He’s not a slave. And he knows more about honor and freedom than you ever will.
The Eagle (2011) dir. Kevin Macdonald
Great book (written in 1954 and showing wonderful bonding between two young men) and good film. Recommended. Please read most of Rosemary Sutcliff’s books. Many years ago, at a conference, I was almost booed from a room when I listened to someone’s paper and dared comment on the implicit homoeroticism of Sutcliff’s books – and then the fan community discovered her, and thousands of stories appeared. The moral of the story being, nobody needs conservative academics.
you know how flint looked damn fine in those 4×09 flashbacks? you know how those are silver’s flashbacks?? this is how silver remembers flint looking?? yeah i’m screaming
I’m not screaming, but am filled with longing and yearning and nostalgia and Sehnsucht and heart-melting – this post is so right of course
I work in a public library and there are times a book comes through circulation that is so awesome I can’t believe I hadn’t seen it before.
Last week I came across this lovely children’s picture book called Why Johnny Doesn’t Flap: NT is OK! by Clay Morton, Gail Morton, and illustrated by Alex Merry. (Pardon the library barcode covering part of the title here.)
[Pictures of the front and back covers of the picture book. The back cover summary says: “My friend Johnny is different from me. We have fun together, but sometimes he acts pretty strangely. He is never exactly on time, he can;t seem to strict to a routine, he stares right into your eyes, and he often says puzzling things. Johnny is neurotypical. I like Johnny and I think being NT is OK.”]
The fact that I was seeing the term “NT” on the cover of a children’s book was enough to pique my interest. Upon further inspection, I discovered that the book is really quite lovely!
[Two page spread reads: “We have a lot of fun together, but sometimes he acts pretty strangely. Mom says it is because he is NT, or neurotypical. He doesn’t have autism, so his brain works differently from mine, but that’s OK.”]
It flips the typical “little Timmy has a special friend” narrative on its head. Instead, the narrator is an autistic boy who has an NT friend who he sometimes struggles to understand.
[Two page spread reads: It can be pretty interesting being friends with a kid who is NT. He has a lot of quirks that can be very frustrating until you get used to them. Mom says that everyone’s brain is different and different isn’t always wrong.”]
The book uses simple terms to describe a perspective not usually seen in any literature, let alone lit intended for children.
[Two page spread reads: “When something exciting happens, Johnny doesn’t respond like you would expect. He doesn’t flap his arms or jump up and down. He just moves the sides of his mouth up and slightly widens his eyes. Maybe he doesn’t know much about how to express emotions.”]
I think ultimately this flipping of the narrative is more effective in getting the message across that kids with autism are just like everyone else but with unique needs.
[Two page spread reads: “Johnny never has a meltdown when disasters happen, like a fire drill or art class being canceled. He is afraid of what people might think. It seems like he is bottling his feelings up, but he just has his own way of dealing with things, and that’s OK.”]
And this book is something autistic kids don’t usually have– it’s a book from their perspective! And it’s a non-offensive, matter-of-fact perspective, which is all the rarer.
[Two pages spread reads: “When he talks to you, Johnny looks directly into your eyes, which can make you pretty uncomfortable. He doesn’t mean any harm, though. That’s just the way he is, and that’s OK.”]
It talks about things that autistic people experience and can relate to.
[Page reads: “I like Johnny. I think that being NT is OK.”]
And here I sit at the head of an army of men, each of whom, present company included, has probably at some point considered killing the man he now fights alongside, each of whom, present company included, has certainly considered killing me.
So melancholy on both sides. And, may I repeat, typical of Italian Westerns, where partnerships tend to gently dissolve without (usually) one of the partners dying or going off with a woman. But this is where fan fiction steps in, picks up the baton and runs off with it. May I enthusiastically recommend Sybilius’ “Sight, blank and shot”, and, in less strong terms, my own “Maybe next time”.
mici's campfire 