It’s likely you’ve already heard about the stinging controversy surrounding Sia’s recently released movie Music, a story about a newly sober drug dealer who becomes the guardian of her half-sister, Music. Members of the autistic community were initially excited to hear about the movie in regards to more representation but were quickly let down when learning more about the movie, casting, and production. Today we’ll take a critical look into how this movie may be considered tone-deaf and offensive to the autistic community, and listen to what autistic individuals have to say about it.
With only 5% of TV characters with a disability are being portrayed by actors with that disability (according to Ruderman Family Foundation), the public is being shielded from seeing accurate portrayals of these disabilities. I interviewed Samantha Craft, a well-respected autistic activist, on the matter. She states that not using disabled actors to play disabled characters, “perpetuates stereotypes and perpetuates an inaccurate representation of the autistic population. It made me feel sorry for the autism community that we’re being depicted by people that aren’t us, that aren’t our neurology.” Thornton also touches on this subject, stating, “First of all, movies aren’t just movies. When you live in a world that only sees you as undesirable or a tool, fiction can be an escape from reality or a way to explore the world. Acting isn’t just playing dress-up and pretending to be someone or somewhere else. For many, the actor we see onscreen is sometimes the only way we get to see people like us, the only representations of our existence and a direct reflection of the way the world views us. Since there are so few representations of Autistic people, it matters that it actually represents us.” Representation is important, not only for those with disabilities needing realistic characters on screen to relate to, but also to educate audience members with accurate portrayals.
“Unless you are an actual autistic person, it is impossible to act autistic.” – Samantha Craft
Not only did Sia cast a non-autistic actress to play the part, but she also collaborated with Autism Speaks, an organization that is known for silencing autistic voices. “Autism Speaks benefits by preying on families and painting autism as a burden and epidemic to be feared, fought, pitied, and (historically) cured. Many autistic people embrace autism as part of their identities, so imagine always hearing that what makes you YOU makes you a problem from birth– an “other” who is so broken they don’t deserve to exist” (Thorton).
Thornton goes on to state that, “When Autistic people saw the trailer for Music, they could see that there was influence from the wrong organizations and information and that it wasn’t the Autistic community who was consulted. While Sia may have had the best intentions, Music shows the reality that Autistic people are still overlooked because of the toxic influence of organizations, like Autism Speaks, that work against us.” Working with harmful organizations, no matter where in the process they fit in, shows Sia’s lack of research when it comes to the autism community, highlighting the influence this unawareness has on the rest of the film.
Though a film like this isn’t necessarily surprising in 2021, it’s definitely embarrassing to know this had to pass through so many people before being released. By critically examining representative failures in films such as Music, we can learn from these mistakes, and find the right people to consult when encountering casting situations like this in the future. Accurate representation in media is crucial to growing as an inclusive society. We can only hope this serves as a lesson to future filmmakers and stops the perpetuation of harmful stereotypes.