The Spooky Spectrum: Carrie White from Carrie (1976) (Part 4)
"And I Loved it"
Many Autistic people, including myself, will relate to this scene because we have had so many moments in our lives where we were lied to, tricked, manipulated, gaslighted to only to be made a fool of in front of our peers. One real-life example of this is where an Autistic youth was tricked into participating in the ALS bucket challenge, only to have feces and urine dumped on him by his peers. Carrie can only seem to focus on the people who are mocking her and laughing at her distress over the pig’s blood. When it became clear that Carrie had no one left to turn to in that moment, she flies into a rage and kills everyone in the school including people she considered her allies. When an Autistic person reaches their “breaking point” (also known as a meltdown) it can become very violent and destructive. Of course, meltdowns are never this violent. In Carrie’s case, her meltdown is exaggerated for the perfect climax.
Carrie returns home after destroying the school, and she tries to wash away the blood. This was the point where Carrie feels guilt for what she had done to her peers and other people in her path. (Spoiler alert: Chris and Billy die. Tragic.) When Autistics come back after a meltdown, they very often feel a sense of guilt and shame for what happened during that meltdown. They, however, sometimes do not have the language to discuss these feelings of guilt. My readers must be aware that meltdowns, or traits that are considered “negative” to neurotypicals, are not symptoms of Autism, but are an Autistic person’s reaction to overstimulation. Often neurotypicals will class the “negative” behaviors, as symptoms of Autism when they are just trauma responses to constant abuse from neurotypicals and their unrealistic expectations.
After Carrie washes the blood off her, she tries to seek comfort from her mother after suffering such a devastating humiliation. Margaret responds to Carrie’s need for comfort in an almost robotic way. Margaret shares that she suffered abuse and was sexually assaulted by her ex-husband, that she “loved” receiving the abuse, and this was how Carrie was conceived. I do concede that Margaret’s discomfort with physical affection is a definite symptom of sexual abuse. This does not detract from my earlier theory that Margaret is, at the very least, Autistic-coded because many Autistics also have similar trauma responses when it comes to physical affection. In Margaret’s case, she seems to enjoy the feeling of suffering from guilt and shame around her own humanity and wants Carrie to feel the same trauma that she experienced. Margaret is another authority figure that betrays Carrie’s trust when she literally stabs her in the back and a fight ensues between them with Carrie ultimately defeating Margaret. Carrie, seeing how her actions could only lead to a worse outcome, kills herself, and destroys their home.
To conclude, Carrie is an Autistic woman who suffers abuse and violence from all sides until she decides that she has had enough of it and violently lashes out. Considering the period in which both the book and film were released, it is important to note that people like Carrie would still face ableism and discrimination even if circumstances regarding her home and school life were different. This film shines a light on the long-term consequences of abusing the disabled and the worst-case scenario if the disabled had the upper-hand. This is not excusing any violent actions that an Autistic person does in reaction to discrimination; it is apparent that treating Autistic people as less-than-human can only result in bad outcomes for all involved. These situations can be avoided and neurotypicals need to realize that, much like skin colour, Autistic people cannot change every aspect of themselves to be more palatable for society. This will cause unneeded trauma for the Autistic community and will not be effective in the long term. Your autistic loved-ones, colleagues, and associates deserve to feel safe, welcomed, and included in order to thrive. This current society does not allow Neurodivergent people to thrive and thus society needs to change.
Part 1 is here
About the Creator
Kelsey O'Malley
Canadian Autistic writer! Creator of the Breaking the (Autistic) Code series, Autistic Woman Vs, and Who is the Real Monster!
Want to support my work? Consider donating to my paypal at @kelseyomalley
Comments
There are no comments for this story
Be the first to respond and start the conversation.