Big Neurodivergent Energy Films: 1-5

We’ve looked at a few Big Neurodivergent Energy TV shows, now how about some movies? Most of the films on today’s list are newer entries that I’ve watched in the last year, but they quickly joined the ranks of my favorites. 

 

Amélie

This was an early “grown-up” film that I really loved, so it makes sense that it has exceedingly autistic vibes. Arguably, every Jean-Pierre Jeunet film does, but this one does it in such an endearing, lovable way. From the narrator fastidiously detailing every character’s likes and dislikes (and obsessions,) to the painfully shy heroine concocting “stratagems” to connect with the man she likes, to Amélie’s deep-seated desire to help others/punish injustice combined with her intense need not to be perceived doing either, it just feels so lovingly autistic. Amazing!

 

The Little Mermaid

Yes, I’m specifically talking about the live-action adaptation here, although points can definitely be made for the animated version. While the neurodivergent coding may not be quite as deep-seated here as it is in some of the other films on this list, it was one of the first—maybe the first—I saw once I’d really started considering the possibility that I was autistic and ADHD. And Ariel and Eric both leapt off the screen for me. I love the tenor of their relationship, how it develops through their special interests and grows without the need for verbal communication on both sides. Seeing people online talk about how neurodivergent both of these characters are really helped crystalize my understanding of myself.

 

Nimona

Nimona is definitely an example where the film itself feels autistic/ADHD, not just the characters. I love the fast-paced humor and frenetic action combined with the emotional character drama and the found-family themes. I love Nimona’s explanation to Ballister about what shapeshifting feels like—the trans allegory is evident, of course, but I also see it as a commentary on masking and the importance of giving yourself permission to be “free.”

 

Nope

I love both OJ and Em, how their traits are so different from one another and clash so much, but how they both come through for each other the best they can. And I love how their respective traits end up helping them succeed—not in an “autism/ADHD is actually a superpower!” kind of way, but in a way that their particular situation dovetails so well with OJ’s special interest and Em’s penchant for collecting hobbies. Their respective autistic- and ADHD-coded traits can create challenges for them professionally and interpersonally, but when it comes to a UFO over their ranch, they lock in!

 

Polite Society

Oh my god, I love it so much. Ria’s hyperfocus and daydreaming, the way she infuses her life with the tension and drama of an action film, the general energy and humor and pacing and secondhand embarrassment. It’s so ADHD to me—I feel it in my bones.

Neurodivergent (Headcanon) Alley: Prince Eric (The Little Mermaid)

*With Ariel, I mainly focused on the live-action remake but pointed out that much of what I said held true for the original animated film as well. With Eric, though, I’m just talking about the live-action movie.*

I’ve already talked about my love for the way the live-action Little Mermaid fleshes out Eric’s character and expands upon Ariel’s romance with him, and in my Neurodivergent (Headcanon) Alley post for Ariel, I mentioned the “Autistic4Autistic” view of their relationship. To the latter point, I have to say, no lies detected. Ariel and Eric’s romance isn’t great in this film just because Eric has added nuance as a character; it’s great because they’re different from other people in the same way and can feel that about each other.

Like Ariel, Eric has a deep obsession that nobody else seems to understand. He too is fascinated by other cultures—while Ariel is entranced by the human world, Eric chases the experience of sailing to as many ports as he possibly can, learning other ways of doing things and acquiring goods that his small island has never seen. He explains to his mother that he doesn’t want the island to be left behind, that he wants to find new things that will benefit them and lead them into the future, and to be sure, that’s part of it. Eric is a considerate guy who wants to help others. But there’s also something humming beneath his skin that needs this. He’s drawn to exploration, and he can’t bring himself to stop no matter how much his mother demands to the contrary. He has a collection very similar to Ariel’s, and when she comes to the palace, this is how they first bond: with Ariel expressing curiosity toward the collection that means so much to Eric and with him happily infodumping to her about the things he loves.

I interpret Eric as probably AuDHD (Ariel could be an AuDHDer as well, now that I think about it,) because in addition to throwing over societal expectation for the sake of his special interest, he’s also incredibly novelty-seeking. As I said, he loves adventure, exploration, and learning new things. He’s very kinetic and can be impulsive, such as climbing out onto the bowsprit to fix something, heedless of Grimsby’s protests of danger.

He also does fairly well socially. Others find Eric’s obsession with other cultures odd, but he fits in well with the ship’s crew and enjoys mingling with them. Of course, the fact that he’s a prince probably bestows some extra goodwill on him, but he’s genuinely charming and charismatic. However, there are some social things that make him stand out a little. When he gets on something, he is on it, like a broken record, and no one can really get him off that topic. And he’s not really one for hiding his feelings. When he realizes that Ariel doesn’t speak and thinks this means she can’t be the young woman who saved him from the shipwreck, he’s still kind and gentle with her, but he can’t disguise his kneejerk disappointment.

Thinking about it, you could argue that Eric’s neurodivergent traits help shield him (partially) from Ursula’s enchantment. She does use Ariel’s voice to entrance him, but while Eric is pretty plainly hypnotized in the animated movie, Eric in the live-action film is never fully under her control. Even as he prepares to announce his engagement to “Vanessa,” he looks around for Ariel and feels confused about what he wants. The magic is telling him one thing, but his mind and heart are telling him another. And honestly, going, “I may be under a spell, but this doesn’t make sense to me,” is such an autistic-ass thing to do. Despite being under Ursula’s thrall, he keeps questioning it, and he keeps being pulled toward the person he has a true kindship with. Neurodivergent love wins out!

Neurodivergent (Headcanon) Alley: Ariel (The Little Mermaid)

*I’m mostly going to be talking about the live-action movie here, since that one has my heart, but plenty of this is relevant to the animated film as well.*

While 1) I wait impatiently for Doctor Who’s 60^th anniversary specials (can I please just get some airdates already?) and 2) my brain feels a desperate need to fit in a post about Our Flag Means Death every single week (season finale on Thursday!), I’m going to alternate the Sunday Who Review with some other stuff for a bit. Today, let’s head down Neurodivergent Alley!

Viewing Ariel as autistic is special to me. She was one of the final pieces that allowed me to “hatch,” to put together all the evidence that had been stacking up around me and realize that it made sense. For years, I’d heard that Ariel was an autistic-coded Disney Princess, or that her story could be used as a metaphor for autism. But after the live-action movie came out and I was reading responses to it online, I was surprised to encounter so many comments along the lines of “This is the Black autistic representation I need!” or “Ariel/Eric are Autistic4Autistic!” This wasn’t just I can see how you might view that character this way, from a certain angle. It wasn’t The story of this fictional mermaid follows beats that may resonate with the autistic experience. This was a number of people claiming Ariel as one of their own with their whole chest. I felt something at that, and as I started poking around to see what other characters autistic folks headcanon as autistic, I started understanding so much more about this identity beyond the stereotypes that pop culture often shows us when it intentionally sets out to create an autistic character. And within that, I could much more clearly see myself.

But enough about me. Ariel!

In both the original film and the remake, Ariel doesn’t fit in with her family or her community. Nobody understands her, largely because no one can understand the great passion of her life: her special interest, her deep and abiding fascination with the human world. She’s obsessed with collecting human objects, to the point that she’ll endanger herself by going into shark-infested waters for the sake of finding something new. Everything she finds, she takes back to her hidden collection. It doesn’t matter if she’s come across a particular item before—she’s got twenty thingamabobs!—she still wants this one. Her love for the human world drives her to break her father’s strictest rule, to go to the surface and observe real live humans for herself.

It's understandable that Ariel falls so instantly and deeply for Eric, because he’s all wrapped up in this love that she already had for human artifacts. But, as much as she adores him, the remake underscores the fact that he’s not the only reason why she takes such drastic measures to become human herself. As I’ve said before, she’s already longed to “be where the people are”—Eric just dials that desire up to eleven. And the moment that really clinches is for her is when she’s about to turn around and go back home, when Ursula says, “Go back home to daddy, and never leave again!”

That’s the moment. It’s reckless and really naïve, but at the same time I get it. Everything inside Ariel has been screaming that she doesn’t belong where she is, and all she wants is what she’s been told she can never have. In my estimation, there’s something deeply neurodivergent about uprooting everything your society has told you to be and creating a new life for yourself, maybe something you’re not “supposed” to want but something that you desperately need.

That doesn’t make her actions here smart. Ursula plays her easily, and Ariel’s shortsighted move gets her and others into major trouble later in the movie, a fact that she’s determined to put right. But within the mistakes, she’s also able to see that she can’t go back. She needs to be in this environment where things are new and confusing but where, for the first time, she can feel like she fits. It doesn’t really matter to Ariel that other people are picking up on her weirdness, that she doesn’t understand their norms and cues and that she combs her hair with a dinglehopper/fork. She’s fed here; she can fully enjoy her special interests in a way she never could back home, and what’s more, she’s found someone who understands them. Who understands her.

Parts of her story/characterization, yes, are metaphorical. It’s natural that, as a mermaid who’s only just come to the surface, she doesn’t understand human norms (but remember that she didn’t fit in where she “belonged” either.) And although she’s nonverbal for a long stretch of the film, that’s down to Ursula’s spell, not her neurotype. But within that, she shows that being unable to speak makes her no less thinking or feeling, no less herself, no less worth someone’s care and affection. And that may be metaphorical, but it’s a lovely portrayal for anyone who is nonspeaking or deals with selective mutism.