i really want to talk about this scene from the first episode of extraordinary attorney woo, and how the show utilizes the historically offensive trope of the autistic savant:
a lot of autism representation deals with autistic (coded) savants who are only accepted by the characters around them and the narrative itself because they are useful. autism is seen as almost the downside to these nearly supernatural abilities: a genius doctor can figure out what condition is plaguing his patients easily, but can't look them in the eye! the horror! this is both portrayed as a source of conflict and comedy.
this is offensive in many ways. the majority of autistic people aren't savants, but savant syndrome was the extent of representation we got until very recently. it also treats autism as the tragic side effect of being a savant, when in reality, savant syndrome is a (rather rare) comorbidity with autism. our worth should not be defined by how much we contribute to society, especially when we are disabled. notice how savants always have these highly respected professional interests: medicine, math, law.
i don't think this is how extraordinary attorney woo plays with this trope. the woman in the scene says this right after:
which we know is true. sort of. i mean, the show's title is literally a reference to her job as an attorney. her insane visual memory and ability to memorize dozens of incredibly thick law books lead her to getting a perfect score on every exam in law school, including the bar exam. her skills, her savant syndrome, is useful to the world. therefore, she's useful despite her autism, right?
not really. young-woo faces hiring discrimination (that is called out as prejudiced and unfair multiple times throughout the entire season) and is only able to get a job because of some weird subplot that's unrelated to this post. the woman's prediction that young-woo's "difference" means she will grow up to be an attorney ignores the difficulties autistic people face because of our autism, even if we have such skills. it ignores how many autistic people are unemployed or can't work full time, and it ignores how employers can just choose not to hire us on the basis of our disability even when we want to/can work full-time. she ignores all this, just like the autistic savant trope.
young-woo does undoubtedly fit the autistic savant trope. her memory is so perfect it's almost a caricature. she's able to remember laws word for word, as well as when they were written and what page they were on. though i'd argue some of this is because this show is a tiny bit ridiculous, and a lot of things aren't very believable, it still plays into this harmful trope.
but i think the way the show treats young-woo's savant syndrome nullifies the harm this trope holds in the scope of this show, at least for me.
young-woo isn't loved because she's useful. in fact, some of her coworkers even resent her extraordinary skills. but those same people learn to love her, not because she's a great attorney, but because she's a loveable person. they work on cases together, because despite her incredible savant skills, she often needs others' skills as well. young-woo is loved even outside the law firm.
the most telling example of how young-woo's savant syndrome is treated narratively is her dad. young-woo clearly started talking much later than most children. her dad was saddened by her lack of affective empathy and how she seemed to not care about him. not her autistic traits, not the fact that she was nonverbal, but his perception of her autistic traits, which we later know isn't true. young-woo is empathetic! he just felt alone raising her when she didn't express that like he thought she should.
her dad was obviously relieved when she was revealed to be this law genius. it wasn't because that suddenly made her autism useful. he says this in episode 3 in regards to her law special interest:
it wasn't a relief that her interest meant she could be useful to society, get a job, and move out of his life. her interest was a point of connection. he could engage with her on her level when she was a child after he realized they shared this passion for the law. she still lives with him, and he supports her in all her endeavors. their shared interest was just the starting groundwork in their relationship.
and the thing is, that's not even her only special interest! her special interest in whales clearly predated her interest in the law, and the show treats them with the same seriousness and passion despite how only one of them contribute to her savant-like traits. her love for whales is even incorporated in the editing.
in short, though this show unfortunately employs a historically harmful trope, i think it does so very tactfully. the fact that woo young-woo has a special interest in the law and nearly superhuman memory abilities neither erases her struggles nor becomes the only likeable thing about her. she is loved before and beyond her productivity in society.
