Sia’s Debut Movie, Music: Autistic Representation or Ableist Stereotypes?
Image Source: CBR
Sia—singer, songwriter, and recently debuted director—is one of the most famous artists worldwide, receiving awards, nominations, and recognition for several songs including “Chandelier,” “Cheap Thrills,” and a recent TikTok sensation, “Snowman.” So when she dropped a teaser on November 23rd for her debut-directed movie, Music, fans and non-fans were eager to watch this one-minute video and were quick to respond to the ableism and stereotypes portrayed in this movie.
Music, released on February 10th in the US, is about Zu (Kate Hudson), a newly sober drug dealer, who finds herself having to care for her teenage autistic nonverbal half-sister, Music (Maddie Ziegler), after her grandmother passed away. Maddie Ziegler, a dancer first gaining recognition in the popular TV show Dance Moms and Dancing with the Stars, has been cast as the main focus in many of Sia’s popular music videos, and the two have maintained a strong relationship. She made her acting debut with this film. Another notable actor who is featured in the debut film is Leslie Odom Jr., who plays Ebo, another “friend” of Music. He is well known for his role as the original Aaron Burr in the Broadway musical, Hamilton.
The basic plot may sound like a respectable representation of autism, but once you dig deeper, there are many problems within it, which people were quick to notice. One of the many issues people found was that a neurotypical person was casted as an autistic character. Out of the many flooding comments, numerous said that there are autistic actors—why would Sia cast a neurotypical actor when there are tons of autistic actors who should play the role of an autistic character? Responding to the input, Sia stated that she had originally casted an autistic actress to play the role of Music, but when the actress felt overwhelmed and distressed on set, she replaced her with Ziegler. However, Sia explained Ziegler had felt apprehensive in taking the role, scared that she’d receive backlash, but she had promised to protect the actor. She stated in Australia’s The Sunday Project, “I realized it wasn't ableism, I mean it is ableism I guess as well, but it's actually nepotism because I can't do a project without her. … I wouldn't make art if it didn't include her.” When the public found out about this, they were quick to blame Sia for the casting, not Ziegler.
On top of that, they asked why Sia wouldn’t change the set, filled with colorful sets, active movement, on top of music. The film especially affected autistic people watching: one comment on the music video “Together (from the motion picture Music)” voiced that their “sensory issues [were] on fire with all the jumping around, bright colors, and music all at the same time. Another commenter questioned the use of overloading “this [film] with colour sound and movement/texture.” Although experiences of those on the autism spectrum differ from person to person, people criticized the portrayal of these common sensory issues in a movie about an autistic character. “[Maddie's] dancing is normally a treat to watch and she’s still great in this, BUT when you’re now attempting to mimic a nonverbal autistic person, it just doesn’t feel right,” a viewer commented.
Controversy continued: the representation of autism fed into stereotypes, including specific body movements and not being able to “understand everything… said to [them],” as said in the movie. “[S]he’s autistic not deaf,” one of the comments stated on the latest trailer (released January 15th, 2021). Another controversy was the use of restraints in one scene. Restraints entail holding down one’s limbs to lessen the severity of a mental breakdown or panic attack. The conflict among the autism community exists because of its common misuse and danger. A commenter exclaimed, “that [restrains are] very traumatic to a lot of autistic people. DO BETTER.”
Sia added fuel to the fire when she stated that she had partnered with “Autism Speaks,” an organization known for its ableist intentions, and when she first received the backlash, she had responded with unprofessional remarks via Twitter (which have since been deleted).
Although Music caused public outrage, autistic people and a handful of neurotypical people as well, the movie has received 2 Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress (Kate Hudson) -- Musical or Comedy and Best Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy. The internet came back to criticize the nominations; however, the media industry hasn’t been speaking up much about this. While comments on the movie that were displayed in the trailer spoke positively about the film, (Variety called it “an exceptional film with heart at its core”) the movie received 17% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 35% like-rate on Google. Top reviews on Google included a 1-star rating, pointing out that “casting Maddie Ziegler to play an autistic is the equivalent of casting a white actor and putting them in blackface to the autistic community.”
Why cast an actor in a role that they have no relationship with? Would you cast a white actor for an Asian character? A cis actor for a trans character? The planning that goes into directing a movie shouldn’t be so hasty. Sia attempted to shine light on the minority group of autistic people, but the entire movie and concept were executed extremely poorly. With traumatizing scenes for people on the autism spectrum and disappointing casting, Music was not at all an accurate representation of autistic people and instead reinforced damaging stereotypes.