Distinctions between autism and ADHD can be fuzzy for me—since both are in my head, I don’t necessarily find it helpful to tease out what stems from one versus the other. No doubt my previous posts on shared elements common to Big Neurodivergent Energy stories include plenty of both neurotypes. But today, I do want to look at a few things that, to me, feel very ADHD in particular. With BNE stories in general, it’s often about feeling a kinship with the many neurodivergent characters and vibing with the aesthetic, tonal, and thematic qualities that really speak to me.
With ADHD, though, it’s often something that feels even more deeply engrained. It doesn’t just feel like this story is about ND-coded characters or most likely created by ND people (diagnosed or others)—it physically feels like the story itself has ADHD. I’m drawing from fewer stories here than in my past BNE posts, even though plenty of stories I’m not mentioning today definitely have ADHD- or AuDHD-coded characters. At any rate, as I look at the qualities associated with this feeling, I’ll be repeating my references. Up top, these stories all feel inextricably ADHD to me:
· Nimona
· Everything Everywhere All at Once
· The Spider-Verse films
· The works of Jorge R. Gutiérrez (specifically The Book of Life and Maya and the Life, since those are the only ones I’ve seen so far)
· Polite Society
Pacing!
We have to start here. First and foremost, these stories feel fast. Not that they never have slow or introspective moments—they do, and when that quieter stuff hits, it resonates even more deeply because of the contrast to the frantic pace around it. But stories like this have extended sequences that are absolute roller coasters of action, dialogue, or humor, scenes where you just have to hang on tight and wait to see where it’s going. Think the shapeshifting-fueled escape from the Institute in Nimona, think Miles’s frenzied discovery of his powers in Into the Spider-Verse, think of the chaotic fights with the gids in Maya and the Three. All the Things!!! are going on, and you feel like you’re careening through the story.
Humor!
The humor in ADHD-driven stories is very particular. Again, it tends to be fast, like the quips, asides, and visual jokes in the Spider-Verse films. But there’s often a lot of off-the-wall stuff too—moments where you’re laughing out loud even as your brain is going, “Wait, wait?!?” There’s humor in the rug being pulled out from under you, abrupt shifts that send you spinning. The whole concept of the Improbability Drive-style “science” behind verse-jumping in Everything Everywhere All at Once is sooooo ADHD-coded. Where else are you going to get action sequences that hinge on paper cuts, butt plugs, and staples to the forehead? If the jokes lean on references and homages, they often come fast and furious. Polite Society does a fantastic job with its send-up of the action genre because it uses every trick of the trade in its story, style elements, and fight choreography.
All the Emotions!
Emotions are really important in these stories. That probably feels dumb to say—after all, emotions are important to virtually all stories! But when we’re talking about stories that feel fueled by ADHD, the emotions are intense. Like everything else in these stories, they can change fast, swinging dizzily from one extreme to the other. It’s not happiness and sadness, it’s elation and despair. It’s fury and remorse, it’s fascination and ennui. It’s laughing through tears. One critical emotion is shame, when everything has gone wrong and the character feels the entire weight of it on their shoulders, desperate to fix it. If you know you know, and the emotions in ADHD-driven stories often have some of the highest highs and lowest lows you’ll see in fiction.
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