What’s the film about?
Music is a 2021 musical drama directed by the popular musician, Sia.
In the movie, Kate Gamble, a newly sober drug dealer who has cut ties from her family is now the guardian of her autistic half sister Music (played by Maddie Ziegler) following the death of her grandmother who raised Music. Throughout the film, musical-like sequences take place inside Music’s mind, showing how she views the world.
Why the autistic community is against it
Autism rights activists are now asking Sia to cancel the release of the film in response to a trailer released starring Maddie Ziegler as a non verbal autistic teen, people on the autism spectrum have spoken out on the movie’s display of offensive stereotypes and visual effects.
More things that enraged the autistic community were:
• Casting neurotypical actress Maddie Ziegler to play an autistic person, many had hoped to see an autistic actor in the role of well, an autistic person.
• The depiction of Music being restrained to calm her down, this is something that the community has condemned for decades as these restraints can traumatize and kill.
• Some have also criticised Ziegler’s acting saying that she wasn't trying to portray a real person
Sia’s now issued a public apology, saying she hadn’t listened to the right people and adding a disclaimer to the start of the movie about restraint.
By Uday Shreshth
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