BF114964


 * BF1 14964 RAINMAN**


 * Summary**

The story Rainman is based on the character Raymond Babbitt. A person who is an autistic savant. Raymond who lives in an institution, for twenty-five years. The story pretty much started with the character Charlie, played by Tom Cruise. Being an egotistic neurotic yuppie car dealer who bullies his staff and his girlfriend.

When Charlie’s estranged father died his main focus is to get his inheritance which he thought he could have. But instead his father left most of his fortune to his older autistic brother Raymond who was institutionalized. The money was put in a trust, for the brother Charlie never knew he had. Charlie tried to get his hands on that money, but no success much of his dismay and frustration, he kidnapped his brother from the institution. hoping to get some ransom or some of that money that he believed to be rightfully his. The story starts to unravel when Charlie took Raymond for a road trip, traveling across the country to California. Things become more complex when Charlie realizes that long forgotten events from his child hood are trapped inside Raymond’s photographic memory. On the road, the roller-coaster conflict was pretty much played out as Charlie the self absorbed that he is, was longing for Raymond to change. Trying to domesticate Raymond to fit his circumstance or his terms. Gradually it was Charlie who was changed by his experience with Raymond. Charlie also discovered his brothers amazing abilities such as counting cards, memorizing phonebooks, and can count a box of tooth picks scattered on the floor. Almost at the end of the movie Raymond was asked by the doctor, to chose if he would rather stay with Charlie or at the institution. In which Raymond chose both. Showing he cannot make a simple decision. Charlie realized at that point that he has to give up his brother Raymond, because he knew his brother would struggle living outside of the institution. In addition he knew that Raymond has to have his routines of doing things. Charlie was changed and showed compassion to Raymond in the end.


 * Characters**

Dustin Hoffman as Raymond Babbitt (Autistic-Savant) Tom Cruise as Charlie Babbitt (Self Centered, Neurotic, Shady automotive dealer) Valeria Golino as Susanna (Charlie’s girlfriend) Gerald Molen as Doctor Bruner Director: Barry Levinson Writer: Barry Morrow Screenplay: Ronald Bass Movie: 133 minutes

The movie did well on bringing autism into the public eye. It was not meant to portray not just autism. Dustin Hoffman’s character is an autistic savant, it is a person with autism who has extraordinary skill not possessed by ordinary people. Some autistic savant have exceptional skill in music, some in arts, some in math, etc.

So if the question being asked wether the portrayal of the character accurately depicts the condition of most people with autism, I would say no. But it is a good depiction of an autistic savant. Beware of one thing autism does not necessarily mean special gift. Most people with autism are not gifted at all. Gifted autistic people is rather rare, about one of every ten shows savant skill. If you have seen Rainman or a t.v. show about autism you may think that you know what autism “looks like”. In fact when you’ve met a person with autism you’ve only met ONE person with autism. Some people are chatty, while others are silent, many have sensory issues, gastrointestinal problems, sleeping difficulties, and other medical problems. Others have communication delays.

SInce all cases of autism are different to judge one case as the whole autism spectrum is wrong. To understand a person with autism, it is a good idea to spend some time getting to know that individual personally. Not all autism are negative diagnosis. As a whole a lot of autistic on the spectrum have a lot to offer society.

According to wikipedia.com Morrow ,the writer of Rainman, created the character Raymond after meeting with both Kim Peek, a real life savant; and Bill Sackter a good friend of Morrow.

Character Raymond was supposed to be mentally retarded but Hoffman lobbied to be changed to autistic-savant. After seeing Leslie Lemke a blind autistic who has cerebral palsy played concerto in piano. (Imbd.com)

Barry Levinson admitted that Raymond’s comment about the Qantas being the only aircraft company to never have any fatal crash was made up, and that he didn’t know if this was true. In reality, Qantas has had eight crashes, all prior to the making of the film, but they were all propeller driven planes, jets. (Imbd.com)

The savant skill embodied by the character Raymond Babbitt do exist and are not merely a screen writers fantasy. The 246 toothpicks seen instantly as they to the floor is the same ability the savant twins, George and Charles showed with matches. (Imbd.com)

The film Rainman is not a documentary. Important messages in this movie are:
 * 1) First it portrays the condition of a high level functioning autistic person.
 * 2) The center where Raymond Babbitt live is not a mental institution but rather a center for developmental disability. It is important to mention this because autism is a developmental disability and not a mental issue.
 * 3) Explaining to Charlie Babbitt the cause of Raymond’s disorder, the Doctor makes it clear that autism is a “Biological Disorder” not a psychological one, as he talks about “..Damage of the frontal lobes in the fetal stage..” and describes some biological defects in Raymond’s ability to feel and experience.

(Source: [|__www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org__] and [|__www.Daroldtrefart.com__])


 * Conclusion**

Autism is still a very intriguing disorder that intrigues many people. We do not have consensus of what really causes it. Along with the movie Rainman a lot of good thing came out of it. Namely: Awareness and understanding of the disorder, debunking the old myths or the old hypothesis of autism as mental retardation. We now see autism as an illness rather than a monstrosity that we need to be scared of.


 * Questions:**

1.Does it show parent and child relationship?

Based on the character of Charlie Babbitt, Charlie was immature, self-centered, emotionally detached from people around him. Although they do not show what kind of father he is, but the story seems to suggest that he belongs to Authoritarian parenting style.

Sanford Babbitt is highly in control of Charlie, but Charlie doesn’t like it and rebelled.

He demands maturity, but Charlie is so immature, seeking attention. Stole his car, landed in jail, and let him stay in jail for two days to discipline him.

I believe they may have some nurturance. He did send Raymond to the institution but he really did not abandon him. Maybe he thinks that it is the right place for Raymond so that the can be properly taken care of, on the flip side to shield his other son from getting hurt. The notion of total abandonment id not visible on Raymond side, because he was even left three million dollars in the trust fund. And Raymond’s memory of his father suggest good times.

Communication department between Charlie and his father sums up to failure. Low communication on both parties.

2. Based on Marcia’s theory of identity achievement the character of Charlie towards his brother Raymond. Is under the “Identity achievement” status.

**Crisis** a.The crisis was at first Charlie having a meltdown on his own, knowing he has a brother that he didn’t know he had. b.Money matters. Money that he cannot have but instead Raymond is the beneficiary of three million dollars and al that he receives is the car and roses. c.Trying to domesticate Raymond.

3. The character of Tom Cruise’s girlfriend trying to defend Raymond and she reacts to Charlie by saying “ ..You are using Raymond,Charlie, and it’s wrong.”. Falls under the fifth and sixth stage of Kohlberg’s stage of moral development. Still there are some basic absolute values on her part she has shown the importance of Raymonds life (value) and liberty.

4. Charlie’s character in the movie can also be characterized under the big five personality traits as neurotic

(Page 279 Boyd and Helen B.) Neuroticism (also called emotional instability) He showed the trait: tense, touchy, and unstable temperament.

Temperament: negative emotionality, irritability.

The character Charlie Babbitt showed an unstable character. He kidnapped his brother and used him to gamble, and held him for ransom.


 * 5.** What developmental issues does the movie depict?

Example: Tom Cruise’s character Charlie Babbitt shows immaturity, memory of drowning (repression).


 * 6.** How do the depiction compare to the scientific evidence as represented by your scholar sources?

Example: The meltdown of Raymond like the scene at the airport whenever he become nervous, or out of place, or forced to change he screams or throw tantrums.

The need of routines is consistent to autistics. They are consistently routine driven, a very typical characteristic of an autistic.

-In the movie Raymond wants to go back to Cincinnati to buy his underwear at K-mart. Raymond thinks that the only place you can buy underwear is in Ohio, K-mart at 400 Oak ST. in Cincinnati. And mention it many times.

Example: Raymond uses tooth picks to eat pancakes and cheese balls.

Example: Raymond has to eat every night before he goes to bed. His snack before going to bed is apple juice and twelve cheese balls. Raymond says “gotta have cheese balls.”.

__Subject Matter—18 points out of 20__ Despite the disorganization, this is a very thorough analysis! You need more references to the textbook.

__Higher-Order Thinking—15 points out of 20__ : You have trouble applying concepts such as the Big 5 and the developmental/mental dichotomy.

__Organization--20 points out of 30__ While you structured it using the questions, it still ends up very scattered. An essay form that includes all of this would probably work better.

__Format--0 points out of 10__ You use a lot of citations from other sources, but there's no works cited/bibliography/references.

__Grammar/Punctuation/Spelling--5 points out of 10__ You have a lot of sentences that cut off in the middle of a thought.

__Readability/Style--5 points out of 10__ You have a lot of choppy sentences that make it hard to read.

Grade: 63/100