MovieChat Forums > Bird Box (2018) Discussion > So was Bullock supposed to be autistic i...

So was Bullock supposed to be autistic in this?

posted 6 years ago by eYeDEF (5050)
17 replies | jump to latest

The whole thing of continuing to call her kids "girl" and "boy" was so over the top it seemed like she suffered from Asperger's. Add in her weird detachment to pregnancy, reclusive antisocial behavior coupled with artistic talent, she appeared to check all the boxes.

Just spitballing on this part but maybe her autism is what gave her an edge in survival in this world sort of like it did for the lunatics but not to the same degree. Someone who read the book should know, but her character was written to be a tad 'off'.

[–] sdwilson79 (27) 5 years ago

She was certainly an unlikeable protagonist.

Not sure if that was the idea or if we were meant to think she was some strong, brave hero.

[–] Nightwatch83 (5) 5 years ago

I thought she didn’t name the children because she was traumatised and wasn’t sure they would survive... she gave them names once she knew they were safe. I don’t think she was autistic, she just hadn’t been brought up in a loving home and didn’t know how to be loving to a baby (or at least she thought she didn’t).

[–] MovieManCin2 (26342) 5 years ago

She was not autistic. She was way too highly functional to be so. She was just a different cat, an "artistic" type.
She was probably also a bit bummed that the father of her son was not in her life.

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[–] eYeDEF (5050) 5 years ago

I've known some highly functional types with Aspergers. Bobby Fischer had it.

I think you misunderstand what it means to be mildly autistic with Aspergers. Some afflicted can be brilliant.

[–] MovieManCin2 (26342) 5 years ago

Okay then. What makes you think she's autistic?

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[–] eYeDEF (5050) 5 years ago

I listed the characteristics in the first paragraph of my OP. The guy I knew with Aspergers had very similar symptoms, but instead of artistic talent he was computer science savant.

I wasn't 100% that she suffered autism, just suspected that she might have been written as having Aspergers. But sslssg having read the book pretty much seals the fact that her character wasn't originally written that way.

[–] MovieManCin2 (26342) 5 years ago

Nope. I disagree. She was going through a rough time. The father of her child had abandoned her, and then she was facing these "demons". She didn't even know if any of them were going to survive. And many of them did not. Perhaps she was a little flaky (many artists are), but she was not autistic.

Let's put you in her situation, and she how you would do.

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[–] eYeDEF (5050) 5 years ago

I know you disagree. But then again, you didn't even even know that those with Aspergers can be highly functional until I told you, so it's not like you have credibility on the topic.

But like I said, sslssg confirmed she wasn't written that way in the book, so it's a moot point.

[–] MovieManCin2 (26342) 5 years ago

So like you have credibility? Are you a doctor? I say again, she was not autistic. Deal with it.

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[–] eYeDEF (5050) 5 years ago

lolz. I asked the question since I've known highly functional autistic types like her.

You OTOH didn't even know what Aspergers was. Deal with it.

[–] MovieManCin2 (26342) 5 years ago

Not autistic. Deal with it.

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[–] ps48 (64) 5 years ago

...I get the vibe that this guy felt offended when you used the word autistic, and he automatically felt the need to be a contrarian to any idea you posed.

It's a good observation.

I'm not sure either way, but I will say I definitely did not like the protagonist.

[–] eYeDEF (5050) 5 years ago

Hmm ... I think you're right. It does appear to have caused MovieManCin2 offense that I associated her with autism. Perhaps he over-personalized my question.

[–] sslssg (30416) 5 years ago

I didn't get that she was autistic at all. She didn't want her child to begin with. It was a one night stand and the guy ghosted her, hence why the doctor gave her the leaflet about adoption. She was all about protecting the children, but didn't want to get attached. Everyone that she was attached to died. There was a strong possibility that they wouldn't survive. Think about what happened when the children were born. That certainly would be considered a trauma.

[–] eYeDEF (5050) 5 years ago

It was a one night stand? That's not the impression I got from the conversation she had with her sister at the beginning. Her sister said something along the lines of how her previous boyfriend was nothing more than a 'roommate' to her at the end, implying how they had grown apart.

[–] sslssg (30416) 5 years ago

I might be getting the book and the movie confused then. In the book it was a one night stand.

[–] MovieManCin2 (26342) 5 years ago

An excellent response.

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