Thoughts on Rain Man

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While both of us have strayed into the off-topic desert, your post made me laugh and smile

LOL! O'l Alby was a bit of pioneer in those days long before reality TV

Two of the most educational books of all time were written in our era though
In your era the 50s "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
In mine the 70s "Population Bomb" by Paul Ehrlich

I've never seen it, at this point things might be a little too close to home so I don't know if I'd enjoy it, probably should tho. It is definitely did raise awareness of autism to the point that it is almost synonymous with it.

Wow seriously??? I never even seen this rain man movie, but I know it exists. Should I see it, or skip it?

see it

I watched this today with my younger sister and brother, who I haven't told about my suspicions that I have autism. It was a much better movie than I was expecting. Obvious enough now... Why else would there be widespread stereotypes based on it? I actually liked the movie itself and its message.

There was a lot of subtlety to it, that I wonder if the filmmakers even knew they were putting in. The soundtrack and cinematography kind of showed how Raymond was feeling. I live in an area with casinos and hate going into them--and I found watching the scenes in the casino to be even more overwhelming. I figure they did that on purpose. But the way the different characters reacted to Raymond was so interesting, almost beyond the times. They managed to tell a story that could go beyond what people knew or thought about autism at the time, even while showing what that was.

I was emotionally affected in a way I can't identify. Especially afterward, listening to my sister's innocent comments about the characters and autism... I realized that my family doesn't see any autistic traits I may have, because they only have a Rain Man level of understanding about it. I wonder if it's going to be harder or easier to talk to my sister about my own autism after this.

(And then I went and checked all the knobs on the stove and stimmed and dressed in tie-dye clothing, and tried not to start talking like Raymond Babbitt. No one notices, because they think *I'm* normal...)