Elf and Autism

Hello and welcome to another post of ‘Chloe has found another autistic character residing within her favourite movies’…. This time, it’s a Christmas one.You know how people seem to have ‘radars’ for things? Like, you can instantly tell if someone’s a nice person, or a bad person?I have a radar for people on the spectrum…(Perhaps I need my own reality television show) Now, you all likely know very well by this point that I do one of two things with movies.I either watch them on repeat, consistently.For days.Upon weeks.Upon months……Or, I don’t watch them at all.The movie ELF, is the prior of the two. I don’t understand people that watch ‘seasonal’ movies only during the given season that movie is in relation to.Then again, I’m that person who listens to the Hi-5 Christmas album all throughout the year… so the fact that ‘Elf’ is one of my all time favourite movies in the history of all time disregarding the Christmas element, isn’t exactly a surprise.I watch it all year, several times a week, and practically live my life quoting it.It’s funny, and silly, and totally quotable. The main character is loveable, and goofy, and so, so misunderstood.  If you don’t know about the movie (first of all, are you living under a rock?), let me give you a brief walk through.‘Elf’, follows the story of Buddy, a human orphan, who sneaks into Santa’s toy bag one Christmas Eve. Santa is completely unaware of the fact that he has a human child residing inside of his bag, and accidentally brings him back to the North Pole with him.Buddy grows up in the North Pole, surrounded by elves, and learning and living their ways ( despite the fact that he’s six feet tall!).As he grows up, he decides that he wants to go out into the world and find his birth father. He wants to learn and explore a world that he hasn’t experienced, and meet people that he doesn’t know.He knows he doesn’t fit in in the North Pole, so maybe… just maybe he’ll fit in in New York City.  And I think I’ve come to the conclusion of something, and have found the reason of my absolute fondness towards this film, and most particularly the main character- Buddy The Elf.Buddy is so similar to myself.(I know, how narcissistic can I possibly be?)Bare with me on this one.   Ever since the movie first came out, people have been referring to me as ‘that Will Ferrel character from that Christmas movie who acts like a fou- year-old/cheetah on steroids’.I mean… they’re not wrong. Buddy the Elf is child-like, and quirky, and out-of-the-box.He’s misunderstood, and has been taken to a world where the way that he thinks and acts and performs is deemed odd…. Heck, he’s come from a world where he’s deemed odd- poor guy can’t win.He’s different, and strange at times.He takes things much too literally (do you know how long it took me to realise the ‘Worlds Best Cup Of Coffee’ joke in that film?).He’s painfully honest and he has a deep, profound special interest that is completely unshakeable. Sounding like anyone you know?  And thus, I rest my case.Buddy the Christmas Elf is on the spectrum.(But as we’ve previously discussed…. All the best people are.)   Buddy’s naïve, child-like spirit and love for life are portrayed throughout the whole film in ways that are comical, funny, and goofy. People tease him, or give him peculiar looks, but Buddy never changes, and never strays away from his spirit.Buddy never once changes himself, he never tries to change for the world, or lets what the world throws at him get him down.Throughout everything, he’s still an overexcited, chocolate-maple-syrup-spaghetti loving, cheerful goof ball. He still sings loudly and loves hard and does everything with more spirit than most adults could even begin to comprehend. But he’s accepted.Instead of Buddy changing for those around him, those around him change because they see what an impact he’s made.They see that hey, maybe singing a little too loud, and loving a little too hard isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  For a movie that’s sole purpose was made for a Christmas laugh, there’s so much heart in it.There’s so much we can learn from it.Life on the spectrum can sometimes be difficult, and sometimes it can be really, really hard to remain true to yourself.Or from an outsiders eyes, maybe it can be odd, or different, or even slightly scary seeing someone that isn’t ‘part of the normal,’ that is ‘different.’But that’s where the magic comes in I think… Stepping back, and looking at how cool, and special, and magical ‘different’ can be. I see so much of myself in Buddy, and I see so much of other kids on the spectrum in him.And maybe I’m looking too deep into this… (But I have a bit of a knack for doing that.)But maybe… Maybe it’s silently showing the world that it’s okay to be who you are.Maybe it’s showing the world that it’s okay for other people to be who they are.Maybe it’s showing you that if who you are is a bit silly, and a bit different, and a bit quirky… that doesn’t mean you’re a cotton headed ninny muggins.   Treat every day like Christmas. Smile lots, and sing loud, and love hard and do things with passion.Maybe we all need a bit of Buddy’s Christmas spirit in our lives.