Curious Antecedents
Neurodiversity in Theatre
(Read from the first post at the bottom first and work up)
(Read from the first post at the bottom first and work up)
The Sound and the Fury This book covers the happenings of a family over the course of a few days living in the 1930s in the Deep South. This book is stream of consciousness style so even though they all cover the same events from their perspective the reader gains perspective on family history from years past due to the characters jumping in time to their memories. It’s never directly stated but it can be inferred Benji, a brother in the family, has autism. While Benji’s neurodivergent perspective makes him harder to understand, he actually paints a much more objective picture of what happened than any of his neurotypical siblings who severely slant their stories to their benefit. This book is significant because it mirrors the book version of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime in a couple ways and the difference in both the narratives and their reception marks the cultural shift which allowed Curious Incident to be turned into a book. The first quarter of The Sound and the Fury is told exclusively through the perspective of a disabled character. It's made clear in the first section of the book through Benjy’s perspective, that Benjy is a source of shame and embarrassment to the family. In this book, there is arguably no protagonist. Let it be noted that eventually this book eventually garnered respect as an undeniably essential prototype of modern literature and stream of consciousness. Yet when The Sound and the Fury was first published, literary critic Clifton Fadiman scoffed at the book calling the characters ‘trivial’ and ‘unworthy of the complex craftsmanship expended upon them’ (Fadiman, 1955). Later, in Curious Incident, both of Christopher’s mother is embarrassed of him, but more covertly so, and the whole book is through Christopher’s perspective. Both authors are praised for their ability to portray human thought (Freeman 2003 & “100 Best”, 1995). But unlike The Sound and the Fury, Curious Incident immediately received postive feedback as it won the Book Trust Teenage Fiction Award, Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, Whitbread Book of the Year and the Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction the same year it came out in 2003 (“The Guardian”, 2003, “2004 Commonwealth”, 2004 & "Ethan Frome", 2007). This shift in reception marks the cultural shifts needed for the book to be turned into a play nine years later. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape This depicts a family living in a small country town in Iowa. This movie often questions who has the disability. Arnie is most likely autistic which causes him to be far behind the usual trajectory of his neurodivergent peers, but seems perfectly happy and isn’t as impacted by the obstacles weighing down the rest of the family. Gilbert must constantly care for his brother Arnie rather than going off and starting his career, finding his identity and starting a new life as would be appropriate in his young adulthood. Their mother is chronically depressed which disables her motivation to do anything besides sit, and her weight makes her a “freak” in the eyes of the town. This may not be an obvious choice of antecedent, however, while theatre often comes ahead of the curve before film when it comes to social issues, film will often indicate what is en vogue or acceptable in the mainstream. This is somewhat of an indie film but if representing neurodivergent characters in a sympathetic light was not acceptable, Leonardo Dicaprio’s career most likely would have hit a bit of a bump before DiCaprio hit stardom, but soon after this, he landed titanic and Romeo and Juliet. Having this movie do well indicated more mainstream audiences, not just progressive theater goers, were ready to see sympathetic neurodivergent which indicated the public was ready to see Christopher in Curious Incident as a heroic figure on stage. Having Christopher as a hero also negates certain tropes of those with differences being dangerous or scary. Posts on Broadway World, and Reddit claim Michal in Pillowman has “Aspergers”, a term which should not be used (argonautory & The Distinctive Baritone, 2019). But the play also makes it clear Michal has traumatic brain damage which is much more likely to drastically change a person’s personality and reasoning to predispose them to horrible violence like Michal committed in Pillowman than autism would. The play never outright says Michal has autism, but the sources which do claim autism coding liken Michal’s symptoms of brain damage to symptoms of autism. This may not be the playwright's fault directly but it does point to a larger cultural bias of the public viewing those with autism as dangerous or scary. This isn't to say neurodivergent people should always be depicted as perfect, but authors must also be careful in what type of canon authors collectively create. In What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Gilbert is the protagonist of the story and the story revolves around him, but his neurodivergent brother Arnie is depicted as charming and endearing in a notable supporting role. Even a review a year after the film’s release, corroborates that point, “His performance succeeds in being both convincing and likable”(Ebert, 1994). Gilbert is friendly and sociable, inviting everyone to his birthday party and often adds some levity with his excitement over his favorite restaurant Burger Barn and bugs. Most of the time Gilbert cares for his brother and soothes him very gently, but when Gilbert finally hits Arnie out of frustration, it’s hard to watch. Additionally, similar to Lost in Yonkers with Bella’s struggle with finding love, Arnie is not just comic relief. Arnie is the first member of the Grape family to find out their mother, Bonnie, has died, and the grief Arnie shows in the scene is one of the saddest scenes in the film. This movie also depicts something that Lost in Yonkers doesn't so much. Arnie has multiple meltdowns in this movie. If this movie didn't show a fuller range of Arnie’s likable qualities and the humanity of his meltdowns, the public may not have been ready to watch Christopher’s meltdowns in Curious Incident.
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