With the announcement of the Golden Globes winners on the forefront of the mind, opinions about whether or not the nominations were given to the best choices sit on everyone's lips. Whether the opinion is which director was snubbed or which TV show or movie deserved better, one movie in particular did not deserve any of the nominations that it received.
“Music,” written and directed by the musician Sia, certainly missed the mark. The film follows Zu (Kate Hudson), a newly-sober drug dealer as she learns how to take care of her half-sister Music (Maddie Zeigler) following their mother’s death. It is then revealed that the character Music is actually on the autism spectrum and throughout the movie is shown with different autistic characteristics.
This is an issue because Zeigler is a neurotypical person portraying demeaning and stereotypical characteristics of an autistic person—and not just that, but a non-verbal autistic person. A “neurotypical person” is anyone who does not fall on the autism spectrum or any other atypical thought patterns or behaviours, like ADHD, ADD, etc. Zeigler’s attempt to portray an autistic character is inauthentic and deeply unsettling for the sole reason that none of the actions that she does are common for her. She imitates autistic people in a neurotypical way that is mocking and harmful.
Hollywood has an ableism problem.
This outright ableism is enforced not only in Hollywood but also in society today through the missing representation of disabled people portrayed in a way that is not just for pity, as well as through the lack of disabled talent behind the scenes. While Sia promised accurate representation in this movie, doing that would have meant casting an autistic actor as Music, and Sia did not.
Zeigler plays this harmful stereotype as if she were wearing a costume, stepping into the role of someone she would never understand, could never understand, in the same way one would try on a pair of shoes.
According to Insider, Sia described her choice of hiring Ziegler as nepotism, and she said it would have been “cruel” to cast a non-speaking autistic person. And all I have got to say to that is how? How would it have been cruel?
A non-speaking autistic person would not have applied for the role if they did not believe that they were capable.
This “cruelty” narrative that Sia put forward just goes to further show the marginalization of autistic people and, beyond that, the deeply rooted societal ableism that says that non-speaking people are lesser or incapable compared to people without disabilities. This is clearly false.
Zeigler learned “how to act” autistic by watching videos that parents and other people put online of autistic children having a meltdown, exploiting an extremely vulnerable moment in an autistic person’s life. This approach is harmful, shameful and damaging. Furthermore, Sia worked alongside Autism Speaks, a group notorious for not actually helping autistic people.
Beyond the casting of a neurotypical actor in a disabled role, the movie also promotes harmful responses to autistic meltdowns at many points throughout the movie. To note, a “meltdown” is an intense response to overwhelming circumstances that almost always leads to a complete loss of behavioral control. It is not a “tantrum,” as it is referred to in the movie.
At one point Zeigler’s character has a meltdown due to the fact that her older sister cannot braid her hair properly. Another character then grabs her and holds her to the ground to calm her down. This is called “prone restraint,” and it is one of the most deadly forms of restraint. It is performed by holding the autistic person stomach-down on the ground and putting your entire body weight onto their back while holding down their arms and legs so they cannot move. This is extremely dangerous. It can lead to a blockage in the airway, dislocated limbs, broken bones and death.
Showing something that should never be used because of how many times it has led to death as the first response to an autistic person having a meltdown is the worst possible thing that Sia could have done in response to meltdowns. The action is traumatic and dangerous and can lead to long-term damaging effects not only on an autistic person’s physical health but on their mental health as well.
Rather, the best thing to do when an autistic person is having a meltdown is do your absolute best to make sure they are not harming themselves, attempt to reduce stimuli in the room (turn off the lights, turn off all noises, make people leave) and give the person space.
In most cases sitting there and waiting it out can be what helps the most.
Overall, the harmful way that Sia, Zeigler and Hollywood as a whole approach autism and other disabilities is shameful and dangerous. I implore you to no longer support movies and TV shows that hire actors without disabilities in roles that are written for disabled characters. It limits the job opportunities of people like me and those around me in more ways than you can ever imagine.