Rain Man’ and Autism: Critical Essay

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The beginning of movie starts with one of the main characters, Charlie Babbitt, arguing and working at his car dealership. On his way to Palm Springs, he gets a call and finds out his father in Cincinnati has died, and his funeral is tomorrow. We also learn that his mother died when he was 2 and that he and his father had a falling out, because they didn’t get along. When learning he only got a car and rose bushes in his father’s will he tries to find the trustee of his father’s will. Through this, he learns that he has a brother whom he never knew about who happens to be mentally ill. When he learns that his brother inherited 3 million dollars, Charlie decides to “kidnap” his brother until he receives 1.5 million. This causes a split with his girlfriend. Charlie needs to get on a flight to Los Angeles, however, Raymond only wants to fly Qantas Airlines, an airline that has never crashed before. However, Qantas only flies through Australia. So now Charlie and Raymond have to drive from Cincinnati to Los Angeles. During this trip, Charlie realizes that he loves Raymond and would like to keep him. However in the end Raymond goes back to the institution, and Charlie promises to see Raymond in two weeks.

In this movie Raymond has autism. Autism is a mental illness that one is usually born with, that impacts their ability to interact and communicate with others, have weird repeating behaviors, and have an obsession with routine. This presented a lot of challenges for Charlie because Raymond was difficult at times. However, Charlie has unique abilities to quickly count, he can do complex math equations in his head, and he has an extremely good memory. At the same time, Charlie has to stick to a routine, his room must be the same, he doesn’t like flights, and he doesn’t get the concept of money. Raymond is also deeply affected by childhood trauma. When Charlie and Raymond were young, Raymond attempted to give Charlie a bath however ended up scolding him since the water was hot. Now Charlie freaks out when someone turns on the hot water. While Raymond struggles with autism, Charlie struggles with trusting people. At the beginning sign of the film, Charlie is portrayed as money hungry. He only trusts himself, however, his brother trusts every word that Charlie says, which poses a juxtaposition in character between the brothers.

I really enjoyed the film. Although a little boring in the beginning once Charlie found out about his brother the movie really sucked me in. I really want to learn more about autism in order to fully understand the disability. Honestly, at the beginning of the movie, the way Charlie treated Raymond was as if he was a dog. Acting as if Raymond was less than a person. As the movie went along, and Charlie really saw the way Raymond thinks and acts, and makes a connection with him, he instantly becomes a more caring brother. I think the movie really showed how people with these abilities are just differently abled. In some ways, Raymond was smarter and more agile than the average person. I think this film really informed others about the illness in an interesting way which really caught the attention of people.  

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