[Willow, narrator] I saw this article going around the other day saying Float, which is a new short by
Pixar, was a great metaphor for autism.
I love animation, I’m autistic and I was beginning to wonder why I even got Disney+
so I was excited to have something to check out.
Overall, I really liked it, but there is one major thing that could have made it great.
But before we get to that, I want to focus on what Float got right.
So, in case you haven’t seen it, Float starts with a father happily playing with his son
and is amazed when all of a sudden, his baby starts floating.
The father quickly becomes filled with fear of what everyone else may think as he looks
around and sees neighbors shocked.
Panicking, the father isolates himself and his son from the world.
Whenever they do venture out, the father’s fears become literal burdens on the child.
Eventually, the father confronts that fear and is able to accept his son again
There’s even this great message at the end.
I like this message because it acknowledges the father is the one who needed to change.
The best part of Float though is how it shows that none of this darkness is necessary.
The father was fully accepting and loved his child unconditionally.
He was even amazed when his son floated.
As we hear from Bobby, the director
[Bobby] When my son was first diagnosed, I didn't handle it well
[Willow] And I’m sure many parents can relate to this.
But rather than only blaming parents for doubting their acceptance,
I think we need to look at how society goes about tainting that.
I think we get a clue from where this starts from another comment Bobby makes.
[Bobby] When he looks at society That seeps in
And kind of taints it
[Willow] Most people are unaware of what autism really is and don’t go looking for information
until they or someone they know like their child is diagnosed.
So that initial diagnosis has a huge effect in how autism is framed in someone’s mind
and what kind of information they're going to seek out.
We live in a society that focuses on autism or many other differences only through a medical
or pathological lens.
Meaning that differences are framed as deficits or problems needing to be fixed.
By definition using this lens makes it difficult to be accepting and it’s easy to see how
this may cause a parent of a young child to be fearful for their future.
For example, If your child receives a diagnosis of autism in America,
you will be warned by a doctor how important early intervention is and that there’s a small window of opportunity,
so you need to do things right away.
Things like 40 hours a week of therapies including ABA are the standard recommendation.
Without even getting into the harm done by practices like ABA, this means your child
is essentially expected to work a full-time job now.
Depending on their age, also while going to school.
How is a parent supposed to hear this and not feel overwhelmed?
Not just logistically to manage all of this and the related costs.
Especially in America, with our healthcare system
If you don’t do everything right away your child could be forever broken.
And it will be all your fault.
Of course, you were just told this after likely waiting months just to see someone to get
THIS diagnosis.
And what if you already missed this supposedly critical early window because your child was
diagnosed at a later age?
See, Bobby, likely heard these same messages.
But what if parents were told something else?
What if this important initial news from a doctor was not framed as if your child needs
to be fixed?
You were reminded that this is still your child you’ve loved this entire time.
They haven't changed.
This diagnosis is just an additional piece of information that helps you understand them and their needs.
You could be told about neurodiversity and shown autistic adult voices who talk about
their lives as a reminder of your child’s possible future, but also as an additional
resource if you have questions.
Imagine what a difference that could make.
But let’s not stop there.
What if the news wasn’t constantly filled with fear mongering like there is some sort
of autism epidemic?
What if we didn’t have research almost solely focused on finding causes with a constant
release of sensationalized headlines talking about all the miniscule risk factors that
could have made you more likely to have an autistic child?
What if that research were aimed at providing assistance instead?
And not only does this fear cause harm to the parent, but to the child.
[Kid screams] [Dad in Float, yelling] Why can't you just be normal?!
[Willow] When watching this with my wife, we both were brought to tears hearing these words.
We watched the rest of Float in stunned silence as the boy landed to the ground
and cried with us.
Those words hit hard.
I think they would for anyone that has ever felt like the black sheep in a family
So, I can say this IS a great metaphor for being a child that is different.
But not in the way I was expecting.
It was a metaphor about our pain of rejection from the world around us and worst of all
even those who are supposed to love us unconditionally.
I kept waiting for the father to say, “Sorry”.
I think that one addition
Just that one word.
Would have made a huge difference
Because while I’m glad the father seems to accept his son going forward,
that pain already done needs to be acknowledged and I wish the audience had that shown to them.
Especially in a world where most of the media represents us as a burden on our own families.
I watched the Making Of hoping it might get into that aspect a little more.
Unfortunately, I was left disappointed.
There were some great moments, like
[Bobby] And then someone asked me, "Bobby, hey
Why are the characters white?"
This is a story about you and your son How is Alex, your son, going to feel
When he looks up and it's a caucasian boy up there
[Willow] And I’m glad he decided to make them Filipino instead like his own family
I think we got a better film because of that.
But that also left the real question of what does his son think?
Has he seen the film?
We are never told.
And it's one of the questions I was actually hoping to have answered
It’s possible the father has said elsewhere, I haven't gone looking
but most people aren't going to watch the Making Of let alone go searching for that answer.
So the audience is really left not knowing and this is really important
because it leaves out something parents often don’t think about.
This isn’t just your story.
Float is just as much Alex’s story as Bobby’s, if not more.
Does Alex want the world to know he’s autistic?
I certainly hope he feels no shame in it
I know it’s an important part of my identity and it’s been a huge part of being able to accept myself
but that was a choice I was able to make.
If Alex wasn’t asked, then he no longer has that choice.
It's out there for the world to see
My worry is this wasn’t thought of in Bobby’s excitement to share his story, but it’s
something as parents we need to think about.
As shown in the film, the world doesn’t respond to neurodivergence well.
So it’s important we can choose to share that information or not.
And if we are attempting to push a message of acceptance, we need to consider imagery
or language that could be counterproductive.
[Bobby] They're not alone when these things happen
[Willow] Overall, I am glad I watched Float.
I appreciated the message about accepting children and that the father owned that he
was the one who needed to get better.
[Bobby] So that's what I'm going to do
I'm just going to let my son be himself
[Willow] I just hope that’s the message people take away from it.
And not
[Dad, screaming] Why can't you just be normal?!
[Willow] Thanks for watching everyone! I’ve been trying to play with different video formats to see if I can find something
where I can get a video out more often.
So if you liked this, please let me know by hitting the thumbs up.
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