This is a list, and a response beyond a list, to recent news and statements made by Sia, a singer-songwriter out of Australia, and her condemned film, 'Music', about people on the Autism Spectrum.
Things not to do when you make a film about people on the Autism Spectrum:
1) Exclude them (Autistic people) from having input into the narrative and subject matter of the film;
2) Ignore the non-autistic person playing a supposedly-autistic character when they raise doubts about their portrayal of autistic people being authentic, and express concern that they feel like the portrayal mocks us (which it sure has been recieved as doing!)
3) Release the film, in spite of the poor decision making and irresponsible behavior referenced above in 1) and 2);
4) Ignore storng initial signs of backlash from people on the autism spectrum and our allies, calling out your film for its innacccuracies, it's stereotype-feeding narrative and character protrayals, and especially for a scene in which a physical action is taken against an Autisitc character and is referred to as 'crushing them with love' that many people on the spectrum acknowledge could be genuinely dangerous;
5) Double down on your commitment to the film after backlash (rightfully) does not let up;
6) Repsond with anger and irritation at Autisitc people calling you out on Twitter when they learn you didn't really try to work with an Autistic actress in the autistic character's role, and didn't want to try, so you had that role re-cast for a neurotypical person
7) Tweet any of the following in response to Autisitic people becoming more and more frustrated and outraged at how poorly you've portrayed us, and how worse you have been at responding humanely to us:
7a: “Fucking bullshit. You have no fucking idea because you weren’t there and haven’t see the movie.”*
7b: “I cast thirteen neurotypical people, three trans folk, and not as fucking prostitutes or drug addicts but as doctors, nurses and singers. Fucking sad nobody’s even seen the dang movie. My heart has always been in the right place.”*
7c: “Grrrrrrrrr. Fuckity fuck why don’t you watch my film before you judge it? FURY.”* (Andy's note: yes, that's a quote from a tweet. If you aren't sure you believe me, see the links at the bottom of this post. Plenty of citations are out there)
8) Reveal that Autism $peaks helped you make the movie and supported you (no wonder its impact on us has been a train wreck and you weren't willing to even hear us out about how its portrayal of us is stereotypical, harmful, and even encourages physically dangerous behavior and action under the guise of 'helping' us...it's not like that's an organization that has advocated for us to be euthanized under the rhetoric of a 'cure' or anything and that partnered with Google's human genome project to see the happen...right...? Oh wait, yes, actually, that is exactly what's going on here, and you're adding fuel to the hellfire)
9) Go into rehab after feeling suicidal, and, as of the last 24-or-so-hours apparently, share with news stations that you felt suicidal because of Autistic people calling you out on what you have done with your film that has willfully, maliciously, and deceptively misrepresented, demonized, degraded, and normalized harmful and potentially physically dangerous behavior towards, us.
...Do you have any idea how many Autistic people die at their own hands? In any capacity? Do you understand why?
If so, why do you portray us as the villains who caused you to feel suicidal, rather than acknowledge that your behavior and your film are unethical and clearly did actual, real harm, adding to stereotypes that contribute to our suicides, and our murders via filicide on top of that...?
There's a reason why March 1st is recognized by some diability rights advocate and activist circles as the "Disabiltiy Day of Mourning", where we read off the list of those whose parents or caregivers have killed us. There's a reason why our community is hurting. There's are many reasons why we called your film, and you, out...the biggest being that you have joined a club of celebrities and politicians and wealthy people, who are not Autistic and who are not Neurodivergent, who have mocked and taunted, dismissed and ignored, and with films and actions like your own, exploited us, for your own profit. A club of people who double down on being unethical and harmful towards us, and who them play the role of victim. Of course you found a strong backlash; you lashed out at us first while pretending to represent us with your film' which you regard as 'art'. But it isn't art; it's nonautistic misunderstandings and misportrayals of supposedly autistic people. It is made to reinforce a cultural narrative that justifies seeing us as 'less than'.
And, as if that weren't enough, you 'feel suicidal' because a demographic and community of people who often do die from suicide, and also from being murdered by others, called you out and shamed you for legitimately shameful behavior...? For the first time in my life, in spite of my past suicidal thoughts, I do not have empathy for you, as someone who was suicidal, that is reasonable and sensible to entertain. Never before have I withheld feeling for someone who has struggled with those terrible thoughts...not one single time.
But now, because of your unethical behavior, I am aware that some people can feel suicidal...and still actually, genuinely, and fully not deserve my compassion. After all, by your account, I'm an example of the type of person you consider responsible fro your suicidal thoughts and feelings...even though, in reality, they're the consequences of your -own- actions, and your -own- behavior against that same demographic of people -- Autistic people -- whose behavior is often the reason we are pathologized, discriminated against, bullied, abused, and even killed.
Your suicidal thoughts do not justify or excuse you willfully contributing to the factors that often push us over the edge of the precipice that would kill us, and failing to apologize for your extra push when we explain what you have done to you.
If you absolutely must turn to blame someone for the way that your film is apparently such a caricature of who we, as Autistic people, are, well...frankly, you did work with Autism $peaks. Maybe scrutinize them? Maybe don't take their word sincerely next time...? They are known for damaging representations of us that are similar to your own work -- something that a great many Autistic people speak, write, blog, tweet, post, and continue to be vocal about well after over a decade's time. Had you consulted us, at all, that would have been apparent (assuming you would have listened, which I hope you would have...but I wouldn't hold my breath, either...).
Heck, Autism $peaks did contribute to the film even after you wouldn't let an actually-Autistic person play the role of your supposedly autistic lead because you found accommodating that autistic actress to be too hard, after all. At least, by pointing out how their views maybe impacted your work, then you'd be pointing at a likely underlying cause of why you've gone through feeling suicidal -- a cause for why we've been so ticked off by how you portrayed, and betrayed, us.
But don't blame us. We didn't contribute to your film; we didn't get that option. You, instead, made it, directed it, made "executive decisions" for it, and have referred to it yourself as 'Sia's [Your] love letter to caregivers and the autism (notably not 'autistic') community'.
This mess is of your own making, and you are responsible for the damage you have done - to us and to your own claims of trustworthiness and ethos. That we have to bear the consequences of your actions - of how you've mocked us - and call you out on what you've done wrong is not justifiable. It's not excusable. It's not ethical.
And you've brought it all back up after nearly a year, by talking about your suicidality...which you need not be silent about...but what of our decades of the same, thanks most notably to people like you?
Don't make works about us, without us.
Quit dehumanizing and stereotyping us.
Don't prematurely mourn for us, especially while we live.
Quit. Killing. Us.
- an Autistic person who has grappled with suicidal thoughts, feelings, and hardships for years throughout multiple parts of his life, and who is, thank all good things, 'Not Dead Yet'
---
* Source for these quoted tweets under list item "7)" (some of these are also referenced in some of the articles that follow further down. Apparently, Sia's reaction saw plenty of tweets made on Twitter before she took them don):
Some other links for reference and further learning/context, with quotes I've picked out, in case people really need more:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2021/02/15/sia-new-movie-music-angers-autism-community/6735331002/
1) "In the film (now streaming), Music (played by Maddie Ziegler) is a young autistic woman who falls under the care of her half-sister Zu (Kate Hudson) after her grandmother dies (Mary Kay Place). Zu learns all about Music's daily routine with the help of Music's neighbor Ebo (Leslie Odom Jr.) – and the movie becomes more problematic from there, according to advocates."
2) "I don't even know where to start," Camille Proctor, executive director and founder of The Color of Autism Foundation, told USA TODAY. [...] I feel like (Ziegler) was doing parody."
3) "The movie depicts Music being restrained as a means to calm her down – something the community has condemned.
"The autistic community has been fighting for decades to end the use of restraints that traumatize and kill," said Zoe Gross, director of advocacy at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, in a statement. "Had the filmmakers chosen to meaningfully involve autistic people from the beginning, we could have told them how catastrophically irresponsible it is to encourage viewers to use the kind of deadly restraints that killed Max Benson, Eric Parsa, and many other members of our community."
https://nypost.com/2021/02/17/more-than-55000-critics-cancel-sias-music-amid-backlash/
1) "The National Autism Association has characterized Ziegler’s performance and Sia’s direction as “dangerous and abusive,” particularly for the scenes involving restraint and seclusion of Ziegler’s character — forms of control that are known to exacerbate and upset those with autism."
2) "The backlash finally prompted Sia to tweet “sorry” for listening to “the wrong people” during the making of the film — an 180-degree turn from her original defense, which saw the debut filmmaker lash out at one actor with autism who auditioned for the role, suggesting “maybe you’re just a bad actor” for not landing the part. She has also since pledged to add a disclaimer to her movie, although reports have been mixed as to whether the warning is yet in place.
[...]
However, the disclaimer was nowhere to be seen by the time the Autisticats, an autism advocacy group on social media, delivered their thorough take on the film last weekend, paying close attention to Ziegler’s physical portrayal of autism.
“There is absolutely nothing wrong with the ways autistic people move, or the ways we make facial expressions,” they wrote, referencing Zielger’s exaggerated performance.
“I also want to emphasize that, while I mention Ziegler frequently in this post because she is the actress portraying the autistic character, this whole fiasco is not her fault. She was only 14 at the time that filming began,” the Autisticats said. “The blame lies with Sia and the other members of this project who did not stop this before it got out of hand.”"
https://junkee.com/sia-music-autistic-response/287963
1) "[...]beyond casting a non-autistic actor to play Music, the inclusion of dangerous physical restraint scenes in Music has also rightfully angered the neurodivergent community.
In one scene, Zu is taught how to hold down Music through prone restraint (face-down to the ground) when she has a meltdown in the park. The issue? Well, prone restraint has led to a number of deaths in children at youth homes and schools in real-life, and is a frowned upon practice in the community. So much so that an International Coalition Against Restraint and Seclusion has even been formed in response to this continued “barbaric” use of restraint on autistic people."
2) When the first trailer for Music was released back in November, the public were quick to question why Sia had cast Maddie Ziegler, a non-autistic actor, to play the title role.
To justify her reasons, despite Ziegler being basically written for the dancing role, Sia said that she had tried to work with an autistic actor, but that they found the project too overwhelming as the role required someone with high-level dance skills.
[...]
But when autistic actors shared that they would’ve gladly taken the lead role “at short notice” if the actor chosen couldn’t “handle the stress”, Sia got defensive
[...]
“Fucking bullshit. You have no fucking idea because you weren’t there and haven’t seen the movie, ” she snapped. “Maybe you’re just a bad actor.”
