Equinox continues its tradition of ground-breaking, provocative documentaries with an in-depth look at autism and an outlandish linking of the disorder with the male mind. Autism is up to 10 times more common in men than in women. Typical autistic traits include thoughtlessness, lack of emotional warmth, fixation on stereotypical routines and social dysfunction. The similarities with accepted male traits don’t end there. ‘Traditional’ males and autistics share a draw towards the physical world, away from the intuitive and social. Most autistics gravitate towards science, engineering and computers. For autistics, their intuitive skills are severed. Instead of ‘reading’ faces and expressions, they see only bodies. To them we are fearsome robots whose actions are unfathomable. Mind Readers looks at a mental dysfunction so subtle it can go undetected, yet so powerful it can distort the world and its inhabitants.
Equinox continues its tradition of ground-breaking, provocative documentaries with an in-depth look at autism and an outlandish linking of the disorder with the male mind. Autism is up to 10 times more common in men than in women. Typical autistic traits include thoughtlessness, lack of emotional warmth, fixation on stereotypical routines and social dysfunction. The similarities with accepted male traits don’t end there. ‘Traditional’ males and autistics share a draw towards the physical world, away from the intuitive and social. Most autistics gravitate towards science, engineering and computers. For autistics, their intuitive skills are severed. Instead of ‘reading’ faces and expressions, they see only bodies. To them we are fearsome robots whose actions are unfathomable. Mind Readers looks at a mental dysfunction so subtle it can go undetected, yet so powerful it can distort the world and its inhabitants.
