The film Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close follows a young boy named Oskar who has recently lost his father in the 9/11 attacks in 2001. While we are never expressly told of Oskar’s disorder, his interactions with others and general behaviour allow for the conclusion that Oskar has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Before his father’s passing, Oskar is given tasks that attempt to encourage the development of his social skills since Oskar has “a hard time” talking to other people. Each task requires Oskar to interact with other people. Oskar discovers an envelope after his father’s death which he interprets to be a clue for his father’s final expedition. Oskar obsessively attempts to uncover the mystery which was designed to help Oskar’s condition;
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Oskar has trouble gauging propriety at times which suggests his deficits in social skills. Oskar has no filter in what he says, which leads to offensive comments and sharing personal information with foreign people. An example of these traits would be Oskar yelling about his father’s funeral “[not] mak[ing] sense”, and admitting to a stranger that he was too scared to answer his father’s call on 9/11 which Oskar knew would be the last chance to talk to his father. Oskar has an uncommon fixation on his phobias and becomes anxious when thinking about them. For example, Oskar contemplates an inverted skyscraper for dead bodies since the earth will eventually run out of room to hold the bodies. Oskar is entirely consumed with the desire to complete the final expedition that his father has given him. Oskar pathologically searches for the hole that the key, which was left by his father, fits. When Oskar becomes overwhelmed, he covers his ears and closes his eyes in order to ignore his …show more content…
Matson & Goldin (2014) explain the typical symptoms with ASD which include “deficits in communication, social skills, and stereotypic and ritualistic behavior” (p. 44). These symptoms were evident with Oskar and were the reason behind his father’s missions, which aimed to develop Oskar’s social skills. Matson & Goldin also state that anxiety is common in school age and adolescent ASD patients. We see Oskar, who is 11, become anxious multiple times throughout the film whenever something doesn’t go his way. We also see Oskar become anxious when dealing with phobias, such as riding in elevators and forms of public transportation. Children with ASD may also experience a variety of other mental disorders on top of ASD, including Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (Matson & Golfin, 2014). Oskar does not exhibit symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder to the severity worthy of a diagnosis. Pellicano (2013) explains the sensory atypicalities common with autistic people; Autistic people are often in a perpetual state of overstimulation from being too aroused which results in the people blocking the outside world and incorporating repetitive motions into their regular behaviour. We do see Oskar closing himself off from the world when he is uncomfortable, however, Oskar does not partake in the repetitive motions as outlined in Pellicano’s
Oskar has trouble gauging propriety at times which suggests his deficits in social skills. Oskar has no filter in what he says, which leads to offensive comments and sharing personal information with foreign people. An example of these traits would be Oskar yelling about his father’s funeral “[not] mak[ing] sense”, and admitting to a stranger that he was too scared to answer his father’s call on 9/11 which Oskar knew would be the last chance to talk to his father. Oskar has an uncommon fixation on his phobias and becomes anxious when thinking about them. For example, Oskar contemplates an inverted skyscraper for dead bodies since the earth will eventually run out of room to hold the bodies. Oskar is entirely consumed with the desire to complete the final expedition that his father has given him. Oskar pathologically searches for the hole that the key, which was left by his father, fits. When Oskar becomes overwhelmed, he covers his ears and closes his eyes in order to ignore his …show more content…
Matson & Goldin (2014) explain the typical symptoms with ASD which include “deficits in communication, social skills, and stereotypic and ritualistic behavior” (p. 44). These symptoms were evident with Oskar and were the reason behind his father’s missions, which aimed to develop Oskar’s social skills. Matson & Goldin also state that anxiety is common in school age and adolescent ASD patients. We see Oskar, who is 11, become anxious multiple times throughout the film whenever something doesn’t go his way. We also see Oskar become anxious when dealing with phobias, such as riding in elevators and forms of public transportation. Children with ASD may also experience a variety of other mental disorders on top of ASD, including Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (Matson & Golfin, 2014). Oskar does not exhibit symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder to the severity worthy of a diagnosis. Pellicano (2013) explains the sensory atypicalities common with autistic people; Autistic people are often in a perpetual state of overstimulation from being too aroused which results in the people blocking the outside world and incorporating repetitive motions into their regular behaviour. We do see Oskar closing himself off from the world when he is uncomfortable, however, Oskar does not partake in the repetitive motions as outlined in Pellicano’s