April is Autism Acceptance Month. About 1 in 40-ish children are estimated to have autism based on studies done in 2019, but many of us go undiagnosed and/or unsupported well into our adult years. There is a wide spectrum of presentations beyond nonverbal Little Timmy rocking in the corner, but also we accept Little Timmy just as much! "Nothing about us, without us" as the call goes.

So for all the autistics and non-autistics searching for more good rep to support, I'm making this Letterboxd challenge to get us watching.

Guidelines:

• If you make a list, tag it with #autisticrepchallenge and put a link to it in the comments of this list so we can check each other out. Also make sure to tag all your movie reviews with #autisticrepchallenge too!
• Rewatches are okay, as long as they're done after starting the challenge
• I did only 20 movies instead of 30 for the challenge so you have some breathing room to watch your whole list, but I added some bonus criteria at the end if you feel up to doing more.

Here are the prompts:
1. Watch a film featuring a female autistic character.
2. Sir Anthony Hopkins was diagnosed with autism at 70 years old. Watch a movie in his filmography.
3. Many autistics have related to Spock and Vulcans as a whole as well as Data from The Next Generation, headcanoning them as autistic and writing essays, fanfic, and meta about it for years. Watch a Star Trek film (parodies are a-okay!).
4. Watch a film where the autistic character is played by an #actuallyautistic actor or actress. Examples (Note: This list includes TV as well as short films and movies. The short films and movies count for this prompt)
5. Watch a film with a character who autistic people have headcanoned or claimed as autistic, even though it was never explicitly stated. Examples
6. Jim Henson, the creator of Muppets, was highly suspected to have autism (then called Asperger’s syndrome). Watch a Muppet or Jim Henson Creature Workshop Movie.
7. A stereotypical special interest that many autistic people are believed to have is dinosaurs or trains. Watch a film with Dinosaurs or Trains in them.
8. Many autistic people relate to robots or aliens due to our othering in society. Watch a film where a protagonist is a robot or an alien.
9. Watch a non-American film where a character has autism.
10. Daryl Hannah is diagnosed autistic. Watch a movie in her filmography.
11. Watch a film with an autistic character of color.
12. Not every movie featuring an autistic character is a drama! Watch an action, horror, mystery, or thriller film with an autistic character. Examples: The Accountant, The Cube, Mercury Rising, Chocolate 2008, The Great Fight, Burning Bright, Safe Room 2022
13. Watch an autistic short film. Examples
14. Watch a film directed or starred by Jorge R. Gutierrez.
15. Watch a film in Dan Aykroyd’s filmography.
16. Watch a film in Wentworth Miller’s filmography.
17. Watch a documentary about autism that is seen favorably by the autistic community. Examples: The Reason I Jump, Life, Animated, I am Greta.
18. Watch a film where the autistic character has or pursues a romantic relationship. Examples: Jane Wants a Boyfriend, Adam, Mozart and the Whale, Operator
19. Watch a film featuring a historical figure suspected to have been autistic. Examples: Emily Dickinson, Isaac Newton, Mozart, Albert Einstein
20. Watch an animated film with a canonical or coded autistic character. Examples: Mary and Max, Lilo & Stich, The Mitchells vs. the Machines

Bonus Criteria:
• Light it up Gold! Watch a film with a mainly yellow or gold poster
• Red Instead! Watch a film with a red poster
• Watch a film featuring cats because cats are autistic.
• Some autistics love repeatedly watching movies over and over as a ritual or stim. Watch a film again that you’ve watched the most of number of times.
• Adam Young of Owl City is autistic! Watch a movie that features an Owl City song. www.imdb.com/name/nm1247637/