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A is for Autism (1992, UK)
- Director
- Tim Webb
- Cast
- Temple Grandison , Luke Hemstock, Stewart Hogg, Daniel Sellers, Justin Sutton, Matthew and Sheila Beguley, Jean Stanley
- Screenplay
- Not applicable
- Format
- Animation
- Language
- English
- Running time
- 15 minutes
- Classification
- E (education use)
- Distributor
- BFI
- Genre
- Animation/documentary
- Setting
- Not applicable
- Main characters
- The voices of a range of people with autism
- Narrative focus
- People with autism
Synopsis
Adults and young people narrate their experiences of autism on the soundtrack. As we listen to their recollections a series of connected and related animated sequences illustrate the voiceovers.
Background
The film was funded by Channel 4 and reflects a commitment to innovative use of established forms: animation and personal testimony.
Commentary
This is an engaging and refreshingly different use of animation techniques and is certainly an exception to the classically styled animation we are familiar with from mainstream cinema. It explores and expresses elements of this mental health issue. The film combines animation, live action and voiceover to communicate personal experiences of autism, especially in terms of sensory responses to the world and how the world looks and is experienced. The film also acknowledges the experiences of people with autism at school and outside. It alludes to the issue of feeling different and anxious when one has a mental health condition. Most importantly the film gives a composite impression of autism.
Also recommended
My Left Foot (Ireland/UK, 1989, Jim Sheridan): an intelligent adaptation of Christy Moore's book about his life with cerebral palsy.
See also Disabling Imagery? A video compilation on DVD and web-based teaching guide on teaching about disability on film
Teaching suggestions (Key Stage 3, age 11-14)
Citizenship focus
- The human rights and responsibilities underpinning society
- The significance of media in society.
Subject links
Art and Design: this film shows how animation can be used as an expressive medium in dealing with this kind of issue.
The following suggestions set out a structured approach towards discussing the film, and lead to more general questions about the issues the film raises.
Freeze frame
Watch the live action sequence of the woman with a girl on her lap.
- How does the girl describe the feeling of being hugged?
- Pause the film on the image of the woman with the girl on her lap
- Why do you think the filmmakers have used a line drawing of a girl to sit on the woman's lap rather than a real girl?
- What effect does this image have on you?
- What is the effect of the speeded up action?
- What special effect is possible using this technique of stop-motion photography?
Sound and image
Watch the opening of the film with the sound down.
- What music is used at the beginning and what mood does it set for the film?
- What does the voiceover tell you and why is this important?
- What sound effects do you hear and why are these important?
Spot the shots
Watch any of the sequences of close-ups of everyday objects.
- What is each everyday object that is filmed?
- Why do you think the filmmakers chose these objects?
- What is the effect of these edited sequences?
- What does the repetition add to your understanding of autism?
Watch the scene where the boy talks about taking a long time to look at things that interest him.
- What do you notice about the camera movement?
- How does this camera movement represent the way the boy experiences seeing things?
- What do you notice about the line drawings?
- How do the drawings represent the way the boy's vision can become distorted?
Discussion
You could ask the following questions before watching the film, as a way of testing students' knowledge and understanding of autism:
- What is autism?
- How do people with autism experience their social environment?
- How can sight be distorted for autistic people?
- How can sounds be distorted for autistic people?
The following questions can be asked after watching the film:
- What do you learn about autism from this film?
- How does the voiceover describe noisy places?
- Why might an autistic child repeat an action?
- What is described as being like an'untuned television set'?
- What is described as sounding like'thunder' and'bullets'?
- What is described as being'swallowed up'?
- What message do the filmmakers want to get across?
- How successfully do you think the filmmakers get their message across?
- How do the images and sounds represent the experience of autism?
- Why do you think it was important that the autistic children collaborated in the filmmaking process?
- How might other learning difficulties or disabilities be represented using animation?
More general questions:
- How can the media be significant in positively affecting public opinion in ways that the printed word cannot?
- How can the media be significant in negatively affecting public opinion?
Practical production work
Students could:
- Create their own short animated films. They should think about how they might draw their surroundings and add sound to represent the way that they see and hear the world.
- Make their own video diary to express how they'see' and/or'hear' the world. They should think about the different kinds of camera style, editing and soundtrack they can use to try to recreate their experience of an everyday activity.
- Storyboard a three-minute public service announcement raising public awareness about a disability and/or discrimination issue they think has been ignored or under-represented in the media. They will have to think about the campaigning power of the images and words they choose to use and what kind of music and sound effects they might add. You may like to use one of our sample storyboards (PDF) for this exercise.
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