"General Hospital: Night Shift" Jumps on the Autism Bandwagon
Autism, a developmental disorder that affects one in every 150 children, will unexpectedly and profoundly change the life of Jagger Cates (Antonio Sabato, Jr.) and his family in an ongoing storyline of “General Hospital: Night Shift.” The national organization Autism Speaks serves as a consultant to the show and worked with producers and writers to develop a true-to-life storyline. The SOAPnet primetime series, which is the network’s most-watched of all time, follows the lives of doctors, nurses and patients as they embark on journeys of self discovery, love and heartache. The show airs TUESDAYS at 11:00 p.m., ET/PT on SOAPnet.I suppose this is a good thing; in general, people seem to feel connected with an issue when it affects someone they know. And many, many people feel a sense of personal connection to soap opera characters whose lives they have watched for years.In storyline, single father Jagger confronts the reality that his five-year-old son has autism. Together they begin a journey that will provide “General Hospital: Night Shift” viewers a sense of how families are affected by the disorder. On last night’s episode Stone was diagnosed with autism, and in the September 2nd episode, Jagger – who struggles to cope with the diagnosis as he watches his son begin therapy – will attend a parents’ support group that was cast with actors whose real-life children have autism.
The only problem I can see with this "popularization" of autism is the same problem that emerged as a result of the movie Rainman. Rainman starred Dustin Hoffman as an autistic savant who has been institutionalized since boyhood and Tom Cruise as his neurotypical brother. Many people saw the movie, empathized with the characters, and came away feeling that they now understood what autism is, how people with autism respond to various situations, and what people with autism need to feel secure and cared for.
Unfortunately, of course, autism is not just one disorder - and while Dustin Hoffman's autistic savant was beautifully acted, it could hardly be called representative of all people with autism. Very few people with autism, in fact, are savants - and many are completely different from the character portrayed.
What's your opinion about the popularization of autism through movies, TV, books, documentaries and the Internet? Do you feel it opens peoples' hearts and minds - or do you think it actually adds to the confusion?
Comments
I see it in a positive light. There will be a lot of stereotypes, but the more characters people see in movies, the more people will know about the condition - of course each story will show a different type of autism. Back when I was young the only image we had was from some old movie where the child was mute and autistic because she wasn’t “loved enough” (influenced by Bettelheim’s theory).
Why don’t they have guest/parents in the support group talk about the differences in their children. It is simple enough to give the audience a taste and educate them at the same time.
I thought after watching this week’s episode (where Stone was diagnosed) so far, so good. The diagnosing physician character was clear in making the point that every child with autism is unique and treatment should be tailored to meet the needs of the individual. I’ll be very interested to see how this progresses…I’ve been watching GH on/off since ‘81, so to see Jagger’s character in this new role takes some getting used to…
I think autism in itself creates alot of confusion and it probably will for a long time due to each person is different.
I think giving air time to any disability is a good thing. Now I used to be a great big GH fan some years back and to my memory many of the story lines were waaaay out there but it still kept me coming back. I think the more soaps display real life things, the better it’ll help awareness and the better their viewers will relate to their story line. I’m sure some will still be confused, never had heard of autism before, and will have mixed emotions. In reality, until autism touches the publics lives with their hearts and minds really open.
I am not sure that GH- Night Shift will not be a huge disservice to Autism. It is not an ongoing soap. It is 13 weeks, 4 of which have already passed. I am not sure there won’t be a quick soapy solution. There don’t seem to be plans to bring these characters or this story beyond this season– now only 9 episodes left. If it is, it will be swept under the rug.
GH in the past has done wonders with issues, including HIV/AIDS. Now, HIV is barely mentioned, despite an HIV+ character pregnant. There are no side effects of treatment, it is as if she is vitually cured.
Well it is starting to feel like the topic du jour, doesn’t it? A hot topic can always be used for higher ratings, I suppose if the portrayal is responsibly and realistically done, it can help the public to understand more. However, if the storyline gets wrapped up with a neat bow or forgotten into oblivion, then that isn’t a very realistic portrayal and I hope the writers will be smarter and more courageous than that.