Aspie Eyes: The beautiful eyes of Asperger’s Syndrome *****
“Those of us with Asperger's syndrome, a form of high-functioning autism, often are accused of being “stoned”, or flirtatious, or are told our eyes are beautiful, innocent, or child-like. This video represents the eyes of Asperger's syndrome, wonderful and beautiful. Such a depth to these eyes, and I believe these eyes are indicative of our inner selves. This is a project which I have taken somewhere around 6 months to complete. After endless hours of collecting the photos, editing them, and working them into this video, the end result has surprised even me. I feel so close to all of you who contributed. Thanks so much to all of you who participated in this project and made it possible. After viewing this video, I think it is evident that there is “something about those aspie eyes”. You are all beautiful!”
- Mia Sansom
Aspie Eyes: The beautiful eyes of Asperger’s Syndrome is something rather different to the kind of stuff that I normally review but has a certain magical quality and relatability to me personally that I felt almost compelled to comment on it. The above quote by Mia Sansom, the woman who made the film, explains what her purpose was in making what is not so much a film but in some ways more an art project, albeit one that serves a greater purpose than that of art alone, coming with a message that many can learn from.
“The eyes in this video represent Asperger’s Syndrome or high-functioning Autism. Many say that these eyes have a certain innocence, beauty or magic about them. You decide...” These words start off this short video, which consists of images of the eyes of individuals with either Asperger’s Syndrome or high-functioning Autism accompanied by an enchanting piece of music – a piece of music that really does make this video seem magical. Again, I am not in a position to offer the most objective review of the film given that I have Asperger’s Syndrome myself but I am in a unique position to offer an Aspie perspective on this film and in this regard I must say that I found it to be absolutely delightful. You may wonder what purpose exactly could a film that is just four and a half minutes of photos of people’s eyes offer. Apparently, quite a lot, as these eyes convey more emotion and create a greater sense of magic than what you might find in a full length movie at times. People with Autism Spectrum Disorders are sometimes accused of being emotionless robots (for lack of a better term) and not having feelings but this is far from the truth and this film really helps to show this. Simply looking into the eyes shown in this film reveals a sense of loneliness and isolation but also a certain magic and wonder, something that many with an Autism Spectrum Disorder might be able to relate to and that I certainly can. Additionally, there is a perception that people with Asperger’s are all the same and this film also helps to disprove this as the eyes shown here are as diverse as you could ever expect to see. In reality, those people with Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism are probably the most unique individuals who you will ever encounter, there perhaps being far more diversity between different individuals with Autism than between neurotypical individuals in many cases. There is a real eloquence in which this video simply and effectively puts across the emotion, the uniqueness and the enchantment of Asperger’s Syndrome. Simply put, Aspie Eyes: The beautiful eyes of Asperger’s Syndrome is an enchanting video that really does feel quite magical and as well as being quite beautiful also has something to say about Asperger’s Syndrome, something that anyone with Asperger’s should be able to relate to and that anyone without could probably learn from. The video ends with the words “Aspie Eyes...Diversity is Beautiful.” I couldn’t put it better myself.
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This is a follow up to my previous post which contains the the full film of Aspie Eyes: The beautiful eyes of Asperger's Syndrome and can be found here: http://thewonderfulworldofautism.blogspot.com/2010/09/short-film-aspie-eyes-beautiful-eyes-of.html
Review by Robert Mann BA (Hons)
Sunday, 26 September 2010
Short Film: 'Aspie Eyes: The beautiful eyes of Asperger's Syndrome'
The original source for this video can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqGhDPhaRrc
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Aspie Eyes: The beautiful eyes of Asperger's Syndrome is another delightful video about Autism that I have come across while scouring the internet. It shows images of the eyes of Aspereger's Syndrome accompanied by some very enchanting music. That may not sound like much, believe me, there really is something quite special about this video.
A full review for this film will follow shortly.
Robert Mann BA (Hons)
Saturday, 25 September 2010
'Taste on Autism' Film Review
Taste on Autism *****
Taste on Autism is an 8 minute animated short film by Ben Htoo that was created for his individual Major Project for Raffles Design Institute in December 2009. It tells the story of an Autistic boy and a neurotypical girl who first meet as children. The girl immediately takes a liking to the boy but when she tries to get his attention by touching him, unaware that he is Autistic, he responds angrily, prompting her to run off. Many years later, they encounter each other again. He is a customer at a burger restaurant and she is a waitress there. Another incident prompts another angry response. When she learns that he is Autistic, however, she develops a whole new understanding of him and gets him a job working at the restaurant. Still, he seems to be a very sad individual and only when she asks him to go with her to a special learning centre for Autistic people do things change. He learns to cope with his Autism in ways he never could before and a romance begins between the two, him being truly happy for the first time in his life as a result of their relationship, the new found friendships with others around him and a whole new confidence that was missing in his life before. Eventually, he becomes truly independent although the ending is also tinged with sadness.
As an individual with Autism myself I am perhaps not best qualified to provide a truly objective review of Taste on Autism. What I can do, however, is provide an Autistic perspective on the film. While the film occasionally perpetuates the image of Autistic people as being angry and dismissive, it also offers some insight into why this is the case, making clear the fact that certain things that many take for granted, such as unwanted physical contact, can be very upsetting for individuals with Autism and that a negative reaction that many result is not reflective of the individual being angry or unpleasant, rather just a misunderstanding of the rules of social interaction that most take for granted. Ben Htoo seems to have some understanding of Autism as the film is very respectful and honest in the way it portrays its central character and his difficulties. The man is not unpleasant, he is just lonely and all it takes for him to feel happy is acceptance and understanding of who he is and what makes him special. The story is both inspirational and sweet, being the very kind of thing that really could happen and for me it really did inspire feelings of happiness and even a tinge of sadness at the end, and I am sure it will for you too, whether you have Autism yourself or not.
There is an almost magical quality to the film with the music, provided courtesy of Associated Production Music and Walt Disney Records (you may well have heard it before elsewhere), having a very enchanting essence, capturing the mood perfectly and emphasising the emotion that is being portrayed quite effectively through the visuals. The animation is simplistic but quite beautiful and works well with the story that is being told and the decision to portray much of what is going on visually rather than through dialogue – there is no dialogue at all – is an inspired one, with the images being utilized portraying what is going on in a simplistic yet effective way that individuals with Autism should easily understand and relate to, bypassing the awkward aspects of interaction that those with Autism find so hard to understand. This is a particularly good touch. Simply put, Taste on Autism is a perfect representation of Autism. It shows that those of us with Autism are people with feelings and that all we really want is to be accepted by the world that seems so alien to us. A truly magical and enchanting short film, this not only portrays Autism in a positive light but is also a very well made piece of animation and a very enjoyable one to watch, whether you are Autistic yourself or not. At a short running time of only 8 minutes, it won’t take up much of your time to watch and you may just feel a bit more enlightened about Autism for doing so.
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Taste on Autism is an 8 minute animated short film by Ben Htoo that was created for his individual Major Project for Raffles Design Institute in December 2009. It tells the story of an Autistic boy and a neurotypical girl who first meet as children. The girl immediately takes a liking to the boy but when she tries to get his attention by touching him, unaware that he is Autistic, he responds angrily, prompting her to run off. Many years later, they encounter each other again. He is a customer at a burger restaurant and she is a waitress there. Another incident prompts another angry response. When she learns that he is Autistic, however, she develops a whole new understanding of him and gets him a job working at the restaurant. Still, he seems to be a very sad individual and only when she asks him to go with her to a special learning centre for Autistic people do things change. He learns to cope with his Autism in ways he never could before and a romance begins between the two, him being truly happy for the first time in his life as a result of their relationship, the new found friendships with others around him and a whole new confidence that was missing in his life before. Eventually, he becomes truly independent although the ending is also tinged with sadness.
As an individual with Autism myself I am perhaps not best qualified to provide a truly objective review of Taste on Autism. What I can do, however, is provide an Autistic perspective on the film. While the film occasionally perpetuates the image of Autistic people as being angry and dismissive, it also offers some insight into why this is the case, making clear the fact that certain things that many take for granted, such as unwanted physical contact, can be very upsetting for individuals with Autism and that a negative reaction that many result is not reflective of the individual being angry or unpleasant, rather just a misunderstanding of the rules of social interaction that most take for granted. Ben Htoo seems to have some understanding of Autism as the film is very respectful and honest in the way it portrays its central character and his difficulties. The man is not unpleasant, he is just lonely and all it takes for him to feel happy is acceptance and understanding of who he is and what makes him special. The story is both inspirational and sweet, being the very kind of thing that really could happen and for me it really did inspire feelings of happiness and even a tinge of sadness at the end, and I am sure it will for you too, whether you have Autism yourself or not.
There is an almost magical quality to the film with the music, provided courtesy of Associated Production Music and Walt Disney Records (you may well have heard it before elsewhere), having a very enchanting essence, capturing the mood perfectly and emphasising the emotion that is being portrayed quite effectively through the visuals. The animation is simplistic but quite beautiful and works well with the story that is being told and the decision to portray much of what is going on visually rather than through dialogue – there is no dialogue at all – is an inspired one, with the images being utilized portraying what is going on in a simplistic yet effective way that individuals with Autism should easily understand and relate to, bypassing the awkward aspects of interaction that those with Autism find so hard to understand. This is a particularly good touch. Simply put, Taste on Autism is a perfect representation of Autism. It shows that those of us with Autism are people with feelings and that all we really want is to be accepted by the world that seems so alien to us. A truly magical and enchanting short film, this not only portrays Autism in a positive light but is also a very well made piece of animation and a very enjoyable one to watch, whether you are Autistic yourself or not. At a short running time of only 8 minutes, it won’t take up much of your time to watch and you may just feel a bit more enlightened about Autism for doing so.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a follow up to my previous post which contains the full film of Taste on Autism and can be found here: http://thewonderfulworldofautism.blogspot.com/2010/09/short-film-taste-on-autism.html
Review by Robert Mann BA (Hons)
Short Film: 'Taste on Autism'
The original source for this video can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n80_S1Gn7UM
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Taste on Autism is the first of many delightful videos I have found about Autism while scouring the web and that I will be aiming to post on here in the near future. It is an 8 minute short animated film that is basically about a romance between a woman and a man diagnosed with Autism. A truly delightful film.
A full review for this film will follow shortly.
Robert Mann BA (Hons)
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