Kinsey

[charliesmum]

Saw the movie Kinsey on Sunday. It was okay. Interesting. Made me want to find out where I fall on the Kinsey scale.

Anyway...I'm not sure how accurate Liam Neeson's portrayal of Kinsey was, but based on his performance, I wonder if Kinsey didn't have an Autism Spectrum Disorder. His bluntness, his focus on the minutia of things and his occasional inability to deal with people all struck me as some sort of Asburgers.

For example, in the film he is brutally honest about things - when he had a homosexual affair with this guy* he told his wife what he did, and when he overheard the same guy telling the wife that he was getting bored with the man-sex, instead of bounding in and pretending he didn't hear anything, he joined in the conversation.




*FYI for those who haven't seen it yet, there is full frontal male nudity sported by Chris O'Donnell. As I was the only straight girl in the room watching this, it went unremarked upon.

Comments

[finmagik.livejournal.com]

Love your Icon. And I'll have to see that movie as sommeone who has Aspergers, I'm always looking for famous people who might had it in the past. I think Tolkien had it.

[meadowrue.livejournal.com]

Interesting, someone once told me that Sir Winston Churchill had a text book case of ADHD. But, I never actually looked into it.
I'm so ambivalent about labeling kids, on one hand they get the extra help they need to succeed but on the other I think they are viewed as having less potential which isn't the case IMHO. The pros out weigh the cons but still, the perceptions need to change.

[finmagik.livejournal.com]

Labeling is what helped me.I'm getting the help I needed because of my label. Without a label how can you tell what's in a can? Could be peachs or could be spinach.

[meadowrue.livejournal.com]

Oh, I agree. I just think that the perceptions have to change. That just because someone has XYZ doesn't mean that they won't achieve great and amazing things in their lives.

[charliesmum.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the 'preception' of things is what worries me about Charlie. I had a whole thing last year when i found out the bus to take him to his class would be picking him up outside the school nearest our house (his 'home school') instead of from our house. Let's have the 'special needs' kids be bussed away in full view of the so-called normal kids who, when Charlie is finally mainstreamed, will already have ammunition to use against him.

Kids are cruel. Why I don't know.

[charliesmum.livejournal.com]

I did a quick Google to see if the real Kinsey exhibited any of those traits, but haven't found anything yet.

I'd be willing to be many top scientists and musicians and writers had some form of Autism that wasn't diagnosed because they didn't know 'back then'.

Feel free to take the icon if you want it.

[jenlittlebottom.livejournal.com]

Look up Henry Cavendish, maybe?

[jessii-6.livejournal.com]

I've wantd to see Kinsey back when it wasin the theaters and I had no one to watch it with. Go you (now your comment made me want to see it less, but I'll overcome ugly nude boys)

[narcissusblack.livejournal.com]

Lol, no, that's Peter Sarsgaard who goes full frontal. I *wish* it was Chris. But Peter is lovely too. ;)

[charliesmum.livejournal.com]

Oh. Oops. Still. Nice looking guy! :)

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, Peter is definitely lovely. :) I thought about going to see the Skeleton Key for him, but I heard it really blows (but Peter got the thumbs up still acting wise.)

[narcissusblack.livejournal.com]

*facedesk* that was me above.

[http://users.livejournal.com/butter_cup_/]

It's entirely possible. When we were in the diagnosis shopping phase, my son's neuropsych mentioned that my husband exhibited all of the criteria for autism, but only to a sub-clinical degree. Which is to say that he's got it, but it doesn't interfere with his ability to lead a normal life. Both of my men line things up, have an obsessive need for routine, and have bizarre food rituals. They're both quiet and freakishly strong, which seems to be common on the spectrum, in my experience.

Damn woman, autism and full frontal male nudity all in one post. You're my kind of people. :D

[charliesmum.livejournal.com]

That's interesting about your husband. I sometimes think my husband is ADD, except he can stay on focus on things he likes well enough. :)

I like your icon.

[http://users.livejournal.com/butter_cup_/]

That's actually part of ADD. It's not exactly a lack of attention. It's more like a lack of appropriate attention. You can have a person who can't concentrate on most things for more than five minutes, who gets totally engrossed on their high interest activities. Even to the point where you can't distract them.

Yeah, I have one of those kids too. Actually, she's much harder to parent than the one on the spectrum. Four kids and only one falls in the middle of the bell curve. Go Figure.

[swordmage.livejournal.com]

I liked Kinsey very much. Thought it was well-done and liked the performances.

That said, I know nothing about mental illnesses.