Fiona Whittington-Walsh
of many different ways that the brain processes information and can create some difficulties in everyday life while at the same time creating traits that are useful in everyday life (Burgess 2016). Wizard Mode successfully steers away from representing Robert as a stereotype by highlighting other aspects of his day-to-day life that allow the audience to see him as a whole person. Robert shares his life goals, which include getting a job, living on his own, being a father, getting his driver’s licence, and dating. This helps the audience make a connection with Robert which is central to shattering stereotypes and stigma. Most significantly, directors Jeff Petry and Nathan Drillot allow Robert to explain what his autism means to him: “Autism to me is nothing. It just impairs my words and social cues like body language and facial expressions. Like why is he smiling; why is he waving when it wasn’t needed; what expression is on his or her face” (Wizard Mode). Since 1990 in B.C., children with autism and other developmental and/or intellectual disabilities have been included in their neighbourhood schools. Despite this inclusion, people with disabilities experience high rates of isolation, loneliness, and stigma. For children who display difficult behaviours, seclusion in isolation rooms, closets, and even being expelled have all been documented throughout the province (Inclusion BC and Family Support Institute of B.C. 2013). For the students who remain in school, curriculum is often adapted or students are not given the opportunity to do academic work. For the most part, the few existing post-secondary opportunities are focused on segregated pre-employment based programs that generally fail to lead to viable and meaningful employment opportunities (Turcotte 2014). These lack of opportunities and experiences with stigma and isolation are subtly shown in the film. Robert talks about the difficulty making friends and says that in school he “didn’t fit in with regular
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kids…they will think I’m freaky but I’m not” (Wizard Mode). We also see Robert’s difficulties with finding meaningful and permanent employment. This is demonstrated when Robert is discussing his future with his parents and Amy, his support worker. Amy is reading out a list of potential employment options including a training workshop on being a clown. Despite an interest in gymnastics, Robert firmly states, “I don’t want to be a clown” (Wizard Mode). The first time I watched Wizard Mode was with my film club, The Bodies of Film Club.4 Wizard Mode was the first documentary we watched together. While the members enjoyed the film and Robert’s success with pinball (many of the club members are also avid gamers), they picked up on Robert’s experiences with isolation and stigma. Most significantly, there is a scene during the 2015 PAPA 18 World Championships where Robert is alone and trying to find someone to talk to about a frustratingly bad game. Robert approaches random gamers, desperate to find someone who watched his poor game and with whom he could connect. The club resonated with some of his struggles to find someone to interact with and all said they had similar experiences in their lives. As one club member, Katie, comments on the film and the 2015 World Championship scene: “I have an emotional understanding of Robert. They didn’t edit, they put him in real life scenarios. Some people talked to him, some people didn’t. It’s realistic…I understand the stress…he feels isolated.” Another club member, Emma, also found similarities between Robert’s experiences and her own. When Robert loses at the 2015 Championship and swears loudly, receiving a warning, Emma thought that his reaction was realistic: “I can relate to him. Sometimes when people don’t understand me I get frustrated.” Most significantly, both Robert and his parents dispel the stereotype that his autism gives him an advantage with pinball. His mother tells us that they
