Investigating autistic presence and expression on film and TV. We push beyond the obvious and seek out autistic themes and concerns in films from across the cinematic spectrum. We consider the ethics of performing autism, while also celebrating the autistic pleasures offered by the camerawork and the soundscapes. We delve into the works of cult directors who have hit upon an autistic way-of-seeing, perhaps without ever intending to. We entertain new possibilites for re-thinking beloved films in a neurodivergent light. Join regular contributors Janet Harbord, Georgia Bradburn, John-James Laidlow, David Hartley and Alex Widdowson for their fascinating and diverting discussions of a whole suite of suprising and challenging films. This podcast is brought to you by the Autism Through Cinema project, based at Queen Mary, University of London and funded by the Wellcome Trust. For further information on the wider project, visit our website at autism-through-cinema.org.uk and follow us ...
Episodes
Friday Mar 11, 2022
Friday Mar 11, 2022
Ey up! We're up North today, in the company of cult comedy music legend Chris Sievey and his alter-ego Frank Sidebottom (and Little Frank, of course!). Our special guest is artist, writer and voice artist Sumita Majumdar who brings along her love and admiration for the wacky and unconventional Frank. We discuss how masking crosses over with performance, and how performance itself is a blurry concept when we layer ourselves with so many identities. We also reflect on the term 'eccentricity' and how that fits into the neurodiversity paradigm. There's a sense that Frank's eccentric character is made possible from being a northerner in a northern town rather than a Londoner, causing us to reflect on how neurodiversity sits in relation to locality. The film documents how the Frank Sidebottom character takes over Chris Sievey's life and dwells on some of the suffering Sievey goes through as a result. But we find 'suffering' to be a problematic concept in relation to the creation of art, and wonder if the ideas of neurodiversity give us a new way of looking at artistic creation and artistic industries.
For those unfamiliar with Frank Sidebottom, we suggest this delightful video of 'Panic on the Streets of Timperley': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcAME_Hs9mg
Big thanks to Sumita for joining us on this episode. For more on Sumita's work, do have a read of her article for the National Autistic Society: https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/stories/stories-from-the-spectrum-pablo
Sumita was joined today by regulars Alex and David.
Follow us on @AutismCinema on Twitter and Instagram and email feedback to us on cinemautism[at]gmail.com
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