The accountant and how to do autism representation right
Now disclaimer: This is mostly regarding the representation in the first movie because I uh. Haven’t seen the second one yet. Oops. I’ll probably make a follow up post when I do get around to watching it.
What is the accountant?
The accountant is a 2016 movie starring Ben Affleck who is an autistic accountant and involved with a lot of shady people. When he uncovers a conspiracy within a company and is being hunted for it, he decides to take revenge.
That is basically the basic explanation I can do without spoiling as there are a lot of plot twists within the film itself.
Why is the representation so good in the film?
Well for one thing, none of the autistic characters we see are considered a “burden” or are infantilized within the film. Chris (Ben Afflecks character) lives on his own, he makes a living, he is a functioning human being. In the movie itself we do see people being alienated by him, not because they think he’s useless but because he thinks, talks, and acts differently (Which is definitely a relatable experience). And at the end of the film, we see a nonverbal autistic character who’s revealed to be Chris “Man in the chair” and speaks via a voice app on her computer. So the movie shows many different characters on different parts of the spectrum, some who can’t live on their own, and it never shows them being useless.
Really like how he blows on his hands before eating and doesn’t make his food touch, truly the peak of autism :)
I also like how in the movie they don’t sugarcoat autism either. Yeah Chris is insanely smart, but he gets overwhelmed easily. He has sensory issues. He’s not great at talking to people or regulating his emotions. He still gets meltdowns. And they show these. They show how complex autism can be. They show the good and the bad about it. Usually when people portray autism they’re either “Oh this person is so smart despite their disability!” Or they demonize them. The accountant has a good balance of both, without making it look too stereotypical. While Chris is smart, he’s also still human with struggles and a disability that affects his life.
This picture is just a border for the next paragraph, but also hey punisher from the hit show daredevil
Now, how is this representation so good? Ben Affleck is NT, and so is (Presumably) the writers and directors.
Well Ben Affleck actually talked to and researched autistic people, specifically autistic males, to make sure his character had the same body language. So in other words, they did research and consulted actual ND people to help, which is leagues beyond what most other directors do when making autistic characters.
The accountant is not perfect representation, but it’s pretty damn good. They showed so many aspects of it while making it so Chris isn’t seen as useless or a burden. Its so refreshing to see representation that isn’t shit, and this movie is definitely great at making me and other autistic people feel seen (Well besides the killing people part)
people (my mom) will try to tell me i'm wrong for thinking the accountant's a comedy from the single scene of chris headshoting the blackburn guy after saying "yes i do" when he says "i make people whole do you have any idea what that's like" immediately followed by brax saying "i've missed you." that's peak comedy mom sorry i have a better sense of humor than you
