Sia's film, "Music" excludes autistic artists while capitalizing on their essence
Warning: Some quotes in this article have language that may be troublesome to neurodivergent people and young readers.
This week, singer Sia’s film, “Music” will be released. Directed by Sia herself, the cast includes A-lister Kate Hudson, Hamilton’s Leslie Odem Jr., and music video star Maddie Ziegler, known best for her role on the reality show, 'Dance Moms' and previous collaboration with Sia in her 'Chandelier' music video, “Music” tells the story of two sisters’ (Hudson & Ziegler) journey and relationship, with one being typical while the other is autistic.
This film that may seem heart-warming on the surface has caused an uproar in the autistic community. Maddie Zeigler is seen portraying the title character, Music, an autistic teenager with high support needs who uses an AAC (augmented and alternative communication) device. She employs some stereotypical movements, vocalizations, and expressions to portray this very obviously neurodivergent character.
To be clear, the issue with “Music” is not Zeigler’s choices. There are people on the spectrum who move and sound similarly with neither necessarily being a projection of cognition or social-emotional development. The problem is that Zeigler who is typical (“normal”) was hired to portray a character over an actually autistic individual.
Before continuing, I would like to mention a few things:
I mostly use “person-first language”. It is a personal preference for many individuals on the spectrum to be called “autistic” instead of “person with autism”. Both are fine and vary between individuals. Think of it a little like learning someone’s pronouns.
“Disabled” is not a bad word. Autistic and neurodivergent are not bad words. They’re not good words. They’re just words that describe traceable differences in human beings within the context of our society.
Using alternative communication instead of verbal speech is not a reflection of intelligence or cognition. There are many autistic people who do not speak verbally and instead communicate fluently with a device. A person’s ability to verbalize is not directly linked to their ability to understand, read, or write.
Hand flapping, abnormal posture, sensory sensitivities, and reactions are not reflections of intelligence or cognition.
Let’s get back to Sia and “Music, a Film by Sia”. This film and the backlash surrounding it brings up a unique opportunity to discuss how disabled people are viewed in society, film, and media. Using Sia’s statements and the film as examples, we can examine and speculate the what and why.
Within hours of the trailer’s release, comments from autistic viewers began pouring in, questioning Sia’s motives and choices over her film set to release in early 2021. Sia became immediately defensive in her replies on social media. In response to an autistic Twitter user’s comment, “(@helenangel) Several autistic actors, myself included, responded to these tweets. We all said we could have acted in it on short notice. These excuses are just that- excuses. The fact of the matter is zero effort was made to include anyone who is actually autistic.” Sia replied tagging autistic actors, “Maybe you’re just a bad actor.”
There are plenty of young autistic actors on mainstream television (Kayla Cromer, Maeve Press, Lillian Carrier, Tal Anderson to name a few) as well as young up-and-comers who have yet to be discovered. In her own defense, supporters mention tight schedules and budget constraints as excuses for not dedicating time to find an autistic actor.
Could it be that she wanted to cast Zeigler from the beginning and came up with this as an excuse? Perhaps the priorities of production were so mismanaged that the creative team saw shoot dates as more important than accurately and respectfully representing the community the movie will profit off of?
One person tweeted, “(@amycmason) Did you do any research or consult the community at all? It is very condescending to say it would be cruel to consult a disabled actor”. Sia’s response to this tweet was, “Duh. I spent three fucking years researching, I think that’s why I’m so fucking bummed.”
(@tomelevi) tweeted, “It’s a mighty shame that someone with such a colossal platform is using it to exclude disabled and neurodiverse actors from their own narratives. I’ve been a long time fan of your work, so this is really disappointing.” Sia dug her heels in deeper with a reply that tags her co-stars stating, “I agree. I’ve never referred to music as disabled. Special abilities are what I’ve always said, and casting someone at her level of functioning was cruel, not kind, so I made the executive decision that we would do our best to lovingly represent the community.”
Sia proclaimed that it would be unkind to hire disabled talent, describing the character Music with the phrase, “casting someone at her level of function was cruel”. In the same tweet, Sia noted that she doesn’t refer to the character as “disabled”, but instead “differently-abled”. This might be the statement that resonates the most with me from the director.
Sia and her team came to the conclusion that an actor with similar mannerisms to those used in “Music” must not be capable of comprehending movie making and/or was not worth the accommodations required to give neurodivergent talent an equitable playing field. Sia also discounts the word “disabled”, ironically perpetuating the idea that disability is something to be ashamed of.
A study by Drexel University found that people on the spectrum had the lowest employment rate across disabilities. In fact, almost half, 48% of autistic young adults never work for pay in the 20s. The Autistic Self Advocacy Network has a saying, “nothing about us without us”. To make a piece of art with the intention of honoring a population that is not your own, listening and inclusion are absolute musts. Otherwise, you’ll end up like Sia making a film that romanticizes stereotypes while simultaneously contributing to the staggering under and unemployment issue within the autistic community.
Another tweet on the same day from Sia tags her co-stars again and reads, “I cast thirteen neurotypical people, three trans folk, and not as fucking prostitutes or drug addicts but as doctors, nurses and singers. Fucking sad nobody’s even seen the dang movie. My heart has always been in the right place.”
The most cringy tweet is definitely the one where Sia lists the categories of people she hired for the film as a response to her casting choices. Could you imagine your boss saying something like, “well I didn’t have the time or room to hire the disabled person because I was busy with 13 abled people and some who also happens to be transgender, but we’re all going to get together and make a project about the disabled person I didn’t hire”. Sia pats herself on the back for the diverse casting that remained within her comfort zone. Populations are not interchangeable for some representation quota.
“Fucking bullshit. You have no fucking idea because you weren’t there and haven’t see the movie.”
“Grrrrrrrrr. Fuckity fuck why don’t you watch my film before you judge it? FURY.” Sia’s Twitter: www.twitter.com/sia
One Twitter user that appears to be a fan account of Sia came to the singer’s defense replying, “Hey! Sia actually worked really closely with an autism center on the film and is trying to positively show that autism is a gift rather than a disability. The reasoning for a non-autistic actor is that it was shot in just a few months and Sia didn’t want to pressure anyone :)”
Sia and her team argue their project was supported by working in part with the organization Autism Speaks (AS). It is important to note that many autistic individuals do not support AS. While I am choosing not to comment on the virtue of this organization, what I will point out is the problem with using an organization about a marginalized group instead of talking to the real-life people you’re trying to showcase in your art.
An autism center/organization composed of clinicians and practitioners can be a valuable resource when learning about a disorder. They have textbooks and case studies full of examples and research. What they cannot explain to you is the actual autistic experience. They don’t know what it is like to hear the lights or feel the one thread against your skin that is so overwhelming it makes you nauseous. A neurotypical therapist can’t experience the thrill and the calm that stimming provides. Autistic humor (see Hannah Gadsby) is incredibly smart and only really conveyed correctly by those on the spectrum. Let autistic people be at the front of telling their stories.
Okay, Sia. You’re right that we haven’t seen the movie yet. Unfortunately, what is problematic and obvious in your trailer cannot be changed or made better by any storyline. There is no detail or cinematic art in the rest of that movie that will validate an abled person portraying someone disabled because you “made the executive decision” that it would “be cruel” to hire someone on the spectrum. Your responses are sharp and come from a place of hurt and frustration. You obviously put a lot of effort and hard work into this film. You literally named it Music, A Film by Sia. You could have taken the feedback for what it was, acknowledge the issues, and offer to donate some of the film’s profit to organizations that support autistic people.
That wasn’t the road you took though, Sia. Swing that chandelier back over to reality, please.
Check it out for yourself! Watch the trailer for Music, a film by Sia