Temple Grandin Movie Review

 

"Different, not less"--Temple Grandin, 2010

Recently, I have had the privilege to watch the HBO Movie, Temple Grandin (2010) starring Claire Daines as Temple Grandin.  This movie was an easy 10/10 for me.  Temple Grandin (2010) is based off of one of the most notorious female autistic figures and her life leading up to the present day and is based off of Temple Grandin's book, Thinking in Pictures (1995). 

Temple Grandin was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts.  She was diagnosed at a young age with autism.  However, in the 1950s, autism wasn't its own diagnosis and individuals who were diagnosed were told they should be institutionalized because of poor behavior.  In the movie, when Temple's mom takes her to a psychologist to get her a diagnosis, the psychologist told Temple's mom that Temple might never speak.  Temple's mom told the psychologist that Temple developed fine as a baby, but didn't speak until she was 4 years old.  During this time, mothers were blamed for giving their children autism because they didn't give their kids enough love when they were infants.  This has been proven to be not true at all.  Some children with autism who are like Temple, struggle with physical contact.  In the movie, we see Temple showing that she doesn't like when people try to touch her or hug her.  That's normal.  The sensation of physical touch can be an overstimulating concept for some autistics.

The movie begins with Temple going to stay on her aunt's ranch the summer before she goes to college.  Her aunt is played by Catherine O'Hara. While staying at her aunt's ranch, Temple discovers her love for animals.  

Starting college was hard for Temple.  Like many autistic individuals, Temple was struggling with the transition to college.  While there, she wanted touch, but didn't know how to get it.  One day, she invented a squeeze/hug machine.  This way she could control how much pressure she can receive with a "hug".  She claimed it helped to give her more energy to socialize.  Unhappy with the invention, her roommate threatened to throw it away.  Temple told her psychology teacher how important it was to her and ran an experiment with other students on how they felt.  She wrote a paper on the experiment and was given permission to keep it.

I liked how she was determined to advocate for herself and this pushed her to learn how to do so.  I also loved her blind roommate who moved in.  They helped each other so much and I believe that that's what and who Temple needed.  

One person who has had an infinite impact on Temple was her high school teacher, Dr. Carlock.  He was and is probably my favorite person in Temple's life.  He worked at NASA.  Dr. Carlock saw how intelligent Temple was and validated her for her contributions in class.  He reassured Temple's mom that even though she felt like she was doing everything wrong with Temple, that she was doing everything right.  Raising a child with autism is hard, especially if the child has extreme behavioral issues.  I want to thank the Dr. Carlocks in my life who reassured my mom that she was doing fine with raising me.  One of my favorite teachers who was my Dr. Carlock, was Ms. Connor.  She was my middle school music and band teacher.  She taught me so much and stood up for me when no other teacher would.  Unfortunately, Dr. Carlock dies in the movie.  Amazingly so, at his funeral, Temple allows her mom to hug her.  This part was tender to me because watching Temple go from someone who was against hugging her mom to hugging her mom at a funeral was so sweet.

Temple went on to go to grad school at Arizona State University where she pushed to get her Master's thesis written on cattle productivity.  One of the cowboys, Don Michaels, didn't like Temple and tried to deny her access to the ranch.  Temple didn't give up and snuck in.  She ended up being able to get permission to write her thesis on having an effective cattle dip.  Her determination got her an article published in the local Scottsdale newspaper.  

I'll say this, I really liked how it ended.  When Temple went with her mom to the National Autism Convention, it made me so happy when the people there were talking down about autism.  Temple said this, "I will always be autistic."  When she said that, it made me feel empowered.  

All-in-all, I really liked this movie.  It was a really uplifting and inspirational movie.  If you haven't watched it, now's your chance to do so.

If you have seen it, what is your favorite part of the film?  Comment below.



 If you liked this blog post, PLEASE comment down below on what your favorite part was, and feel free to share it with your friends and family, etc.  Have any comments, questions, etc. about what you were reading? Reach out to me by messaging me on Instagram or TikTok @neurospicyblondie or email me  alyssa.onthespectrum@gmail.com. 



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