Thanks to everyone who tuned into my live chat with Gareth - and for bearing with the slightly late start (those darn technology gremlins were out to get me, but I fought back & we beat’em in the end 😄).
It was a particular delight to see the brilliant Mike Sowden whose fascinating but fun newsletter of curious science stuff - Everything Is Amazing - IS amazing. If you don’t already read it you should definitely check it out pronto; why not start with this recent Star Trek-inspired piece (it’s paywalled but there’s a big chunk before the paywall so you’ll still get a good flavour of his work):
This was such a good conversation about a film that I for one feel very happy to have watched, even though Gareth and I agreed it probably wouldn’t be made in quite the same way today, given how far the conversation around neurodivergent representation, both on and off screen, has progressed in the decade or so since it was released.
Amongst many other things we talked about…
its road-movie structure (relatively formulaic but generally satisfying so long as you’re happy to suspend a large amount of disbelief)
the use of Star Trek and the script as both a narrative and character device
Dakota Fanning’s performance
its depiction of autism, weighing its infantilising group-home setup and skirting of the savant trope against more positive aspects, especially its celebration of special interests and autistic resilience and, of course, centring a female protagonist and allowing her character to change and develop and not just be a proxy for the neurotypical characters’ growth
If you’ve seen the film and have your own thoughts to share, as always please do hit REPLY in email, or leave a comment if you’re on Substack.
Before I go, I promised to share some links to other positive female autistic screen representations and writers, so here we go…
Firstly here are some TV shows I’ve watched and some film suggestions I’ve not but have heard good things about:
On TV…
Dinosaur (BBC sitcom about a palaeontologist in Glasgow written by and starring autistic writer and comedian Ashley Storrie)
A Kind of Spark (children’s BBC drama based on a YA novel by a female autistic writer and with multiple autistic lead cast members)
Patience (Channel 4 drama series about an autistic criminal archivist, with an autistic actor in the main role; also the French drama series on which it’s based, Astrid: Murder in Paris).
On Film…
Room to Move (a feature doc recently released on Netflix about a newly-diagnosed autistic dancer exploring how dance and stimming intersect in her life)
Temple Grandin (biopic of the real life American inventor and noted autistic self-advocate, starring Claire Danes)
Keep the Change (a groundbreaking authentically-cast rom-com about a couple who meet at an autism support group - based on a wonderful earlier short film, which I have seen - sadly the feature doesn’t seem to be streaming online and I can’t afford to stump up the very steep cost of an expensive US DVD import which is the only option to watch it I’ve found so far…)
And here are some autistic women writers whose work I always appreciate reading and learning from:
On Substack…
Andrea Anderson- writing and educating about neurodivergent self-discovery at Belong...we are neurokin
Sam Galloway (she/her) 💕 - writing about the double whammy of autism and perimenopause at Divergent Menopause
Ruth Elliott-Booth - honestly sharing her creative life as a disabled, autistic woman at Becoming Me
Dr Gemma L. Williams - an autistic academic publishing essays and mini-podcasts at Neurodiverse Universe
Amanda N. Bray - an autistic writer and editor offering publishing strategy & guidance at The Publishing Spectrum and more personal writing at ✵ The Co-Writing Studio ✵ and, of course,
Katherine May, the bestselling author of Wintering, Enchantment and The Electricity of Every Living Thing, her memoir about a midlife autism diagnosis, at The Clearing by Katherine May
If you’d like to read the interview with the screenwriter of Please Stand By I mentioned, or check out some of the reviews on Letterboxd Gareth referred to, here are the links you’ll need:
Screenwriter Michael Golamco Gets To The Heart Of ‘Please Stand By’
And last but not least, here’s Gareth’s Poppedcast episode on the Universal Monster films and his piece on Charlie Chaplin and The Great Dictator. Listen, read, enjoy - and then why not subscribe to him too!
While I'm away, if you want to understand the bigger mission behind all the work I’m doing here on Substack you might like to take a look at my newly updated About Page - it’s a great jumping off point to explore the 150+ post archive I’ve been building.
I’ll be taking a lot of reading material away with me to keep deepening my research into, and understanding of, Britain’s nuclear colonial history in Nevada for my new doc and I plan to return to your inboxes once the kids are back in school to talk more about some of my thinking and ideas so watch out for that.
But till then, enjoy the last days of August and I’ll see you again in a couple of weeks. Qapla!2
Vicki x
Watch my film on Netflix & Disney+ (UK/Europe only) or Vimeo-on-demand - or see trailer, reviews & bonus content HERE
Find me on Bluesky & at LinkedIn
First to the Isle of Wight and then up to Lincolnshire to watch a stage of the men’s Tour of Britain bike race - yay!
How Klingons say goodbye - but you knew that already, right? (no, me either😄)
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