Sheldon from Big Bang, makes aspies look bad?

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Someone said this in another fourm I go to. Sheldon can be a dick, and really annoying. People that see the show can think that everyone with AS is like Sheldon. So then they think all aspies are dicks and annoying. So that will give aspies a bad rep. Even thou they have not said Sheldon has AS, he is textbook AS.

Thoughts?


I like the show and I am not offended by it. But I can see where people could be.

I am more worried about people like the VaTech gunman giving us a bad name, than Sheldon Cooper, who is putting us on the map.

the main thing: Sheldon is a Nerd.

ruveyn

Sheldon is so cool

Seriously though, it's a comedy. Everyone should know that every character on BBT is just stereotypical. And for those who can't work it out, what character would be permissible? A saint aspie? We're not all saints, nor all sinners, nor all smart or stupid, or anything else. Sheldon is just Sheldon.

His character wasn't written to be AS, but I've read that the character's creator later read up on AS and admitted that Sheldon does seem to be AS. Coincidence.

Sheldon is so lovable and cute.
He is pretty much the amalgamation of all possible aspie traits put together into one person
people will look at aspies they know and say that personn reminds me of Sheldon
therefore- i think he makes a good poster boy. He is good for PR

I am nothing like Sheldon and my new nickname at work is Sheldon - cause I will keep asking the same question and hounding people until I get a reasonable answer.
That plus I am very vocal about my distain for change.

"change is never good, they say it is, but it isnt" Dr Sheldon Cooper

The stereotype Sheldon represents makes AS look GOOD compared to the stereotype of a fat, unwashed, unemployed person living in his parents' basement that is also associated with AS.

My mother LOVES that show (though probably not as much now as the earlier seasons), and has occasionally compared me to the characters. I have no real interest in it whatsoever, and I have been a longtime fan of situation comedy (of course, since the late 1990's most of them have now completely stunk) I once sort of watched a marathon of Big Bang and I was like "meh". But from the sounds of it I should be deeply offended instead. I shall discuss that with my mother the next time I see her...

I agree. I love the widespread exposure asperger's gets (even though it's not actually mentioned in the show) from Sheldon Cooper. I don't worry to much about people getting the impression that aspies are annoying etc. Almost anyone whom I've talked to about the show has said he's the most original and endearing character.

Last edited by japan on 12 Sep 2012, 12:37 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Both Jim Parsons and the show's producers completely deny that Sheldon Cooper has Asperger's... and for good reason, of course; it would appear as if they are making fun of people with a disability. However, Sheldon has every Aspergian trait known to man, so if he's NOT an Aspie, then I would write an episode in which Sheldon gets a diagnosis pronto. I mean, he'd be so much happier.

Just to claim he is not an Aspie is really not sufficient. Essentially, they ARE making fun of Aspie's anyway. Think of it this way: If a sitcom featured a character who who wore dark glassses, used a stick to find his way, had a guide dog, and read Braille, but no one ever said he was blind, wouldn't we be able to just guess that on our own? When the writer;s created Sheldon, they created a character with Asperger;s, whether in name or not.

Now, that being said, I do agree that Sheldon is an appealing character, who is at heart a kind and admirable person, but it might actually be doing us all a favor if they allowed him to come out on the Spectrum, as it would focus more and better attention on the autism/Asperger's community.

I read that the producers of the show were going to say Sheldon has AS. But they changed there mind because they did not want to make it seem like the others were making fun of him over something he has no control over.

Even if he does secretly have it, I wouldn't mind because it kind of portrays us as science geeks. Annoying and pestilent, but still nerdy all the same.

I adore Sheldon. He says out loud the things I'm only brave enough to say in my head. (Or to the tv/radio when no one else is around )

Oh no this tread has rekindled my special interest in Sheldon!! !.

"It's not suspicious that I'm fixating. It's consistent with my personality" - Dr Sheldon Cooper

The latter seems to be just a stereotype of a lazy slacker, of which many NTs also fit the description.

Exactly. I admire him, because he always speaks his mind, and points out the stupid, illogical ways his peers behave.

If you think Sheldon is offensive, you should see this guy. The character actually claims to have Aspergers in the act.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKtjGAnytsE[/youtube]