I just had an assignment for a class where I had to watch a form of media and analyze how well it portrayed disability. This week, I want to analyze the TV show Young Sheldon to analyze how disability is portrayed in a modern portrayal. The TV show Young Sheldon follows Sheldon Cooper from the Big Bang Theory as a young child from the age of 10 when he first starts high school through the age of 14 when he leaves for college in California. Much like my last film analysis, I want to focus on the character Sheldon Cooper because he was a very large part of how I viewed my own autism as a child.
1. Sheldon is not shown having many friends
Sheldon is only shown having a few friends throughout the series. When he plans events, no one shows up. his can send a message that autistic people are not relatable. While I did not have a ton of friends as a kid, I did have people come to my parties, even if I did not keep most of those friends until the next year. Keeping friends and romantic relationships for extended periods of time is actually very hard for me so including it at all is not completely inaccurate. However, throughout much of the series Sheldon is not interested in having many friends.
By showing someone with autistic traits being regularly uninterested in friendship, there is a risk of generalization that all people with autism or who have similar traits to Sheldon are uninterested in relationships. At least for me, I very much want to be social, but sometimes I am unsure what to do or say, or am uncomfortable and want to do a different activity.
2. Sheldon excels in science at a level extremely above his grade.
In this example, Sheldon is arguing about whether or not he should get academic credit for writing a paper he did some math calculations for. I didn't start my academic co authoring journey until 23 so Sheldon's ability to understand math and science, along with school in general is very advanced for his age. He is also skilled, or a savant, at his extracurricular hobbies.
Sheldon is naturally skilled at playing piano and is also seen in another episode getting the lead acting role in his first audition. While he ends up quitting both, he is still seen naturally excelling at anything he tries without having to put in the effort most people would have to. Sheldon is being shown as a savant, or someone who has extremely above average intelligence in certain areas. Many characters who are shown having autism are shown having savant syndrome when in actuality many autistic people including myself do not have genius level intelligence. While I am jealous of Sheldon's intelligence, the idea that Sheldon is a genius lends itself into stereotypes of what autism looks like. Only about 10% of autistic people have savant syndrome in real life (NIH, 2009).
3. Sheldon is shown as unlikeable.
Sheldon is shown to be a burden to his teachers, where they rejoice when they think he will graduate. I won't lie, I think I have had some teachers think the same of me. It has become a joke about how many emails I send, and how I am an intense student. I like to be able to keep my schedules, so I check in often when something comes up. However, having this portrayal with all of his high school teachers can send the message that Sheldon is unlikable overall which can be harmful. This rhetoric is also carried over with his family. There are often microaggressions taken out on Sheldon that he does not understand. This is then coupled with Sheldon being called a "special child," to further ostracize him. Showing Sheldon as unlikeable to further the autism stereotype can have consequences for autistic people in collaborative settings.
The beginning of this clip shows a collaborative environment where no one looks like they are having fun. By showing Sheldon negatively without variability in this way, there is a risk that autistic people can be grouped as non cooperative or incapable of certain work tasks.
Overall, while I really enjoy watching Young Sheldon, the portrayal of traits that look like autism without officially diagnosing the character or doing research to represent the autistic community lends itself to more stereotypes for people with autism to face. I hope that future portrayals can balance portraying a disability while also being mindful of the nuances for many people with that condition. Having more positive portrayals of autism can play a positive role in how viewers with limited exposure to autism think about autistic people based on the idea that parasocial relationships can mirror real life relationships for the viewer of the media (Horton & Wohl, 1956).
Thank you for reading about my analysis of Young Sheldon. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out at @Anniekrollblog on Instagram or Facebook. I hope to see you next week!
I have never watched this program but your post reiterates the fact that every one of us is made up of different shades of this and that and there are no set types of people! I love how honest you are with your own self identity, and that's a beautiful thing. xo