Issues of hyper- and hypo-sensitivity in the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and the movie Jack of the Red Hearts

Abstract

Directed by Janet Grillo, Jack of the Red Hearts examines the growing relationship between the autistic teenage girl Glory, played by Taylor Richardson, and Jack (Jenny Jaffe), who hides her identity to be taken into the house as Glory's babysitter. Mark Haddon’s novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time reflects the hypersensitive reactions of Christopher, who is on autism spectrum and how he under responds to sensory stimuli. In terms of representation, autistic characters are especially exposed to increasing prejudices in films and novels. These prejudices started with the movie Rain Man and gave birth to the stereotype that all autistic individuals are geniuses. For autistic individuals, who have such a hard-to-break stereotype, every film made and every novel written about them should not be considered as products in which directors and writers can only reflect their personal views and limited experiences about autism. Fictional products, especially cinema and literature, shape the perception of autistic individuals in society. Being aware of this absolute link between fictional texts and autism will both provide solutions to the representation problem of autistic individuals and respond to the needs of neurotypical parents. In the selected movie, demonstrating that the autistic individual causes problems in marriage and the mother’s use of the “cure autism now” cup reflect autism as a problem and a disease. However, the bond formed between the caregiver and the autistic young girl is an example of the destruction of prejudices.