So after clearing the hurtles of security commented on in another thread, I found myself on flights where you have a chance to catch up on movies. You know, the type where you can see a couple of movies on each leg.

The movie I want to post about is an HBO movie titled: "Temple Grandin."

It was an extremely difficult movie to watch and the actress, Claire Danes, did a stunning job of portraying the subject.

It was difficult for me on two levels.

One is that it is about an autistic person and in my self-centered teenaged and later years I wanted to copy the cool folks of Hollywood and Las Vegas, not un-cool folks. In my heart of hearts, that is one of many aspects of an evolving personality that now causes me a lot of internal discomfort.

Second is that as a Dad I thank God every day that my kids are healthy in all ways and I do not have to face the issues that the Mother faced in this case. I cringed watching the movie thinking about what the Mother had to deal with.

Having said that, the movie and the actress are unrelenting in their portrayal of autism. If you tough it out, you see where everything is tied together at the end not as a happy movie per se, but as where where you understand some of the things that made you squirm in your seat. Ultimately you understand that it takes a different outlook to change the world and make it a better place. In this case it came not from all the Christians, Moslems, etc. and all the prayers on earth, but from a person with a mental condition that is easy to dismiss. It shows that good change can come from a different viewpoint, including one that most of us, including me, are incapable of. (yes, I know, ending a sentence in a preposition).

I give the movie two thumbs up and would give more if I had more hands. Those are my genetic limits. I did find it a very uncomfortable but ultimately very rewarding movie to watch.

I watched this movie some time ago, and I really liked it.

Odd, but I had already seen a few videos on Youtube with the real person (Dr. Temple Grandin) as she explained some of her ideas on slaughterhouse design and slaughtering methods. Because of my son's 4H project and all that, I wanted to better understand how to handle and move livestock.

So, when I saw the movie for rent at Hastings, I just had to watch it, and all the "bonus features." To me, the movie was really interesting and inspiring. Nothing about it made me feel uncomfortable or anything, just interested, although I was a bit put off by the hyper-politically correct "message" woven into it (i.e. stereotypical uneducated redneck males are BAD and the cause of all ills of the universe).

In all honesty, I think I would really really HATE working with someone like Temple Grandin, but I am touched and greatly inspired to see this story of her working around her social problems and really applying her superior abilities. Her "disability" was in fact an asset in a way, because she was autistic she observed many things that we non-autistic people tend to simply ignore. She was acutely aware of so many things that we overlook, she was able to deduce what livestock animals are thinking, and ultimately she applied her understanding of livestock behavior to slaughterhouse design.