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An interview in which she defends the act of lying on top of an #autistic kid to calm them down - published on the exact same day that we learned about an autistic teen who died from the use of this exact same technique.
And she describes it as powerful.
https://amp.nine.com.au/article/5fe5b280-a4bc-4372-b8c5-39f0ba0ef069
And she describes it as powerful.
https://amp.nine.com.au/article/5fe5b280-a4bc-4372-b8c5-39f0ba0ef069
"That scene was so important to me, because of all the people staring... I felt compelled to put it in..."
"I just thought that was so powerful, and scary, really scary for the caregiver who has to have those kinds of thoughts."
https://amp.nine.com.au/article/5fe5b280-a4bc-4372-b8c5-39f0ba0ef069
"I just thought that was so powerful, and scary, really scary for the caregiver who has to have those kinds of thoughts."
https://amp.nine.com.au/article/5fe5b280-a4bc-4372-b8c5-39f0ba0ef069
For comparison's sake:
Police "restrained him face down on the pavement of the shopping center's parking lot, putting immense pressure on his back..." https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/15/us/teenager-autism-dies-louisiana-sheriff-lawsuit-trnd/index.html
Police "restrained him face down on the pavement of the shopping center's parking lot, putting immense pressure on his back..." https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/15/us/teenager-autism-dies-louisiana-sheriff-lawsuit-trnd/index.html
"I have friends with children on the spectrum, and I know that for all of them their greatest fear is, 'Who will love them when I am gone?'"
"The musician and producer says she made the movie 'for the carers'."
https://amp.nine.com.au/article/5fe5b280-a4bc-4372-b8c5-39f0ba0ef069
"The musician and producer says she made the movie 'for the carers'."
https://amp.nine.com.au/article/5fe5b280-a4bc-4372-b8c5-39f0ba0ef069
Eric's parents "are sharing their story to prevent another family from experiencing what they've gone through.
'We bring this lawsuit in hopes that Eric's death would not be in vain... and no other family would have to go through the same horror.'" https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/15/us/teenager-autism-dies-louisiana-sheriff-lawsuit-trnd/index.html
'We bring this lawsuit in hopes that Eric's death would not be in vain... and no other family would have to go through the same horror.'" https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/15/us/teenager-autism-dies-louisiana-sheriff-lawsuit-trnd/index.html
"If they [cinema-goers] watch the movie, it will allow them to touch into their compassion..."
https://amp.nine.com.au/article/5fe5b280-a4bc-4372-b8c5-39f0ba0ef069
https://amp.nine.com.au/article/5fe5b280-a4bc-4372-b8c5-39f0ba0ef069
"Over the course of 9 minutes and 6 seconds, deputies failed to put Eric in a 'recovery position' after subduing him that would have prevented the teenager from suffocating, the lawsuit says." https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/15/us/teenager-autism-dies-louisiana-sheriff-lawsuit-trnd/index.html
"I just don't think I'll do more movies. This was the only movie I cared enough to make, and it was also the hardest thing I've ever done..."
https://amp.nine.com.au/article/5fe5b280-a4bc-4372-b8c5-39f0ba0ef069
https://amp.nine.com.au/article/5fe5b280-a4bc-4372-b8c5-39f0ba0ef069
"Eric 'brought so much joy' in his 16 years...
"Eric was our purpose in life."
"Not being able to see him or hear his voice has been devastating to us... How do you reconcile with yourself that there are no new memories to be made with him in it?" https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/15/us/teenager-autism-dies-louisiana-sheriff-lawsuit-trnd/index.html
"Eric was our purpose in life."
"Not being able to see him or hear his voice has been devastating to us... How do you reconcile with yourself that there are no new memories to be made with him in it?" https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/15/us/teenager-autism-dies-louisiana-sheriff-lawsuit-trnd/index.html
If this movie helps to normalize the use of a harmful technique that literally kills #autistic and #disabled people...
If this movie will inspire people to not intervene when this kind of thing is happening in public...
Then we need to just chuck the whole thing in the trash.
If this movie will inspire people to not intervene when this kind of thing is happening in public...
Then we need to just chuck the whole thing in the trash.
Can you imagine being Eric Parsa's parents and seeing a clip of this restraint scene from the movie? How traumatic it would be for them? And how traumatic it must be for anyone who has ever been restrained in the midst of a meltdown? It's horrifying.
https://twitter.com/autisticats/status/1351948094422843393
https://twitter.com/autisticats/status/1351948094422843393
Erin shared a link to an article (from 2012!) about the harms of restraints. The entire thread (and the rest of Erin's tweets on the subject) is definitely worth reading. https://twitter.com/QueerlyAutistic/status/1351878818827563008
"One-third to one-half of all people killed by police have some sort of disability, according to estimates from a 2016 paper published by the Ruderman Family Foundation, a disability organization."
https://twitter.com/autselfadvocacy/status/1353100360215384069
https://twitter.com/autselfadvocacy/status/1353100360215384069
"And, according to a study from researchers at the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute at Drexel University, approximately one in five adolescents with autism were stopped and questioned by police by the time they reached 21." https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgz5b4/sheriffs-deputies-allegedly-sat-on-an-autistic-teen-for-9-minutes-he-died
"We should be in charge of our own stories. But instead our stories are being told by people who think they know us when they really don’t… Sia doesn’t see us as people to represent, she sees us as people to feel sorry for.” https://twitter.com/think_inclusive/status/1354444197135343618
"Music manages to both underestimate #Autistic people and infantilise them."
"It’s especially upsetting when Autistic characters with complex support needs, like Music, are presented as problems to be solved, at any cost." https://twitter.com/guardian/status/1354210609013936135
"It’s especially upsetting when Autistic characters with complex support needs, like Music, are presented as problems to be solved, at any cost." https://twitter.com/guardian/status/1354210609013936135
"...the use of prone or supine restraint has killed dozens of children – often ones on the #Autism spectrum – and injured many more in US schools, juvenile justice settings and psychiatric facilities." https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/jan/27/sias-film-music-misrepresents-autistic-people-it-could-also-do-us-damage
"Just last year, #Autistic boy Eric Parsa died when sheriff’s deputies allegedly placed him in prone restraint, taking turns sitting on him, for nine minutes. Eric’s 'crime': experiencing a meltdown in public."
#AutisticLivesMatter
#AutisticLivesMatter
"Putting aside the fact that functioning labels are outmoded and offensive (indeed, 'functioning' is rarely static), being nonverbal doesn’t necessarily mean lacking in agency."
#nonspeaking #nonspeakers #IStandWithNonSpeakers
#nonspeaking #nonspeakers #IStandWithNonSpeakers
"Perpetuating the notion of a rich –read non-Autistic – fantasy world trapped by the flesh prison of the Autistic body diminishes us all. #Autistic people with complex support needs have value..."
#AutisticLivesMatter
#AutisticLivesMatter
"Music is just another hamfisted person-first narrative that depicts #Autism as something 'suffered', by #Autistic people, but even more so by those who are 'brave' enough to love them."
- @clembastow writing for the @guardian https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/jan/27/sias-film-music-misrepresents-autistic-people-it-could-also-do-us-damage
- @clembastow writing for the @guardian https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/jan/27/sias-film-music-misrepresents-autistic-people-it-could-also-do-us-damage
Promising title, but literally nothing is said about #autistic actors. #Autism is mentioned once.
Instead, she regrets casting a white female lead for Zu, and says that she was warned that casting a Black actress would make her film "a Black movie." https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Movies/2021/01/31/Sia-regrets-caving-to-casting-pressures-for-Music/9951612075935/
Instead, she regrets casting a white female lead for Zu, and says that she was warned that casting a Black actress would make her film "a Black movie." https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Movies/2021/01/31/Sia-regrets-caving-to-casting-pressures-for-Music/9951612075935/
Things we wish someone had also warned her about:
- creating an ableist film that you dub "Rain Man for girls" will upset #autistic people
- when your actor says she's uncomfortable pretending to be autistic, you should listen
- directing a music video is different than a movie
- creating an ableist film that you dub "Rain Man for girls" will upset #autistic people
- when your actor says she's uncomfortable pretending to be autistic, you should listen
- directing a music video is different than a movie
Regarding that last point: Here's a piece that compares "Music" to the cult classic "The Room."
"...there's a breakdown in communication that's eye-opening. There's a language to filmmaking that even the most casual filmgoer has come to understand..." https://www.smh.com.au/culture/movies/is-there-a-cult-future-for-sia-s-cinematic-mess-music-20210122-p56w4e.html
"...there's a breakdown in communication that's eye-opening. There's a language to filmmaking that even the most casual filmgoer has come to understand..." https://www.smh.com.au/culture/movies/is-there-a-cult-future-for-sia-s-cinematic-mess-music-20210122-p56w4e.html
An easy-to-read breakdown of the S*a situation from @autistictic. 
https://twitter.com/autistictic/status/1357021933859184641
https://twitter.com/autistictic/status/1357021933859184641
Variety: Sia Adds Warning Label to ‘Music’ Movie, Apologizes to Autism Community on Heels of Golden Globes Nominations
https://twitter.com/Adriana_Edu/status/1357299093467500544
https://twitter.com/Adriana_Edu/status/1357299093467500544
Images of the actual screenshots can be found in this great thread by @ekverstania: https://twitter.com/ekverstania/status/1357239345514708993
