
Which is often made fun of in exactly that way which Maddie is made to move during the movie, as autistic people often get tics when stressed (Maddie basically moves like I do during a meltdown, but ALL THE TIME).
@TheThirdTime
Tic disorder - or at least tourettes, which is at least 3 different motoric tics and one sound tic (like yelling, coughing, etc.) - for as far as I know is pretty much always linked with ad(h)d or autism (or both), so you might have one of the two?
Sia: "Autistic people can do anything".
Also Sia: "Except act in a movie".
I think there are other autistic people in the film just not the lead. How did we get to such a disgusting place as a country where people spew such hate at each other?
@@samrah25 What hate are you referring to?
@@samrah25 Some spew hate, but others are just stating their opinions which they have the right to do when She's claiming to do this for their community. Please remember that movies are made to generate mass profit before anything. She claimed it was to help yet, Sia is making more money than any of the autistic characters, and so is Maddie the main who plays what they think an autistic character acts like (they threw her into an asylum after her episodes which was overdramatic and not how it works irl. Imagine someone said they are representing you and then being represented like that?). This movie was more about what she wanted to do rather than "for the autistic community" which she used as a marketing tactic btw. Now she is apologizing after making nasty remarks to autistic people that rightfully scolded her
@@samrah25 what are you on about?
HELPEPEOENJ
What's the right word here? Irony? Coincidence? that Paige looks like just like Maddie but *is* actually autistic, while also able to sing and dance. Yet Sia was like 'there's no one out there'. I see you, Universe.
She could have ATE this role
YESS I saw her and was like omg maddie talked about this? Then I realized it wasn’t her
Ikr!
the character is supposed to be biracial actually but agree lmao she even put maddie in box braids
@@RandyWalt it's like she was looking for controversy at this point *sigh*
I was severely bullied in middle school because I'm autistic. I watched sia's movie hopeing for some representation, I proceeded to cry. The movie was incredibly hard to watch. I'm still disgusted at how this was allowed to happen, Unbelievable.
Just because the movie brought up feelings from your past doesn’t mean the movie was offensive. ❤️
@@lukesimas excuse me, but you are fucking wrong
If a person who is supposed to be represented in a media is offended by this media and/or made to relive negative memories related to the subject - it IS an offensive media
If you are not a representative, you cannot decide whether it was or wasn’t offensive for those who are
@@soon_to_emerge that’s exactly right. This girl is not a non verbal autistic. I’m high functioning just like her and we don’t get to chime in as if we have any idea what being non verbal is like. And just like the trans community with the Chapelle special, just because your feelings are hurt, doesn’t mean it’s offensive. Cry me a river.
@@lukesimas What is your problem with transgender people? You keep dragging them into your arguments in the comment section, and it's really weird.
@@lukesimas That’s literally what it means for something to be offensive what-
If Sia wanted Maddie to be in the movie she could've done the role of the sister
How the fuck does this have 12k likes
Exactly, or just do a different story because it looks like she isn't an appropriate person to touch this topic.
@@Guadabum exactly and Maddie didn’t even want to do it because of the backlash and how offensive it is but sia didn’t care
@@itsjusttmaddie6353 Yas and I'm so sorry for her. She really didn't get to choose 😖
Exactly! At least cast an autistic actor so the part can be informative and accurate
Yes!
When Sia said “I fired her because she was stressed” of course she would be. It’s a fricken movie! Wouldn’t you be a little stressed? Also having the pressure of “as soon as you make a mistake you are getting fired so a professional dancer can play the part” even if she quit by herself there are many more autistic people who could play the part.
Not to mention the scenes they wouldve had to deal with... complete sensory overload like wtf? There are SO many actors out there, she just wanted to hire maddie all along
I don’t have autism but I do have ADHD (the two are very identical and overlap) and I’m disabled. I saw the trailer and I hated it. The meltdowns and episodes the autistic actress would of gone through because of all the damn bright colors and movement with the weird clothing... no wonder she said she couldn’t do it (if the actress even exists... apparently there are rumors going around that Sia lied about the autistic actress part.) But if someone with autism is too stressed because of the movie, maybe you should change your damn movie.
In addition, Maddie cried on set because she REALLY didn't want to play the role. Maddie is basically Sia's unofficial daughter in terms of relations.
And if an autistic person wouldn’t be comfortable in a place like that what makes you think that music would be in a place like that?
Yeah but I seen this girl get stressed she hits screams balls up or runs away without looking where she going. The hole thing was a stupid plan from the start. And if the autistic girl was always in a stress fit she shouldn’t be applying for acting jobs. That’s like me applying to sky dive but I’m afraid of heights then expect accommodation and then blame the jump outfit cuz they can’t accommodate me then get pissed off cuz the cancel the flight. Duh
"It would be cruel to allow people with leg disabilities into our building without elevators so we decided to ban them all together"
The London underground sort of did that up until the 1990s
@@MrJstorm4 I both LOVE AND HATE how Hbomberguy made the Autism-Community proud but the Autism-Community has largely not noticed just cause it is so incredibly scattered.
@@slevinchannel7589 what did he do
@@MrJstorm4 He and Hbomberguy made Videos about Autism. Simple as that. And they were simply good. Real good.
when im in special needs, i feel like they are politely telling me that i am a dumbass
Oh the irony of Sia defending herself by saying she hired diverse people but then denigrates sex workers and addicts as if those people aren't human too. The woman has no clue at all.
Considering that Hollywood is trafficking sex slaves, Sia is a hypocrite!
#epsteinisland
😂 toxic
Wait, wasn’t Sia herself an addict once?
@virustheglitch9836 once an addict, always an addict - just a sober one. After the criticism of the movie, she relapsed.
i miss when sia didn’t show her face and just minded her business
tbh that's the last i remembered of her before this all happened
And when she wasn't squealing like a sow in her songs.
Breathe Me era, period nothing else matters let's just say she ... disappeared? after 2006
Dude same
ikr, she's a singer, she's supposed to make songs. Not judge autistic ppl and pretend to have done nothing wrong. I feel bad for the child actress
LMFAOOOOO she really said “let me exploit autism for my own narcissism and savour complex” girl bye
I’m pretty sure she does have a savor complex. She must believe she’s so savory.
savior* lol but fr
Oh absolutely. Narcissists have savior complex, they like to belittle other people to feel better about themselves. Also making other people do things they don't want to normally do (like convincing Maddie to act the part even if she had obvious doubts about it). Sia sounds like a textbook narcissist, and boi how do they like to manipulate autistic people. I bet she thought making this movie would make her look "empathic" and she would be adored. Turns out we can see her bullshit.
I'm an autistic frontliner. Sia did us no favors by casting us as doctors and nurses. We already are doctors and nurses.
I think that was the point Sia was trying to make, that we are those things, so she wrote the script that way.
@@moonbathing2002 to me it sounded like she ‘gave’ these jobs to trans/autistic etc. people instead of prostitutes (way to mock sex workers like their job is somehow bad) that they usually occupy
@@dovalayn I think she was trying to show how she wanted to break down stereotypes!
@@thumpdragfilms I do see what you mean, however, it really is so subjective in that A) She is sincere, naive & authentic!. B) she is puffing up her ego as an 'autistic savior'!.
I've also wondered if her harsher responses to comments on Twitter were because she felt these were trolls, haters, not legitimate autistic voices - Either way not a wise move considering the sensitivity/importance of this matter.
What's an autistic frontliner?
I was once mocked for covering my ears when something got too loud. A boy looked at me and said in a mean way “Aw, is it too loud for you?”. I nodded and he smirked one of those smirks that are like “Wow I’m so sly, they don’t even realize I’m mocking them”. My girlfriend noticed and told him off but he just continued smirking. After she was done, he covered his ears and made a strange face in a way to mock me. It really made me upset, I don’t know why though since when people mock or insult me I usually don’t care, I guess it was because it was the first time someone had directly made fun of me while all my other past experiences were indirect. The worst part is that this was at school in front of a teacher but she did absolutely nothing about it and looked the other way.
what a jerk.
"Is it too loud for you? 😂"
And I'm like, "Yeah, dumbass. That's why I'm covering my ears."
“Special Abilities” is “I don’t see color” but ✨ableist✨
LMAO
YES.
ABSOLUTELY
WELL SAID😭
Yes
Sia has been exploiting that poor girl for years. She didnt even want to play this role
Exactly and now Maddie is gonna be stuck with all the backlash and hate forever when it isn’t even her fault
No she didn’t want to refuse to sia even though she knew the role she still didn’t want to refuse it
@Arkham no. it’s disrespectful to people who have autism.
@Arkham Doesn't mean some people aren't pissed-
@Arkham Honestly, just fucking forget it. I just wanted to try and make a buffer between you two
I didn’t realize those labels came from the Holocaust. Thank you for teaching me that. That’s a horrible history behind that. I’ll never say those again.
Same, I wasn't aware that they were even offensive terms. Glad I know now and saved myself from that mistake!
What's really sad is I've continued to hear those terms by doctors, well-known ones as well, multiple times, for as long as I can remember, so how does one know that they were something from the Holocaust if their school history didn't teach them that (it should), and especially considering humans are made to believe and trust in doctors from being young. So stupid the way the world works.
I didn't know either
It didn't. Someone just recently brought up, that Asperger had to deal with Nazis and there were some accusations in recent years and it obviously got popular. Well ... it's easy to point at people now.
The term Asperger's syndrome was used by Lorna Wing in 1976 and later popularized. (according to Wikipedia)
@@PetrVejchoda I don't know if I would trust wikipedia. What are its sources?
It’s funny that Rain Man, a film made 33 years ago, had more thought, care, passion and research put into its depiction of autistic people than a movie shot in 2017 and released in 2021. Music is baffling and makes Tropic Thunder’s Simple Jack, which was a parody of bad performances by able bodied people “acting” autistic, look nuanced.
Ugh tropic thunder, that movie was so funny
For Rain Man, Dustin Hoffman worked with autistic men and their families for over a year, and spent a lot of time with Kim Peek, the inspiration for his character. So despite being neurotypical, he at least did his homework correctly and that dedication really comes across.
What about what’s eating Gilbert grape leonardo Di caprio’s acting
While I'm not a fan of Rain Man for creating the savant autistic trope and the whole story of "turns out i actually love my disabled brother" thing, it's far more respectful when it comes to autism than music (which is funny cause the inspiration Kim Peek turned out not to be autistic lmao)
@@harlequeenchannel Yeah, I was gonna mention Rain Man is somewhat problematic too haha glad I'm not the only one to think so.
It's also pretty guilty of validating the hero syndrome thing with their neurotypical characters, the whole "autistic people need you to be their saviour" trope.
"Special abilities" I'm autistic not an Avenger-
Thanks for the likes :]
I have ADHD, are sensory overload, tics, panic attacks and zoning out superpowers?
@@musicalbookworm3567 superpowers where? (Adhd crew where you at?)
My superpowers are being stressed out whenever a family member I distrust enters the room, zoning out, and always feeling like I'm going to explode a million times per day because I have to many feelings about things I like and no outlet.
@@musicalbookworm3567 well, occasionally having the ability to hyperfocus and do incredible amounts of work in a short time is almost a super power... Would be nice if I could also choose when it happens, what topic I focused on and to be able to remember to eat/sleep/take my medicine while it's happening. Still on occasion it's kinda cool.
@Death Omen dude same. I forget random days but I remember something my teacher told me like 6 years ago
That’s like hiring a deaf person and not accommodating it so that they can understand what’s going on and since they can’t understand shes like oh u can’t handle it, then ok your fired, like r u serious !?
exactly this thing happened two weeks ago in the german version of ANTM (so GNTM) to a deaf model:/
@@vickyengler21 omlll , ppl r messed up
As someone who is not autistic, I appreciated seeing your perspective and also learning about this controversy. I didn't even know about this Sia movie before today. Also, I didn't realize that "high functioning" and "low functioning" were offensive terms, since I've been using them up until now, but I'm glad I know now.
great comment! i’m an autistic person and i get so happy when people (like you) learn and grow their understanding of autism 💕 keep it up :)
also, i love your profile picture! i’m a huge miku fan.
I agree since I have friends, who are on the autism spectrum, and I didn't know about the "high functioning" and "low functioning" thing being offensive. I love learning more about the spectrum so I can be more respectful and understanding their struggles.
Same. My *brother* is autistic. (I’m going to the doctor soon to see if I’m on the spectrum as well) and I didn’t even know that high-functioning and low-functioning were offensive terms. The more you know :)
Comments like yours make my day! I'm autistic and even I am still learning about offensive terms and wordings. But to see someone who doesn't have to deal with the disorder themselves try to better themselves and learn.. it's great! I hope you have a wonderful day and that your loved ones are happy and healthy!
@@e.vanl. it’s the least we can do as decent human beings😊 hope you and your love ones are happy and healthy too😊
A quick note about the "special ability/differently able" bs. I keep hearing this in academic circles and I swear I am gonna get a special ability from how hard I roll my eyes.
Hilarious, thank you for that laugh!
This made me smile. I completely agree.
Exactly. Disabled does not mean “differently abled.” It means they can’t do some things, but that doesn’t mean they can’t do anything or aren’t capable of doing great things. Expectations for people with disabilities (especially more mental ones) are usually either too high or too low and are usually in comparison to “normal” people. Like, if all my older sister (who has a rare genetic disorder) does today is go to animal therapy and brush and feed an alpaca and then makes beaded bracelets or listens to the Hannah Montana soundtrack twice through, then I’m still proud of her bc she has something she’s passionate about and isn’t doing nothing with her life like some people think they, themselves, would do (and be able to do) if they were in her position.
Everyone is different-and that’s okay.
Note: my older sis has definitely mastered the eye roll.
Yep! It's like people saying "differently abled". Disabled is not a dirty word. I am autistic and I have rare chronic illnesses/disabilities.
One of my college professors unironically used the term "differently abled" and I remember thinking that if anybody ever called me that I would laugh in their face
i just needed to say when she said “SEE YA” my mind immediately went to “SI-A”
Same
IKR? And it was vice versa when I first heard her name. XD
Same bro
SAME SJSHISJS
This is the point
I'm not even autistic and I was so uncomfortable watching that trailer
Me too honestly
I feel like sia has manipulated Maddie and maybe maddie has a hard time standing up to adults but idk the relationship just feels icky now
Same
@@christinabiancofiore4195 There are plenty of autistic actors who could’ve played this role. But like Paige said even she would feel uncomfortable playing it because of the way Music is potrayed
@@itsayesha2811 I agree I feel like sia made the wrong decision casting Maddie and she could’ve easily found an autistic actor, but what I was trying to say is even tho Maddie wasn’t sure about playing the role sia convinced her too
How did sia do 3 years of “research” about autism and still end up supporting autism speaks? After my parents told me about my diagnosis, I found out how terrible AS was after like maybe a month of research, and that’s being generous.
Good point
Great point but she probably wanted to dig deep on it
What’s autism speaks?
@@prxscilla.x7036 A group that talks about how much of a strain people with autism are.
they act like they're helping autistic people but instead just talk about how much of a burden they are and get moms with autistic kids to talk about how much of a burden their children are... right in front of them. you can look up the other kinds of stuff they've done, but there's definitely other organizations dedicated to helping autistic people that are worth supporting!
You know it's bad when even Maddie said she felt like she was making fun of them and didn't wanna play the part. She didn't even know much about autism and she could tell something was wrong
If Sia was a dude we'd definitely be talking about how she's been grooming Maddie for years.
Oof. I never thought of it that way. Very good point. *cringe*
Yeah, it's very disturbing already.
Now it's even more so...
Sia is giving of some serious Michael Jackson vibes. Jikes.
We need to stop this period
We still need to talk abt this
“i casted disabled people, and NOT as drug addicts etc.. but as singers, and other desirable careers! 😩”
do you want a cookie? 😀
That made me so sick when I heard it. I'm not autistic so I can't relate directly, but I'm black and that sounds exactly like the bs apologetics around whitewashing, etc.
@@athenarocks7657 Even if the trait is different, discrimination often shows it face the same, yeah. I literally don't care WHAT the disabled person is doing - if that drug addict had well-rounded development and was given a full personality, I'd much rather have that than a minor / background character with little to no lines.
As an autistic person, I have a high respect for sex workers. But yeah, Sia should really get off the internet
That is as stupid as people saying "I'm not racist, my best friend is black" Having black friend's doesn't make you less racist. Having other disabled people on your set doesn't make you less discriminatory to autistic people. Sia needs to get her head out of her ass.
She was expecting a special reward for doing what people should be doing in the first place; treating each other as equals and accommodating for disabilities in the work place. You do not get a cookie and gold star for treating disabled people as equals. That's just using people as props to get praise for yourself. Disgustingly egotistical.
That comment just showed that she wanted to be viewed as doing social justice more than she cared about actually listening to people with disabilities. An aggressive hero-complex overtook her original intention for the film.
“Maybe you’re just a bad actor.” 😳 What a horribly dismissive thing to say. 😢
No there are bad actors everywhere
And also like she said in the vid... shes basically saying an autistic person cant act enough like an autistic person like what?
Or accurate.
I might say just because they are an autistic person playing and autistic character doesn’t mean they are good at acting in that particular role. Yes there are probably heaps of good actors/actresses on the spectrum, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t bad ones. Again I’m not here to troll or start a fight just feel like sharing my opinion too. And like I said in my comment, the acting in the movie is rather bad but that’s not because she isn’t autistic. It’s poor directing and poor research into the role that is the real issue
All I’m saying is that the bad actors comment isn’t something bad. It may be the case that some are bad actors. It’s a spectrum disorder and just because someone is on the spectrum, doesn’t mean they can portray the role well. acting isn’t just one thing, it’s a whole arrangement of things and just because they might tick the autistic box doesn’t mean that they tick the rest. I know it’s an autistic role so your argument is they must be perfect for the role but it isn’t always the case. In terms of your question you asked me about what I think is a criterion for an autistic role, there isn’t really an appropriate answer to that because it is a spectrum disorder and ultimately it is the decision of the director in where they want to go with the movie. Was it the right decision to go with Maddie? no I don’t think so, but it was the decision that was made. Does it have to be an autistic person in the role? No, plenty of non autistic people could play that role very well, as too would a good autistic actor. In my opinion It’s just like straight people playing gay roles or the other way around, it doesn’t matter as long as it is done tastefully and respectfully. Should there be more autistic representation? Yes of course there should be. Do I agree that non autistic people need to cater for ever single need autistic people have to make them feel comfortable? Yes and no. Obviously help them but within reason. The world is a hard place and even more so for autistic people but sheltering them from it isn’t helpful. I’m lucky to get through life fairly easily my older brother has it a bit tougher than I do as he is on the spectrum but he manages. The reason for this is that my parents didn’t give him the ability to use his autism as an excuse (like I see heaps of people doing) and treated him the exact same way that I was treated.
So Samin, I am sorry if what I have said has offended you or anyone else. I might have a different view but I do understand yours as well. I think the world needs to be able to understand different opinions without the other side being shut out that is how everyone can flourish in society. Also sorry for rambling on. I tend to do that quite a bit.
“It’s about an autistic girl, whose name is ‘Music’ and she also does elaborate dance scenes” this entire sentence is just 😂
I told my mom about this movie and we decided to watch it but ended up watching a studio ghibli movie instead because I went through sensory overload during certain parts, I am on the spectrum and have some really bad sensory issues and seeing the "representation" I felt like I was being made fun of
For real, why fill your movie with an over abundance of sensory overload while you know a vast portion of your audience who will be consuming it might have severe reactions to stuff like that?!!!! Mind boggling stupid and out of touch... You made the right choice with deciding to watch Studio Ghibli instead!
where can you even watch it?
Studio Ghibli movies are good ngl
You made the right choice in watching Ghibli films. They are beautiful unlike this ableist BS of film
So do you agree sia was correct in not casting an autistic person because it would have been too stressful for them? I imagine if you cant even watch the movie then acting in it would be impossible
My favorite review of the movie was talking about how this wasn't a movie about autism but a movie about how the sister got over drugs and autism was used a prop in the movie to get the sister out of a dark place and that THE SISTER was the center of the movie not Music
Just another perspective
I heard that perspective, too! Which adds another layer of savior-complex grossness on top
Yeah but to be honest that isn't really a new perspective, that is a trope that has been used in many movies and those movies have been called out for it as well. That is why it is so disappointing that Sia still falls for that 'trap'. Rain Man was kind of like that too.
“It’s like they think Autistic’s are not good enough at being autistic on their own”. Damn that hit deep
Okay so there used to be a teacher's aide at my school that was part of a program for disabled students like my older sister, and I vividly remember having a conversation with her where she suddenly started making fun of a little boy and how he talked, literally impersonating his voice and mannerisms. I had to restrain myself from lashing out at her because I was so mad that she'd mock him like that. She also made fun of how my sister sat (no seriously, she made fun of how her legs were positioned when she was on the ground) when we were kids. I'm so glad that a couple years after I graduated they finally fired her because she's such a disgusting person to bully people like them.
My respect for Sia went 📉📉📉📉
Same
With autism I used to have respect for Sia, (if you are talking about the woman with black and a blonde wig) but I don't think I do now
Yeah as a former fan this was really disappointing to see. Like I know celebs aren’t perfect but this was pretty bad. I still rock out to her old songs like Titanium but I no longer support her as a person
I actuallt start to unrespect sia because she destroyed a masterpiece of a song that is BTS "On" and that one pretty bugged me but then Music came in and while i am not autistic , i know that Music representing Autism in the wrong way .
Same
"Ew. 'I never said disabled, I only said special abilities'. What am I, a Unicorn?" makes me burst on laughing😂
I been saying" we're autistic not x-men to that quote"
Ah yes, I have the special ability of being unusually sensitive to sensory stimuli, and sudden uncontrollable tantrums when I’m overwhelmed. Not all heroes wear capes 😌
A wonderful portrayal of Autism is in the book/play “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time”. The author did 10 years of research, talked to psychologists, talked to actual autistic people, and has people with autism in his family. Autistic actors are the only people considered for playing the main character in the play, so that is great representation.
YES, that book is brilliant! Didn't know it was a play too, but that's great, especially having actors with autism.
Omg yes we actually had to read it in school and it was a great representation. People kinda didn’t like (made me very upset) But we did get to talk about autism and I felt like it added some great insight and should always be read by students
The title rings a huge bell. I must've read it, but now I should read it again.
I LOVE THAT BOOK. My book club wanted to go see the Broadway show but i think it was last minute:/
Thanks for the recommendation! I’ll check it out
I’m autistic and I really liked What's Eating at Gilbert Grape.. I don't think Leo went there to misrepresent, considering he spent time with children with disabilities to get an idea on who they are and their differing behaviours. He did a lot of research for the role.
I’m not autistic and I had no idea that high functioning and low functioning had its origins rooted in Nazism and ableism. I don’t think I ever used those words in the past but if I did I’m truly sorry and they will never EVER find their way in my vocabulary again
Same-- I had no idea. I just sent an email a few days ago using the words "high functioning" to describe a student at a nonprofit I help run because that's what the student's parent put on their application and I thought it was just part of their diagnosis... I feel really bad now 😬
@@lydiac.1671 it’s not your fault you didn’t know! :) thanks for educating yourself and changing your behavior accordingly
i had no clue either ! i just always never liked using those terms and decided not to. in my head everybody is capable and nobody is lesser hehe.
I was recently diagnosed and my family and I have been calling my diagnosis higher-functioning. I never knew about how those words are offensive, tho, can someone explain this a bit more?
@@who8518 Yea, it always felt weird to say "X functioning".
Like... functioning? Are Autistic people just like... inert?
The kind of relationship Sia has with Maddie honestly parallels grooming to the point where it's pretty disturbing
Yeah, I really don't understand it.
I'm very interested as to melissa's (maddie's mom) thoughts does she not see anything wrong with this or does she want to get maddie out of this situation because she knows it's wrong. Or does she not care because of the fame?
I honestly am so out of the loop, what all has she done with Maddie ?
@@crys_cornflakez I believe she basically just uses Maddie in every music video and stuff, but other than that idk, so I'm commenting if anyone responds I wanna learn too :)
@@crys_cornflakez I think it’s that sia includes Maddie in everything, also she started collaborating with Maddie since Maddie was like 11 years old, and sia was like 37. So it is weird for her to want to collab with a child. I mean sia does kinda seem obsessed with maddie
unrelated but SHE’S SO PRETTY. her makeup is so good and her eyes are so pretty omg.
For real. I kept thinking of Disney’s Rapunzel. Plus even MORE sass and intelligence. Go girl!!!
Oh yes! Especially full face on. I'm autistic, but I know I won't get a platform because I'm not exactly what you'd call beautiful... Beautiful people do have a sort of privilege compared to everyone else.
Right! And her top brings out her eye color so perfectly
Sensory gold fo sho. The shininess and seamlessness of her hair and makeup 😭😭😭
I wanted to like this but it was at 420 so take this comment as a like lol
As a neurotypical person, i believe sia is out of her mind
As an autistic person, I think our generation is a bunch of entitled snowflakes for getting pissed at Sia when all she did was make a movie to raise awareness. Y’all don’t realise it’s called acting it’s not that deep.
@@mvx2066 here we go with that word again. you should listen to other people more... Just because YOU weren’t hurt by it doesn’t mean other people couldn’t have been. Sorry, but you are part of the very few who see nothing wrong with how Sia handled this whole debacle. Unfortunately for you, people are actually trying to be considerate of others and calling people (like Sia) out when they make mistakes and act disrespectfully towards her target audience. Apparently all you got from this was that people misunderstood the acting, when there was a lot more that people had a problem with. Have some goddamn empathy, or fall behind.
I wish she didn’t do this, maybe she could go back to when she covered her face and sang beautifully
@@mvx2066 no im not a snowflake or offended. I just think shes out of her mind for really expecting twitter to not cancel her
@@eli_are_ftw And just because he's not offended, it doesn't mean other autistic people won't... as they clearly are. And honestly, judging from what I saw of the moive... THEY HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO BE OFFENDED! Seriously some of the stuff portrayed in the movie is so harmful for autistic people, you'd think it came out of an Autism Speaks ad.
as someone who already has a bunch of self hatred concerning their autism diagnosis, the movie made me cry. i felt made fun of honestly.
I hope you get over that. Being diagnosed as autistic for many people like us creates a sense of loss, grief and mourning. But finally being able to understand myself (better, at least) also was a big relief and a good start on the road of self acceptance and becoming more myself. Take care 👍
@@mabusestestament thank you it really means a lot
I felt the same way 😞
Honestly it sucks that people mock us Autistics. To me at least being Autistic isn't disabling, it's that fact that the rest of society doesn't seem to be willing to care about and accommodate us that is disabling. Being Autistic doesn't mean that there is something is wrong with you it just means that you think differently then Neurotypical people, which can honestly be a good thing as Diversity of any type is great for any living species and Neurodiversity is just another form of diversity and in my opinion just as important as physical diversity.
I don't think I really felt self conscious when I saw this movie. Just made me realize that there are still alot of uneducated people out there that don't understand autism, despite it becoming a common diagnosis.
I got my diagnosis in 2005, and no one really understood it. I mostly got it as my current teacher was harassing me and making my life a living hell, and a diagnosis from the state got her to back off. My psychiatrist came to my school to teach the students loosely about autism. So many questions for him I never hear anyone ask today. Society on average has advanced, but it still needs work.
I haven’t heard this young lady tell ONE lie yet.... and her delivery is EVERYTHING!
Hello out of my general curiosity, are you American?
She was incorrect in saying that the terms "low-functioning" and "high-functioning" come from the Holocaust as I cannot find any evidence of that online and the first known recorded usage of low-functioning was in 1969. It would have been helpful if she had referenced any sources for claims like that (that are not directly related to her experience) because that one line being cap has me doubting some of what she says unfortunately despite her having a really good message.
@@jadethirteen5306 There's actually a time article I found when I googled "high functioning autism label for holocaust" time.com/5255779/asperger-syndrome-nazi-germany-history/
Idk if this helps, but she certainly isn't pulling this information out of her ass
I mean, it's going to be in German, so you might not be able to find those exact terms due to the translator of the source, but he did use them, just in German. The vast majority of people translate them as "high functioning/ mid functioing/low functioning" and that is the origin of the terms, but I have seen a couple other translations, but in general, in English that's how we translate it.
But even if it's not the EXACT terminology because linguistics is weird, the classification system was all Hans Asperger. But again, MOST sources do translate his- oh we're at that part where she talks about this. She mentions Hans Asperger by name and told you everything I'm telling you. So how is that not sourcing the information? Hans Asperger is the one who first published these terms. She did cite him.
20% on rotton tomatoes, so despite the ableism and Sia's horrible comments its actually just a terrible movie lmao
i’ve never understood rotten tomatoes rating scale because i thought the higher the rating the worse it was: like it’s getting more rotten tomatoes idk maybe i’m just an idiot
@@lali6979 I'm pretty sure the higher it gets the riper the tomato gets so the rotten tomato would be a super bad movie, like this one.
@@lali6979 low scores are represented by a green splat while high scores are represented by a nice ripe tomato. Plus all the negative reviews have a green splat next to them while the few positive ones have a ripe tomato. So low number=not well liked.
From only 7 reviews though, some of which acknowledged they based their rating on reasons other than the films own merits (or otherwise).
I don't let critics dictate whether a movie is good or bad. I see it, then decide for myself. Haven't seen this one yet.
There was also 2 scenes where they physically restrained Music! Absolutely sick.
That's good!
@Anonymous What is wrong with you? Physically restraining someone is something that should never be done, no matter the circumstances.
@@tikkilover4890 Haha, good one!
@@tikkilover4890 its not that nobody should ever be physically restrained. Its that if we are trying to help someone having a meltdown, touching them and aggravating them is the worst way to help, and we need to teach kids coping strategies for their emotions from a young age, and give them room to be upset instead forcing them to be calm at all times. If someone is harming others or harming themselves then that needs to be stopped immediately.
@@KD-ou2np lol
"Uh, it's called acting."
"I mean, so is blackface."
This
This is an over simplification you wanna be as accurate as possible bc representation is important. Like if you were making a movie about a trans woman early in their transition your probably gonna just cast a man unless you want to ask a fully transitioned trans woman to de transition enough to play the role.
@@gnarrcan108 or you could cast a trans woman who's early in her transition, you'd probably get a more authentic representation like that.
@@nottoomanylines8733 yeah that’s also incredibly hyper-specific. How many actors are out there that are beginning their transition while also going out auditioning and being scrutinized at a time where they’re still semi vulnerable ab appearance. There’s a fine line between representation and doing what’s best for the role. . It gets fuzzy just bc should trans women always have to play trans or if a part is being cast for a character that’s gay and they’re down to the last 2 and one guy is straight the other is gay. Let’s say this role is a biopic of a gay figure in real life guy no.1 has the character down to a tee in looks and mannerisms whereas guy no.2 doesn’t quite fit should the casting director cast him bc he’s actually a gay male. I kinda rambled here but representation means to me that these characters are well thought out and tell multiple types of stories for multiple types of people. The character being done well and nuanced is the most important. You could flip my example the other way and say a trans female is perfect for a cisgender roll why should they cast the cisgender person who’s not as good just bc she’s a cisgender bio female. Hollywood’s problem is that they typecast and stereotype instead fulfilling the creative process
@@nottoomanylines8733 if you don’t wanna read my super long ramble I’ll use a quick example of why that’s incredibly hyper specific. In the hbo show boardwalk empire there’s a character called Richard Harrow who’s an ex WW1 sharpshooter who’s face and throat are horribly disfigured and he wears a tin half mask to cover it. The actor who played him was not handicapped did a phenomenal job though. Should HBO have tried to find an actor who had half his face blown off with a shotgun?
I'm so mesmerized by the eyelashes around the mirror behind you.
It's all fun and games until they open up and there's eyes on the wall like 👁👄👁
@@casualfanboy16 Yeah, that would be a totally different experience! : D
@@casualfanboy16 this comment is killing me oh my god
Same lol.
Tbh, their kinda pretty
when i was younger, i was heavily bullied. i don’t have autism, i have severe ADHD. and i often act in ways that people have assumed was autism. i used to get called autistic or the r slur all the time, and when i’d stim or even have meltdowns, i got mocked by people acting the same way maddie acted here. i watched the trailer and it made me so uncomfortable. i almost cried because it frustrated me so bad and triggered those bad memories of how people used to mock me. i can’t even begin to
imagine how triggering and shocking and just overall mortifying this performance must be to those who are non vocal and experience the severities of being autistic in public schools. my heart really goes out to everyone with autism. i know i do not understand it, but i can relate as someone who is also disabled, and i’m just repulsed by this movie. absolutely revolting.
This is so hard I have a child like this. I have ASD and I look at her and she does too. According to UC Davis in a sanitary room with one person some of her symptoms dissipate so she's not. And I am like what? How does that work when that isn't ever to happen on the real world. And our insurance won't pay for ABA unless she has ASD. The lack of diagnosis real hurts her because it keeps resources that could help her out of reach.
I’m autistic (+ADD) and have selective mutism as a symptom, which means I lose the ability to talk/communicate under severe stress. I’m 25 and still in therapy for PTSD from the childhood bullying. I’m so deeply sorry you had to walk in our shoes growing up. Nobody deserves to be treated that way. It’s a cruelty impossible to understand by those who haven’t lived it. When I first saw Maddie’s portrayal (aka Sia’s writing/directing), I genuinely didn’t think it was real. I figured it must’ve been a shock trailer to draw people to a vastly different movie.
I’ve been a fan of Sia since she frontlined Zero7 and still can’t believe she did this to us a month after first hearing about it. I wish VR was more advanced so she could’ve tried a virtual experience for one average day of an autistic child in public school. Even that would’ve gotten her to understand more than her “3 years of research.” Simply hurtful and disappointing. Nothing but solidarity for the neurodivergent/disabled kids who were bullied for too closely resembling autism. You’re our horrible collateral damage, just like we’re collateral for other nd/disabled folk. We’re not invisible and we are not alone. ❤️
Yeah there is a certain overlap between autism and ad(h)d, like of both are represented by a circel, they partly overlap 😘
I also have adhd and a lot of autism symptoms. It’s very common for women to be under diagnosed for both and having both is also common.
What's ADAD and what's the r slur whats stim. And sorry for what happened to you and to anyone else who dealt with that (the teasing and mocking and other bulling)...... But why didn't Sia just hire a person that has autism? Because the role is an autistic person...right? Wait does the person who was acting even have autism or not because I don't really have any evidence to say anything really.
Hope your doing okay.....
Oh my god, the savior complex thing I can relate to, like a lot. I don’t have autism, but I am a part of several groups of minorities and so like- I really understand the stupid savior complex thing. I have a difficulty processing things as well as an inability to focus on a single subject and because of this I’m often treated like someone who is incapable of doing things themselves, or someone who needs to be “saved” by others who aren’t part of my communities. It’s like the only support that I ever receive as a person who’s Native American, or transgender, or neurodivergent is pity. This is very detrimental to my own self confidence because it seems as though my identities are all that I’m seen as. Anyways, your criticisms are refreshing to me, and I appreciate you for explaining to the world the struggles that you and your communities face because it seems like in educating the world on these issues, at least some efforts can be made to stop more offensive portrayals like this from being created in the near future! Thank you!
My 3 year old daughter was just diagnosed with autism level 2, she’s verbal and I didn’t see anything different about her other than avoiding eye contact and getting extra excited when hugging our dog or when kissing me good night. To be honest I freaked out because I didn’t know anything about autism but the more I look videos of autistic people I feel like autistic people is so smart and wonderful. Thank you for educating people about autism. You are beautiful and smart.
Foxy - Long reply but please bear with me and read to the end.
If that's all you think autism is you need to educate yourself for your daughter's sake as it it is far far more than not making eye contact and getting excited. You are (or at least were a year ago, maybe that has changed?) focusing on a couple of external signs or "tells" of what is a completely different wiring of her brain and the way she will think, feel, perceive the world and act in it for the remainder of her life.
For example you commented about autistic people being "smart" based on YT videos when many have very low IQs and are severely developmentally disabled. The savant or genius or high IQ is true of some as is a very low IQ, many are simply average. The autistic savant is a stereotype and naturally most people running YT channels will be of average to high intelligence. They are not representative of all autistic people. The intellect/intelligence aspect of ASD is like the rest of it on a spectrum. A person outwardly appearing to the uneducated "severely autistic" may have a very high IQ while another who seems to function quite "normally" may be intellectually very challenged. Of course I will state that IQ is irrelevant when it comes to a human's worth.
As an autistic father of an autistic daughter I can tell you first hand the biggest barrier to understanding, accommodating and truly accepting autism is to stop looking at it as what you see or don't see physically. It may have overt physical signs, they may be or become very subtle or masked almost altogether later in life. That is not a measure of how autistic or neurologically/psychologically different that human is. I recommend people read up on the DSM5 criteria and actually seek to understand it, books by autistics and autistic experts such as Temple Grandin and Tony Atwood. Another excellent book is Neurotribes for a full history of the disorder. It's natural to not see, or want to see anything different but it's not necessarily helpful to you or her. She is very different to most (and even to other ATs) and different in a way that will be both a benefit and detriment to her in life. Recognize which differences do or will cause her to struggle in certain aspects of life and need assistance and which make her far stronger or more abled than many NTs.
I hope you see where my comment is coming from. I am not being negatively critical of you. it comes from hard learned lessons and as a 47 year old autistic I am still learning about myself and my now 17 year old daughter and still making mistakes 🙂
you’re a wonderful mother for actively going out and researching for your daughter, my mother did the same once i got my diagnosis and it made all the difference ❤️
As a filmaker with autism it does kind of get under my skin when I see people make movies who don't have any personal connection to autism make a film about a character with Autism just to add to the story.
But its fine when people who doesn't have cancer, plays a role of a person with cancer? Or a straight person playing an LGBTQ+ person? I'm not trying to start anything, I'm just asking.
@@stephen4681 well it’s certainly just as debatable when a straight person plays and LGBTQ+ character, because to be perfectly honest I never said that was fine either, which I don’t really think it is.
@@JosephReviewsFilm Exactly. I don't think it is either
@@JosephReviewsFilm so what is acting about? Like..i can only act a blond straight girl . I get why people says those things about autism , but why sexual orientation has to be the same that we have in life?
Y’all complain about everything
I feel bad for maddie. She didn't wanna do it. Sia is all wrong in this
She debunked it and said thats bullshit LMAO
So what is with sia and her mum making maddie do this movie. Her mom should be protecting her.
@@vex080 wtf are you talking about?
@@mirellamolinaro5476 Every adult in Maddie’s life failed her on an exponential level. From Abby Miller to Sia.
i'm writing an essay about all the ways this movie failed (and after all the controversy, i actually got diagnosed myself HAHA) and so i just want to say thank you for this video!! at the time i had a lot of misconceptions about autism despite studying it and having friends with it. it's so misrepresented it's actually baffling. and also, you're so beautiful!!!
u just gave me an idea omg
As an young adult who is autistic, It saddens me that people such as Sia think so little about our community. Plenty of autistic people have made names for themselves, and (pardon my language) have done a damn good job at what they do. Satoshi Tajiri is my favorite example, being the creator of Pokemon. When I was growing up, I was harassed and beaten by my so-called "classmates", because I was autistic and also have the last name Tardie. Pokemon was the one thing I had to go home to and be thoroughly entertained by. Being autistic, I had a hard time grasping certain social situations growing up, and always obeyed social contracts, hoping it would help me be more social. I don't know if anyone will read my comment, but its out there. Life Story Comment Over
I’m sorry to hear that happened to you. As a kid with an ASD, I was fortunate to be treated better. I dig your Espeon picture. Satoshi Tajiri is awesome. Pokémon is one of my favorite franchises, and the most successful one yet in world history. I’m not young anymore at 31, but I do remember having a difficult time, especially in my teens.
I read your comment and even if i am not autistic, i have several other problems (Depression, ADHD, Panic disorder...) i know the problem with beeing bullied so many years at school and i feel very sorry by reading your comment! I hope you feeling a little bit better now and have this situation behind you, i wish you much power, selflove and more people near you, who recognize you as a lovely person and lovable character to support your way of life! (Sry about my english, it isn't my native language^^)
That's really shitty. I have PTSD from different things and people think it's funny to play pranks on me and jump out randomly or sneak up on and pop balloons or bags :/ people suck Pokemon rocks
can we also address how Maddie's character is meant to be biracial, and is represented in one seen with a far darker skin tone than Maddie (a white person) has, and is shown having braid buns at the side of her head. Not only have many autistics themselves said this is offensive to them, and is clearly ableism, but is also appropriation.
yes ma’am!!!!
Exactly! While not just get someone who is biracial and autistic?
I in no way intend to be rude with this, I’m just curious: how are braid buns appropriation? I thought anyone could wear braids, and I’m white and have worn braid buns before... I feel really bad now 😬
@@yourlocaltheatrekid900 if you look at the trailer she’s in the yellow dance scene, the braids are really tight and if you see them it just doesn’t look right. i think there were some posts on instagram addressing it and probably some stuff on twitter. i think it was the particular type of braid buns xx
@@yourlocaltheatrekid900 it was like box braid buns and her skin was shown way darker than it actually is
I was really quite offended by 2 things in this movie. 1 music's vocals. Typically when non-vocal people speak it actually sounds like they're trying to have a conversation and music just sounds random. The other is this movie actually portrays what people want autism to be. A person who's perpetually a toddler and is the main reason I hate special ed. It was more of a daycare instead of treating us as people they treated us as our disability.
Exactly!
And now it turns out Sia just recently came out with her own recent Autism diagnosis...
My brain doesn't know what to make of this, I don't know how to process this
Sia is lying to get sympathy
Maddie’s relationship with Sia is very toxic as much as toxic as is was when she was with Abby.
She's scarily aggressive about defending herself instead of listening.. I'm curious, how does one recover from this level of embarrassment?
Generally, you don't. People that narcissistic tend to just live on being bitter about it forever; public embarrassment is a wound that never heals for egotists. And we know what happens to wounds that don't heal.
She should have kept her self hidden
Exactly
Narrow mindedness usually comes with a very loud and aggressive mouth. Sad really cause her music isn’t horrible
Fr i would've simply laid down and died after that
"special abilities" TELEKINESIS??
FLYING?
Wtf i havent heard about these special abilites?? Wheres mine?????
YES 🙌
I wish I have telekinesis but NOPE.
INVISIBILITY?
I just realized that Sia herself is claiming to be autisitc recently... I know that nobody's here anymore but I just found out about this and idk how to feel about this...
I can't get over how pretty your hair, outfit, and makeup is.
dude same!
Mood
Amazing isn't it the way she is apparently hypersensitive to things on her skin and yet has a full face of make up and jewelry.
I'm not autistic and can't tolerate that.
So what actually are her struggles that actually make her have the disability that is supposed to be autism?
@@cq1903 huh
@@cq1903 Yo....Are you denying the fact that she has autism? Are you saying you know what she can tolerate and what she can't? Not every autistic person has the same struggles
i have two friends with autism and literally within a few days of talking to them about neurodivergent related things (i have adhd) i learned more about asd than sia knows from three years of research
I know right! I have multiple friend who have autism and I can see the things wrong with this without even being told. Like.....one of those friend I have known for literally less than a year and due to covid we mainly just text but I've learned enough from him alone to know that this movie is extremely disrespectful.
Just goes to show that just sitting down and talking to an autistic person would have taught her more than her three years of "research". I bet she just talked to care takers and people from autism speaks who can't know first hand what it's like and what is offencive.
Unrelated but I love your Pfp!! :)
My best friend of 11 years is autistic, i have adhd,, i relate to this so much
this is unrelated but omg dave
growing up i was on/off in a foster home. i had many siblings come and go, and a fair share had a disability of some sort. it isn’t that hard honestly to sit down and talk to a person about them and their experiences.
Good lord, I didn’t know the history of ‘low function/high functioning,’ and that’s actually fucking terrifying. Also, I’d be hella uncomfortable of someone said I had ‘special abilities’ because of my autism
And it’s bled over into other diagnoses too. I’ve often used high functioning anxiety or high functioning depression to refer to myself too...
Mhm like for most disablitys have mental disorders often get used of 'low function/high functioning' I have dispraxia I'm extremely clumsy and it takes me a normally long time to process sertain things, people have said that I am low/high functioning and I personally don't let it affect my life to much but it does affect me. But like when was I ment to sign up
Thank you so much for posting this. I just got a diagnoses last week and have been struggling with standing up for myself when people say I’m “high functioning” or question whether or not my autism is valid because I’m verbal and am good at masking. This was not only informative for some things I didn’t even know about our community, but great for awareness
It's actually kind of amazing... I've been trying to figure out if I'm autistic myself and have been doing some light research for the past 3 or 4 months and she really COULDN'T have researched for more than 5 days without finding out how ALL OF THAT was problematic and ableist, that's such a weak excuse
I agree 100% however when I started my research journey there was a huge amount of information put out primarily by autism speaks and another associate that seemed correct to a point. Knowing through further research how wrong all of those articles were is heartbreaking because of how many people don't make it over that hump in their desire to help.
And even though the movie is called “music” it’s not even about her, it’s about her sister? Like wtf
Right like at least show it from musics perpsceptive it's just pushing the idea more that non vocal autistics are not people and are just a thing
@@emersonwiborg1754 THIS
Sidenote, who names their kid Music? English is not my native language, so I don't know, but is that an actual name?
Also, on another level, no wonder the movies name is Music. That what Sia knows. That's what she knows and does best.
@@samuellaakso7012 i'm American and people love to name their kids weird shit like Music or North or Treasure so technically anything can be an "actual name" if the parents want to be "unique" or "quirky" :)
@@annika6592 Strange. In Finnish we also have words that can also be used as names, like you said treasure (fin. Aarre), but there are limits. Music (fin. Musiikki) as a name would never fly here.
Also most names that mean something here are nature-related. Exmp. Aalto (wave), Aamu (morning) or Kuura (frost).
i’m not autistic but i had selective mutism from when i was 2 til about 18/19 and hearing Sia (someone i used to adore) agree that people who can’t speak are essentially inanimate objects cuts deep man :/
I'm so happy to have finally found a youtuber who I can relate to. I'm an autistic millennial non-American woman, it feels so damn good to be seen.
Thank you so much for being you, Paige!!
i’m autistic and all i’m gonna say is that i found this so offensive to me and it made me feel like so bad, it’s so annoying
I’m autistic and feel the exact same
The movie or this video?
@@hitbyavisual the movie
@@hitbyavisual movie
@@anneautisms5136 yes
I am the mom of a 14 yr old autistic son. I wanted to say that you really taught me alot that I didn't know.
I do not have autism. I do not claim to have autism. But I do relate to many things about autism as someone with PTSD, ADHD, and anxiety many things I do were mocked in this movie (self stimulatory behavior, headphones, ext.) And I can only imagine how hurtful it is to autistic people so I am so incredibly angry, not to mention I know so so so many people with autism (4 siblings and stepfather) and this makes me angry not only for myself but for them. Much love to my beautiful autistic people ❤
I was thinking the same thing. (I have PTSD and anxiety). The scenes that they “edited out” where the sister is learning how to “handle” Music was pretty upsetting. If that’s how people tried to deal with my episodes like that it would cause WAY more problems both for me and the person involved. I can’t imagine how autistic people would feel about that.
PTSD and ADHD are both cooccurring in autistics. So is anxiety. So there is a lot overlapping.
kira - Explain how they mocked vs how you are simply sensitive about them and felt they were being mocked?
Sia going on and on about her “good intentions” is literally just her refusing to take accountability for her actions. You can have the best of intentions and still majorly screw up and hurt people really badly. You don’t get to decide that because you didn’t mean to, you didn’t actually do any harm.
The road to hell ain't paved with asphalt
I also hate how she highlighted the "purity" of """"special abilities people""""" people (since she does not even say the word disabled out loud), she is infantilizing a whole group of people and every tweet "defending" herself just digs her hole deeper. She is so ignorant!! I cannot!!
Yeah it's like she had some 'autism don'ts bingo card' and wanted to get a bingo as fast as possible 😁
Sia translation: SHUT UP AND CALL ME A GOOD PERSON
if the girl who was actually autistic was feeling stress they could have either made accommodations to make her feel less or hired another person who is also autistic sia acting like there was only one autistic actress
She's said before in an interview that she made the movie for maddie, like, to have an acting role, and it's starting to feel like she hired that autistic girl just to say "welp, I tried, didn't work out, calling it a day and putting my goddaughter in instead" which is really cruel when you think about it
@@meganmullis5386 I know Sia does everything with Maddie in mind since the Chandelier music video so saying that they tried one girl was just so it looked like she tried
"Special abilities"
ok brb Sia, gonna go fly with the power of my Neurodiversity, be back in 10
💀💀💀💀
What I don't get is Sia says that she originally hired an autistic actress, but then also says that she and Maddie "studied" for years about the role. So why were they studying if the original actress apparently pulled out as production started ramping up due to stress???
Asnwer
Sia Lied . So She Made Up An Alibi That She Work With An Autistic Actress Than Fired Her , Thinking The Filming Is Too Cruel For Her (Which Is Not The Right Thing To Do) . Ofc That Was Easily Debunked And The Truth Is That She Never Worked With This Autistic Actress .
@@m.syauqiabdurahman2798 Why did you capitalize every word?
ur eyes are so blue and ur hair is so soft and golden im actually obsessed you look like a princess
IKR!!!!
Right? She has a really nice aesthetic
That's kind of prejudice. Nobody ever talks about how brown someone's eyes are and how black their hair is. Aryan thinking. Especially considering your pfp.
@@OzCroc not really? Shes complimenting her?
And as a person who's built a mixed family, yes people who talk about black hair and brown eyes exist. Blue eyes are the ocean or pools but eyes of amber, honey, chocolate, or black eyes hold all the sweetness and depth of the universe, blonde hair is nice but black hair holds mystery and prestige, it can be soft like wool or wispy and graceful like the finest silk strands. Its talked about a Lot where im from literally nobody talks about blonde hair unless its platinum and blue eyes are so common and cut and paste usually that nobody notices unless their colours are vibrant or glistening like silver. Prejudism is prejudging somebody with hatred, not compliments.
@@deannashopa3058 Well I never see people say "I love how brown your eyes are". If OP simply said "I like your eyes and hair" that would be one thing, but saying it's beautiful BECAUSE it's blue and blonde is different.
The only time I've been even *remotely* okay with a non-autistic actor playing an autistic person was Claire Danes as Temple Grandin. Claire Danes actually put *effort* into her research and into portraying Temple in a respectful and accurate manner. When I saw the movie for the first time, I was in awe of how many *little* details she picked up on- the intonations we use when we speak, the way we sometimes shake one leg if we're sitting still. She clearly studied Temple Grandin's mannerisms, and even Grandin herself was in awe of how accurately Danes captured her voice.
But playing a specific person who has a disability that you don't have is a far cry from casting a non-autistic person as a fictional character who's a stereotype *at best*. It's damaging and disrespectful.
She was really was believable and so much like Temple.
I was lucky a friend told me to watch it.
Claire Danes was amazing and she portrayed Temple Realistically and didn’t act outrageously.
I was just about to comment about Clare Dane’s portrayal of Temple Grandin. Her attention to detail really stood out to me, having read Temple Grandin’s autobiography and seeing her speak.
Have you seen Sigourney Weaver in Snow Cake? I’ve been wondering about the perspective of the film from someone on the spectrum.
@@nightynightshade I haven't, but I may have to give it a watch to evaluate it! I do at least really like Sigourney Weaver as an actress!
Ok but I’m fascinated with the “I can talk with my mouth closed“ part
Glad you mentioned Good Doctor, I always wondered how no one pointed out that it’s equally problematic and came out long before this movie
But Freddie is a much better actor than Maddie. You gotta admit that.
I find The Good Doctor (the American series) to be a good representation of how I experience my autism, which was diagnosed by a doctor. I don't think it's problematic at all.
I don’t watch that show so I can’t say
@@stonefruitlover It matters because, like she said in the video, it sounds more like a mockery when people who arent actually autistic, make movements, sounds or pronounce their words differently. It sounds less offensive when people are just talking as if they are autistic when acting. Not to mention that the makers of the good doctor knew WAY more about the subject than sia ever cared to figure out. She even made rude remarks when people pointed out the flaws in her movie that should have been changed.
i feel so bad for maddie, she even broke down and said that she didn’t want to do the role but sia forced her to. i’m not autistic myself, but i’m so sorry she’s made this movie and has done all of this, it’s truly disgusting.
Imagine walking into a minstrel show and going "ah yes, the fine art of acting!"
@Paige Layle
"Non vocal" means they have no voice (vocal = voice); while "non verbal" means they don't/can't use words (verbal = words, from latin "verbum" = "word")
So "non verbal" is definitely more respectful than "non vocal", because they sure have a voice and can use it and can use "non verbal communication", that is vocal communication without words (humming, shouting, yelling is non verbal but vocal communication, both in autistic and in neurotypical people)
Hey, have you seen "hors normes"? It's a french movie about two guys who tries to help autistic kids, it's a real story and they used autistic actors and real autistic helpers to do it. (sorry for my english I'm french)
Thank you for sharing! Your English is perfect 😊 The only French I can ever remember is “je n’aime pas faire du l’equitation”
Why did i read the comment with a French accent the second time 😭😭😭 sorry
thanks for the recommendation!
Your English is good, don't apologize!
You’re English is amazing and I’ll check it out :))
girl i about spit my drink out when u said "i can talk with my mouth closed!?"
ikr haha
You do look like Maddie. You could have gotten the role
Thought the same thing
The problem is the plot of the movie is fundamentally flawed.
That said, a movie that normalizes the acceptance of autistic people is much needed...
This is literally like Blackface for Autism and hopefully will be looked at in the same way as we look at blackface. Paige has done a FANTASTIC JOB exposing what SIA has done. Much love to you Paige 💖
Funnily enough, the movie did have actual blackface in it with Maddie having her skin darkened and wearing cornrows during a dance sequence because the character was supposedly half-black. Made me so uncomfortable as a legitimately half-black autistic person.
14:30 I used to really love Sia's music, but... _damn_ .
One of the first things that comes up when you search "Autism Speaks" is 'electric shock therapy'.
HOW COULD YOU _NOT_ KNOW!?
i’m not autistic or on the spectrum but the beginning and the pool party scene made me feel very overwhelmed and stressed. i couldn’t imagine how those who are autistic or on the spectrum felt watching those scenes. i’m so sorry, this movie felt like mockery.
oh nvm, my psychologist said i am.
@@sagemonke55 You might not need it, but the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (which is awesome) wrote a book for newly diagnosed autistic people, and it is free:
autismacceptance.com/read-the-book/
@@howcomeitsbeeping thank you! i will check it out!!
@@sagemonke55 I'm sorry, but I laughed.
@@ar.6968 don’t worry, i did too :)
I was diagnosed in August and knew about all the bs around Sia's movie, but did not know that Hans Asperger was a fucking Nazi wow lol that's fucking great
same...but now I’m learning and can like do so much better
And it's like in a certain way that's still the way the term is used. I. E., as she alluded to in this video, functioning labels really only denote how well someone fits into our late-stage capitalist society, and the ableist standards of NTs. So much of this category of "disability" is all relative to what people are expected to be able to do, and if people are too different, they wind up being considered incapable and not whole people.
@@sheatiller2465 Yep, basically
My biggest two issues with Sia is
1. she did not consult or listen to autistic people
and
2. instead of listening and learning from the criticism she got, she got very defensive and mean.
I get that people can make mistakes but not owning up to them and learning is the least any human should do