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An actually autistic person reviews Sia's movie Music

This movie is so off-key, it's not even on the piano anymore.

By Catherine BurfordPublished 3 years ago Updated 10 months ago 9 min read
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The three films that I had previously refused to watch were Cannibal Holocaust, A Serbian Film, and Music. I still refuse to actually sit through the first two movies, but I recently forced myself to sit through what I consider to be more disturbing than I Spit On Your Grave. Unlike the 70s classic about survival and female empowerment, Sia's directorial debut does NOT have a reason to exist. I had been telling people for months to not waste their money on this film because I could tell by the trailer that it woefully misrepresents autism. Of course, that didn't stop trolls from tackling me on social media and saying things like "dOn'T jUdGe It If YoU hAvEn'T sEeN iT". Now that I have seen it, I can judge the absolute s**t out of it.

Why did I watch this movie after telling people not to waste money on it? Because I felt like it was my duty as an autistic advocate to sit through it all and explain word for word why this movie is harmful and doesn't deserve praise or awards. Also, I would like to point out that I didn't spend a penny on this film. Instead, a fellow autistic friend on TikTok got a copy and asked me and a bunch of other autistics to judge it via Zoom. It was NOT easy to sit through that film. I somehow managed to take notes as I lost my mind, and I shall now share my thoughts

Oh, and I would tell you to beware of spoilers, but this movie really isn't worth your time.

Top 5 Things Wrong With Music

5.) Sia totally lied about the movie's premise.

When Sia first announced her project and went on interviews to promote it, we were led to believe that this was going to be Rain Man the Musical with girls and an over-stimulating mess. We weren't entirely wrong, but it seemed like the title character was never really important to the plot. Instead of watching an autistic girl trying to find her place in this neurotypical world, we are instead subjected to the story of a drug addict who wants to get rid of her autistic sister and make money to fulfill her selfish needs. Honestly, considering the fact that Sia used to be an addict and most of her songs are about addiction, she could've just removed autism from the storyline altogether and given us a beautiful-yet-heartbreaking tale about addiction. In fact, the one part of the movie that actually touched me emotionally was the part where Zu (played by Kate Hudson) runs off to get drunk with strangers. Although I've never battled with addiction, the scene did remind me of those times I felt so alone despite being surrounded by so many people. I truly think that the film should've focused solely on that. As for the autism bit, Sia said that Music was nonverbal, which means that she doesn't speak at all. In the first scene where we see Music getting ready for the day with her grandmother, she is actually speaking. She is saying things like "two eggs" and "braid your hair" in a very offensive type of voice that most autistic people don't actually speak with. She may have a limited vocabulary throughout the film, but she is not nonverbal.

Why yes! I DID make this awful movie!

4.) This movie is pretty racist.

Sia's usage of racial stereotypes and cultural appropriation shouldn't really come as a surprise considering that she still denies the photographic evidence of her in blackface. During the multiple music videos, Maddie seems to be sporting some light blackface while showing off cornrows. I don't know why Sia needed to show us a white girl's desire to be black, but my friends spent about ten minutes puzzling over the image of those awful cornrow headphones. It's not just Maddie who is awfully rocking some cultural appropriation; Ben Schwartz from Parks and Rec wears cornrows as a white drug dealer named Rudy who appropriates black culture. His braids are supposed to be funny in a cringy way, but the braids look awful on Maddie. There’s also a random Asian guy named Felix. He's supposed to be Music's friend, but we hardly see them interact at all. His parents are your typical strict Asian parents who force him to take up boxing as he secretly longs to be a dancer. Felix's inclusion in the movie is so pointless that it’s anti-climatic when his father kills him during an argument. In the music video after Felix's death, the movie cranks the cultural appropriation level to eleven by having the characters in the scene dress up in some stereotypical Chinese garb and even have Felix be driven to the afterlife on a rickshaw bike. You can't make this up. Oh, and one last thing; Music, an autistic white girl, was actually based on an autistic black man who was a fan of Sia's work. Enough said.

If you wish to make money the old-fashioned way, please run over this look with a Lexus.

3.) The music videos are nonsensical.

Is this really what neurotypicals think goes on in an autistic person's mind? Yes, we autistics can be pretty imaginable and often daydream to escape reality, but these scenes are just too outlandish. It feels more like an excuse for Sia to show off how quirky and unique she is rather than an actual exploration of the autistic brain. In case you didn't know, the five senses-touch, taste, sight, smell, and hearing- are amplified for the autistic body. We are normally sensitive to bright colors and lights, and flashing lights do no good for those with epilepsy. My question the whole time was this: "Why the f**k are most of the actors wearing clothes that blend them in with the background?" Seriously, everyone in the first music video was wearing yellow costumes that were a perfect match with the background, making them look like floating heads. Even the set pieces in the one with rickshaw bike matched the wallpaper. Also, some of the songs didn't seem to match up with the scenes in question. The only one I actually liked that made sense at all was the one in which Zu runs off to a bar. The images of the party people embracing and abusing her actually fit with her struggles as an addict. Other than that, these videos made no sense.

WARNING: Those with sensory issues should view this clip at their own risk.

2.) The potential of beloved actors is completely wasted.

When I saw the trailer for Cats, I thought, "Poor Judi Dench. You deserve better." The cast was actually pretty talented, but it was hard to take them seriously in that dumpster fire. Funnily enough, according to The Mary Sue, "Critics would rather watch Cats instead of Sia's ableist film that everyone tried to warn her about". Like the feline musical, Music has a strong cast that wastes its time. The cast includes Hector Elizondo, Mary Kay Place, Tig Notaro, Juliette Lewis, Kathy Najimy, and Ben Schwartz. None of these actors' characters really leave an impact and it just feels like a lazy excuse for a quick paycheck. Of course, the biggest crime is the wasted potential from Leslie Odom Jr. and Kate Hudson. Audiences loved her breakout performance in Almost Famous, and How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days was one of my favorite romantic comedies until Hudson ruined it for me by signing up for this project. I honestly want to say that Hudson gave one of the best performances of her career as Zu, but it just had to be tied to this movie. I bought that she was an addict who is struggling to be a better person for her sister, but the rest of the movie hinders her otherwise strong performance. I was shocked when I saw that Leslie Odom Jr. signed on to this project because he was on a roll after his Tony-winning performance in Hamilton. As if the racial stereotypes already present in the film weren't bad enough, Odom plays the stereotypical black friend Ebu who acts as a guide for the white protagonist. He doesn't really do anything else except give advice. Oh, and he also pins autistic girls to the ground when they have meltdowns and happily mentions that his autistic brother from Africa was murdered because autism was considered a curse over there. Good stuff.

If only Kate Hudson's performance was saved for a different movie. We could've had a masterpiece

1.) This movie is extremely ableist.

Given Sia's tantrum on Twitter back in November of 2020, it was no surprise that the film was a giant middle finger to me and my fellow autistics. Not only are the music videos totally unwatchable, but the film as a whole dehumanizes us. Maddie's performance is painfully offensive as she overexaggerates her facial expressions and body movements. She seems less of a person on the more severe side of the spectrum and more of a bully mocking an autistic classmate. In fact, my boyfriend watched the movie and said, "It's like a middle schooler dared their friend to act r*t*rded". Before the film was released in America, an infamous clip showing Ebo performing a prone restraint on Music was leaked online. Prone restraints are not only illegal in thirty states, which includes the state of New York that the movie may or may not be set in, but they are also extremely dangerous and have killed autistic people. Sia promised to either delete the scenes altogether or add a warning in her film, but she actually did neither, and one of my friends had a terrible breakdown during the viewing party. "Is that really how they think of us?" my poor friend asked as tears flooded out of her eyes. "Why does she hate us?" Another autistic girl on TikTok made a tearful video in response to the murder of Ebo's autistic brother. She just didn't understand why he was so happy when he brought it up. It was like this film was trying to shame us for not being normal enough, and I want everyone responsible for this project to know how broken they made us feel. No one should feel ashamed of what they cannot control whether that be their skin color, their sexuality, or their disability.

Contrary to rumor, no autistic person actually looks like Maddie here.

And here are a few things about the movie I actually liked:

  • The brief-yet-adorable appearance of the service dog at the end.
  • How everyone in the neighborhood watches over Music as she goes on her daily walk.
  • The grandma who shouldn't have died.
  • Music's special interest in dogs and how everyone from her grandma to the newspaper vendor supports her special interest.
  • That colorful hair-like dress that Music wears in the music video where she tries on a bunch of clothes.
  • Zu's storyline involving addiction.
  • The fact that Zu is wearing pants when she arrives at the mental hospital and then wearing a skirt when she leaves. I couldn't stop laughing when my friend pointed it out.

All in all, this movie should only be viewed by those looking for an example of how not to portray disabled people. It really breaks my heart that people are actually defending this movie because it's doing what Rain Man has done for years; it's painting us in a stereotypical way. While Rain Man actually did its research and based the title character on a couple of real-life people, it unintentionally made future movies rely more on that character than other characters on the spectrum they could've created. Music, on the other hand, straight-up dehumanizes us for the sake of clout and money. It does nothing to help us and should've never been made. I truly hope that everyone in the cast and crew knows exactly what they've done to me and my fellow autistics and that they never do anything like this again. We need to be recognized and accepted, not used for profit.

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About the Creator

Catherine Burford

I'm just your everyday Autistic Artist.

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