Movies with neurodiverse characters aren't rare, but often they are portrayed by neurotypical actors. This topic has become more relevant recently in the context of Sia's notorious movie, Music. In the movie, neurotypical Maddie Ziegler plays the role of an autistic girl named Music.
This was seen as unfair by the autistic community as they thought the stereotypes Ziegler portrayed in the movie were unfair. Many felt that the role would have been better portrayed by an autistic actress.
When we first set out to answer this question, we asked ourselves, should neurotypical people play neurodiverse people at all?
Why would neurotypical people be cast as neurodiverse characters? Our answer was acting. Isn't the essence of acting to pretend to be someone you're not? Some of us thought that it would be okay, as long as the actor/actress is genuinely aware of the nuances of a neurodiverse brain, and has done adequate research. This still varies; avoiding stereotypes is also largely dependent on the director, the script, and the writers. This was countered by a comparison to whitewashing; you wouldn't cast a white actor to play an Indian character and vice versa, would you?
An argument commonly brought up was the lack of opportunities for neurodiverse actors and actresses; if you don't cast neurodiverse actors in neurotypical roles, why shouldn't they be allowed to play themselves? This is also a huge problem in the acting industry, and we acknowledged that casting directors' first choices should be neurodiverse actors for neurodiverse roles.
Should neurotypical scriptwriters be writing neurodiverse characters? If they have adequate knowledge, yes. Accurate portrayal and representation of neurodiverse characters is incredibly important to educate the neurotypical public. At the end of the day, what we see in media affects our opinions, which is why it is the responsibility of everyone involved to ensure an accurate portrayal.
By Archisha Dasgupta
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