A Silent City Blog
Kate Isobelle Furler, better known as Sia, is an Australian singer, songwriter, voice actress and director who is currently the least favourite person in the Autistic community.
As of now, the artist has released her new film Music, which follows a young woman named
Zu, who receives the news that she is to become the guardian of her half-sister named Music, a young autistic girl.
On the surface, the premise has the potential to be a beautiful story about family while also providing insight into what it means to have autism. Especially when there are not a lot of movies out there about Autism or the disabled community in general.
However, the handling of the movie has sparked some controversy despite the “good intentions.”
Note, I am viewing this situation as an outsider to the Autism community, a disabled person, and is basing all the information I share on what key speakers of the autistic community on YouTube have said on this topic.
I strongly suggest that you follow them here:
1. Lack of Representation
When it comes to disability, there isn’t a lot of media that either features a character with disability or a story that revolves around it. So obviously everyone was excited with the idea of finally seeing someone like them on screen, whether they are autistic or have some other disability.
With a story that is clearly a “love letter” to a minority group, it makes sense to expect the lead actress to be of that community. However, that wasn’t the case with Music. Sia instead hired her partner Maddie Ziegler, a neurotypical or normal person, to play the lead autistic girl.
For some people, hiring a normal actress to play autism would lead to the actress’s movements and body language seeming non-genuine and may lead to her having to rely on stereotypes that create the issue of mocking. According to Paige Layle, an autistic TikToker, many normal people would act autistic to mock and bully them.
Even the actress playing Music voiced her concerns to Sia about her playing an autistic character when she clearly wasn’t.
However, not everyone thinks this is an issue, as there have been many actors over the years who played characters with disabilities. The fact that the director or character decided to include the disability aspect is good enough. For instance, The Fault in Our Stars andForrest Gump both star actors who were able-bodied to play characters that had physical disabilities.
For them, it is the inclusion of the disability that allows individuals to feel like they belong in society.
2. Lack of Accommodations
The problem with the actress is probably the only issue with the film that general audiences are familiar with. Sadly, that is only the tip of the iceberg.
Most of the problems arise out of the war that happened on Twitter between Sia, Sia fans, and the Autism Community.
When the Autism Community raised some concerns regarding the film, after the casting for the movie dropped, Sia responded with defensive comments.
Most of them were full of curse words and demanding that people watch the film before they form an opinion. However, there was somewhere she tried to redeem herself by appealing to the autism community.
“I actually tried working with a beautiful young girl non-verbal on the spectrum, and she found it unpleasant and stressful. So that’s why I cast Maddie.”
At first, it seems logical to do this from a filmmaking perspective, especially when there is a timeline to release said movie, so in a normal situation, the filmmakers should find someone else. This is a practice that all studios do.
Besides, it seems like she tried.
But in this context, this was a bad idea on her part.
As a person who has worked with various people with autism, I can definitely assure you that it’s probably best to chuck out any conception of plans or timelines out the window, because that isn’t gonna work.
When I was working with autistic students in high school, sometimes the students would listen, actually complete the activity we had planned. Other times, I would arrive at class, and one student would spend the entire hour showing off a play they did when they were twelve, or have a serious meltdown.
The key thing was adapting on the spot rather than actually enforcing the schedule down their throats by punishing them or stressing them out.
After watching multiple behind-the-scenes of my favourite movies, I have realized the amount of stress that happens on set.
So if Sia wanted an autistic actress, she would have to realize that accommodations are in order. Like recording her scenes in a quiet and comfortable space for the actress, instead of being fired because the actress could not handle the stressful environment.
This creates the toxic message to the disabled community that they shouldn’t aspire to have a job
Because their job interferes with their disability. A responsible employer should make sure all their employees are accommodated based on their needs, in order for them to do their jobs effectively.
Despite this, it tastes pretty bitter in the mouth when it is revealed that Sia actually wrote the film with Maddie in mind, as it is her goal to include her in every creative endeavour. It really makes me wonder why she bothers to go with trying to hire that other girl in the first place when she didn’t intend to have her as the lead?
3. Lack of Genuine Research
The next big issue with the film is the lack of research. On Twitter, Sia claimed that she did three to five years of research before writing the film. While that sounds nice on paper, actions speak louder than words.
To promote the film, she partnered up with Autism Speaks, an organization hated by the Autistic community because of their goal of “curing” autism by stomping out any autistic traits instead of creating programs that support them and allow them to live their lives despite being autistic.
In addition to that, the film includes graphic scenes where Music was restrained by her sister. According to each of the Autistic YouTubers, they have pointed out again and again just how dangerous to restrain an autistic person.
A surveyProPublica and NPR discovered that restraint and seclusion were used to handle autistic students approximately 267,000 times nationwide. 7, 600 of those times, mechanical restraints were used. This practice of restraining can lead to broken limbs and even death!
So naturally, many people in the community were horrified when the film included those scenes.
Conclusion
Now that the film is out, it is receiving Golden Globes, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
It is so sad that a film that had so much promise ended up doing so much harm and is still being rewarded with two Golden Globes for just writing a film about a minority group without putting the conscious effort it requires.
However, that doesn’t mean Sia could do better if she wanted. All it takes is to listen, be respectful, and be genuine in the stories we write, especially when they are about disabilities.
So if you are a writer or director and follow those small pieces of advice, I assure you, the disability community will thank you!
Catherine CC Dumé 
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