Okay... wow. So Leo is awesome too! Also, I take it he's voiced by Jack de Sena? He sounds just like MK. I never really put much thought into this incarnation of the turtles. Now I seriously want to watch it. Leo is seriously relatable, and such a compelling hero to follow from what you've illuminated here. I'm gonna be keeping an eye out for sure. Edit: just Google searched it and... Ben Shwartz? I suppose that explains the Sonic vibes his voice gave me too.
Wow... I seriously feel a connection to this version of Donnie now - despite having never watched the series. And I seriously despise those sorts of people who view our autistic nature as a curse. I honestly think it sucks even more when you think you had a good connection, only to see that break when you go through a legitimately hard time in your life made worse by your views/situation. I find myself fitting a lot of those traits pretty well, because I know I have them. Albeit, I am much more on the connective (is that a word?) side. But yeah, social ques, contact, talking to people, it's not always easy. I wish more people understood that, or were at least willing to be open to it. I think this is the second video in the past month I've seen applying autism to a pop-culture character/franchise I'm familiar with (the first being with Sonic). Obviously, you hit the nail right on the head, but I seriously gotta thank you for spreading that awareness. That's something that truly makes a difference and stands out to me. Also, that word you used for non-autistic people, I didn't quite fully take it in, but I'd totally use it if I were to see it. Don't know why my brain chose to partially hyperfixate on a technical term, but hey, that's kids (and young adults) like us for ya. 😅
Leo though rise made him completely different from 2012 where he is now arrogant, egotistical among others, now seeing him in this new light, helped me like him more which is why he’s my favourite character in the verse
The golden guards: wants his brother back as a true witch hunter who doesn't become his Judas, and every time the guard betrays him he begins the cycle anew.
great video!!! exceptionally articulate I figure the reason Belos makes the grimwalkers is so that he can train an heir he can trust won't get 'deceived' by wild magic. Add to the hypocrisy count. But he doesn't trust witches, just humans. He even says 'I just want to live long enough to see this through.'
Another thing is they also write the jokes well. When his brothers made jokes about it and make jabs at him, they aren't obvious jokes about his autistic traits, or meant to demean him because of those traits. They're set up in a way that is natural, and just genuinely how siblings would make fun of each other, autistic or not
3:31 the scene is when they use the turtle hogs for the first time I think, I can’t remember the specific ep but it’s about halfway through the first season
There is a quote from Star Wars: The Bad Batch that, in my opinion, sums up the key to writing autistic characters well better than anything else that I, as an autistic person, have seen to date. It's said by Tech, the team's highly analytical genius character who usually comes across as low empathy, and it goes "I may process moments and thoughts differently, but that does not mean I feel any less than you." When I first watched the episode where that line was spoken, I nearly screamed in pure joy because it was one of the only times it felt like someone had actually got it. If a piece of media is going to try to represent us, they need to remember that the things that make neurotypical people human are just the same for us, even if we don't show it in the same ways.
I think there is actually a deeper meaning to Philip and Caleb's story. Obviously the past is that same story with different details, but the Grim walkers are a manifestation of his grief and his madness. We see what Cain, it Belos, felt after committing the great sin and left to dwell in the bed he made. He hates the goodness and compassion in his brother, so he kills him. Wracked by grief and guilt, he creates clones of his beloved brother, but being a perfect magical clone, Caleb becomes disillusioned with his brother's machinations once again. And, as Einstein once said, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different outcome each time. Belos rinses, washes, and repeats, never realizing that the perfect clones will always become the compassionate hero his brother was and lamenting the "imperfections" of the perfect clones. Thank you for the lovely video
The owl house is my favorite series. I am the only neurodivergent/autistic person in my family, and the area i grew up in was completely homogenous, so as a kid i never met anyone else like me and there was no understanding of autism or neurodivergency. I (and everyone else) always just thought of myself as weird. The thing is though, that my parents encouraged me to be my own weird self and loved me as i was, so my childhood was still really happy and i didnt feel obliged to try to fit in and be normal. When other people commented or looked at me askance i cheerfully told them "dont worry, im just weird. I like the way i am, its what lets me make art!". Entertainment always made me feel a bit lonely though. There werent any characters like me, so i felt unrecognized and there was always a degree of seperation that other kids watching or reading the same things didnt feel. Other kids who liked me did so in spite of my weirdnes. I watched the owl house for the first time when feeling depressed (as an adult) and got so excited because "oh my gosh, thats just how i was as a kid! And shes gone to another world like i always dreamed of, one full of other oddballs who like her because of her weirdness, not in spite of it, like the geeky communities i found as a teen!" If i, who had such a great, loving, and understanding family got that happy and excited to find the owl house, how much more must it mean to all the neurodivergent kids who dont have families like mine? I hope the creators know the joy they have brought to us oddballs!
My interpretation of the continued creation of the grimwalkers is the necessity of Belos to control. He at every point of the show holds or seeks control over others. Caleb was at some point a figure Philip looked up to, so to have him by his side and control him, even if for some time before he has to start over, is inverting that dynamic and "proving" Philip is the most important, wisest person. The only person he once thought above him is now below, so he must be at the top and he needs that feeling. At least for me this is the explanation and I think it fits with the character.
5:02 THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SAYING THAT. The Low empathy assumption really does everyone who has this disorder. I’m autistic but I’m the opposite, very empathetic and extremely emotional. I can’t even count on my fingers how many times I’ve been shut down for sharing my diagnosis because I ‘don’t seem’ autistic. Which really means that I don’t seem like a have no empathy (people don’t even recognise it’s low and not no). Autism is so stigmatised especially with so many kids online grouping it into a personality trait rather than a disorder real human beings live with. I’m so glad we’re getting more representation that isn’t stereotyping personality wise.
This show has a big big BIG place in my heart it is my favorite of all of the Disney shows I have watched, i am lucky to have the friends I have now cause I was and still am considered a weirdo for liking the things I do and do get messed with from time to time by other people but I have friends who are like me and who can relate to me almost all of my friends have adhd I do not have a lot of friends but I’m grateful for them, that’s why I like the owl house so much and could relate to it a lot for just finding people that make you feel happy and that you can be yourself around them I was so sad this show was canceled and Disney I hope you bring it back at some point thanks Danna tarace for making this amazing show!
Just wanna put it out there, that the thing with Sheldon is that he's not just autistic, he has also OCD and PSTD. His seeming low empathy is more a maladaptive coping mechanism to protect himself from bullying, which still happens to him. He is capable of learning better ways to deal. But everyone around him (except maybe Penny...the Intimacy Acceleration episode featured a Sheldon much more comfortable with himself because of spending time with Penny) ignores these symptoms because they make the mistake of thinking his genius must make him know better but chooses not to do better for his own ego. There are times on the show when he realizes he is in the wrong and tries, often failing, to make up for it. Amy, on the otherhand, as sweet and nerdy girl awesome as she can be, she can also be a mess to figure out. Is she autistic with an extremely compulsive need to masking and force Sheldon to be more normal so that she can feel more normal? Or is she not really neurodiverse but had learned autistic like traits to deal with her abusive mother? Either way, the show portrays her as never wrong. Even if other characters acknowledge her faults among one another, no one tries to bring anything she does wrong or creepy to her attention. She can be incredibly insensitive and dismissive of others but no one complains about it to her like they do with Sheldon. And everyone needlessly sympathizes her difficulties with Sheldon. If Amy is autistic, she's the poorer representation, imo.
Alexithymia is not low empathy. It is something that affects your ability to recognize, process, source, and understand your own emotions. It is also referred to as emotional blindness, but it is not called "low empathy" and genuinely that is such a huge misunderstanding of what this disorder is. People with Alexithymia are not more or less empathetic. As a person who has it, I am actually hyper empathetic to the point it's very damaging for my mental health. The ability to understand and express your own emotions does not mean you have any more or any less empathy than any other person. That's just incorrect.
Another thing to note; sometimes ppl irl don't actually have autism or are even on the spectrum, they just picked up the behavior from someone close to them who was autistic, as was the case with me. My brother was quite autistic when we were young, and we were very close when we were young. His autism has gotten better over the years, and we've also grown apart; growing up means growing apart, but back on topic, it is not entirely clear if I'm actually autistic today; it might be that I have asperger's (which is an very light form of autism) or I might have just picked up the behavior from my brother when I was young and carried it along with me through life. We're still waiting on the psych eval. Edit: I think that if you are having trouble writing an autistic character, maybe it's best to put your character on the light end of the spectrum, or maybe you would write that he/she were related to an autistic person and just picked up the behavior from them. Let me make it clear that I'm not hating on anybody whatsoever here, I'm just saying that autism is a spectrum and not everyone may be as autistic as they appear.
im sorry but the leash thing is so fucking fr as you said autism is a spectrum and some cope with humor and self ridicule. my friend is like this, and it allows them(in their mind ig) to lessen their social skills not necessarily purposely, but thoughtfully. id LITERALLY had to pull them along to get things done because theyd be immobilized on certain things even while pressuring others to keep moving. for instance, we have a band. he really likes being focused and getting stuff done ect, buuuuut we make zero progress because he hyperfixates on whatever he feels he should in the song for literally all day. hes also really, really mean to particularly me(idk if im autistic or adhd misdiagnosed or what but we in many ways are as similar as we are different) and it makes thing nigh impossible to get to him. he also calls me his brother, most trusted, musical equal, and more. it creates a very chaotic and oddly flexible relationship
I love coming to a point where I can see all this representation ever since discovering that I have adhd and being on the spectrum. Since discovering your channel its helped seeing that others can relate so strongly.
man if i could i would request alteration to the English language cause the connotation of low empathy is very different from the denotation in my mind, it to my understanding means what it says literally but it sounds like zero empathy or lack of care for others which is not the case I think
The way Luz unlocks her Palisman in season 3 really resonated with me, an Autistic ADHDer. I've heard people saying it's cliche, but you would not believe how incredibly impactful being heard, accepted, and understood can be for ND youth. For this reason, thank you so much for making this video. You are making a genuine positive impact. Also I love character analysis stuff so much (especially exploring mental health and Neurodivergence through characters)
On the note of representation, both _Gamera: Rebirth_ and _Godzilla: Singular Point_ have autistic characters. Despite Junichi being the only one of the main three kids that's deliberately coded autistic, I'd argue both Joe and Boco are to an extent as well, along with one of the adult characters, James Tazaki. And while none of the characters are explicitly confirmed as such in _Singular Point,_ there's a very strong argument to be made for the two leads -Mei Kamino and Yun Arikawa- being on the spectrum. Especially Mei. And, probably the comic relief character Gorō Ōtaki now that I'm thinking about it (he's a mad scientist to boot).
But like… why can’t anyone have these personality traits? What makes someone who even in the slightest resemble any of these examples in their day to day autistic? It feel kind of forced. Like your titling a character gay just because its pride month or something like that. I personally never saw him as autistic and I just don’t understand these arguments at all.
One: It's not the fact that he shows one of these traits it's that he regularly shows multiple. Two: It's actually been comferned that he was autism coded on purpose so yeah
@@christineharvey2632 but still, its just so general. Not liking touch but moreover liking touch when initiated? That’s literally a trait I HAVE and I’m not autistic. In fact, i have most if not all of these traits alongside several people I know that are 100% sure they’re not autistic. Im not gonna go on a rant to prove anything because it all comes down to opinions and your own personal beliefs, but this is just so out of touch to me. And I dont really care about that confirmation stuff. Anything said outside of the show needs. To. Be. Backed. Up. By. The. Show. If you say a character is gay but they are either shown to be something differing or don’t show it at all then its a blank statement with no weight and thus I dont care to believe it. That’s basically the case for this.
But like… why can’t anyone have these personality traits? What makes someone who even in the slightest resemble any of these examples in their day to day autistic? It feel kind of forced. Like your titling a character gay just because its pride month or something like that. I personally never saw him as autistic and I just don’t understand these arguments at all.
If feel so understood by this video in a way I haven't in a long time, and especially your section gus. I don't know what to say I just kinda wanted to point it out, thanks
As an autistic person myself (Aspergers syndrome) The way I see inclusion in media of any kind is simply, *Stop forcing it* If you *can* write an, in this case autistic, person *>WELL<* without it being the literal/only selling point? Good, do that, but the moment people make out something like autism to be the only selling point of the character, it just falls flat immediately, this extends to topics such as race and gender... Write a *GOOD* character, Not a diverse character, only then do you win.
im hyposensitive but i used to be hypersensitive, its alway been annoying and i still freak out if i have to touch anything my mind registers as dirty(especially slimey or gooey things!) he was always my fav growing up because i thought he was relatable
