Remembering Movies and TV Shows: Autistic Young Adults and Sense of Identity
Vela Santana, Zaimarie
2022
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Although some research has explored individuals’ relationships with different kinds of media, little to no research has been conducted prior to this study that explores the roles movies and TV shows have played in the lives and sense of identity of autistic young adults. Fifteen autistic young adults ages 18-24 were asked to respond to multiple-choice and open-ended narrative questions about the ... read moremovies and TV shows they watched when they were younger. Participant responses revealed that they commonly watched movies and TV shows in their childhood for personal enjoyment or to achieve connection to family and friends. While there was a clear lack of representation and use of salient marginalized identities as jokes in the media they consumed, autistic young adults in the sample claimed that media has influenced who they are now. In these same childhood movies and TV shows, they still found characters and storylines that represented parallels with their own experiences. A short film was then created to visualize the previously mentioned themes found in the data gathered. After compiling the narratives of 15 autistic young adults through this study and the accompanying thesis film, the importance of media during children’s identity development continued to be salient throughout each response. Future researchers should therefore seek to explore the specific intersections between autism, other salient identities, and media even further.
Thesis (B.A.)--Tufts University, 2022.
Submitted to the Eliot-Pearson Dept. of Child Study and Human Development.
Committee: Eileen Crehan and Julie Dobrow.
Keywords: Autism, Children’s Media, Child Development, Identity, Movies and TV Shows.read less - ID:
- 4j03dd02r
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