Autistic perceived character representation in sitcoms
Nguyen, Dung (2023)
2023
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202305088235
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202305088235
Tiivistelmä
In recent decades, autism has received attention in mainstream media via depictions of characters in sitcoms, movies, TV series, and other mediums. However, due to the lack of knowledge, existing representations have yet to tell the whole story of autistic people.
The purpose of the current thesis was to discuss the representation of autism in sitcoms. There were three case studies of autistic-coded characters in sitcoms and two honorable mentions to determine a list of considerations for creating autistic characters. The case studies include The Big Bang Theory, The IT Crowd, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and two honorable mentions from Legally Blonde and The Queen's Gambits. The thesis analyzed studies about representation and autism. The research methods were theoretical framework and semiotics content analysis. The narrative analysis relied on Robert Mckee's character design theory and Henri Bergson's Laughter theories.
From these findings, a summary of what to remember when writing autistic or autistic-coded characters was made. This list of considerations aided the process of producing the project. The project is to create an autistic-coded character by writing a synopsis and a scene for a sitcom.
The purpose of the current thesis was to discuss the representation of autism in sitcoms. There were three case studies of autistic-coded characters in sitcoms and two honorable mentions to determine a list of considerations for creating autistic characters. The case studies include The Big Bang Theory, The IT Crowd, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and two honorable mentions from Legally Blonde and The Queen's Gambits. The thesis analyzed studies about representation and autism. The research methods were theoretical framework and semiotics content analysis. The narrative analysis relied on Robert Mckee's character design theory and Henri Bergson's Laughter theories.
From these findings, a summary of what to remember when writing autistic or autistic-coded characters was made. This list of considerations aided the process of producing the project. The project is to create an autistic-coded character by writing a synopsis and a scene for a sitcom.