A Brilliant Young Mind

[Shawn D]

I recently watched a movie on Amazon called A Brilliant Young Mind about a teenage boy named Nathan with Asperger's who is gifted, especially at math. He makes the British team for the International Math Olympiad. The movie shows his struggles with social situations, processing emotions, and love.
Has anyone else watched this movie?

There is a character in the movie named Luke, who is on the same team as Nathan who also has Asperger's. There is a stark contrast between Nathan and Luke; Nathan is closed-off, hardly speaks, and his teammates are very much non-judgmental towards him. Luke, on the other hand, tries to be social, talks a lot, but his teammates tease and ostracize him, because he comes across as weird, inappropriate, and often arrogant, even having a teammate laugh at him and ask, "where are you from?" Luke is also a cutter as a means of dealing with it all.

I found myself relating far more to Luke than to Nathan. Growing up, I did not keep to myself and tried to socialize with my peers. As a result, I was bullied mercilessly, patronized, and ostracized by my peers. As a teenager, unable to recognize or process my emotions, I, too, was a cutter.
I asked my husband why Nathan managed so much better than Luke, and he said that Luke "tried too hard".
I just think about all the times I "tried too hard" and found myself on the receiving end of mockery and cruelty.
Does anyone else find that trying to "fit in" often only serves to highlight your differences rather than disguise them?

 

[Suzanne]

No, never tried to fit in, because I could not and still cannot cope with the feeling of trying too much.

Just yesterday I received a text message to say that I was missed at a meeting and that I have quite a presense, which absolutely BLEW me away, since mostly I feel completely invisable and in turn, now feel rather uncomfortable, because it means that I now doubt my own feelings about how I am perceived, but of course, at the same time, should make me feel relieved that my feelings are wrong, but doesn't because then it gives a sense of: I cannot trust my own self, which is just horrible!

What I noted when I was younger, was that one on one, I seem to be fine with someone, but enter someone else and suddenly I became invisable. I guess as a "mature" woman now, I see that it was me who was making myself invisable, because suddenly I could not be me anymore. But have always felt a sense of unreality when communicating with another; almost like pinching myself to see if it is real, that I am making someone laugh or they seem interested in what I am saying.

The worst part for me, with growing older, is that I become louder in my opinions and that makes me feel rather strange. I can be quite forceful, but in fact it is pure zeal for wanting to help another, but my husband says I come across as very rude.

 

[toothless]

ive never been connected enough to humans to fit in,its an alien concept to me.

i think with anything in general; the harder you try;the worse it is when you fail,so i am not surprised youve had it tough trying to fit in,but you should remember who you are,to hell with what normie folks think,if they cant accept you in all your aspie glory then they arent worth a shot of your focus and time.there is a friend out there for everyone,so dont be ashamed of yourself!

by the way,a couple of films you might relate to-snow cake;about a woman with high functioning classic autism;very temple grandin-esque,and the accountant; about a clever bloke with aspergers,has lots of autistic issues when young but loses most by adulthood.

 

[Adder1234]

I just watched this, and I definitely relate to Nathan, mostly because of his obsession with being the best and winning. When I was younger, I was more like Luke, then I became like Nathan, but now I just do and say whatever I want, without fear of others judging me for it, but I also have a good understanding of what's appropriate and what isn't.

 

[Southern Discomfort]

For anyone looking for this film, outside of the US it's called X+Y. I'll watch this if it's ever included on Prime video whilst I'm still a member.

 

[Southern Discomfort]

Does anyone else find that trying to "fit in" often only serves to highlight your differences rather than disguise them?

Yes. The trick I found in school was to stop and observe the behaviour of my respected peers. What emotions are they presenting? The way they talk, the subjecting they're discussing. Do they come across as immature, mature, sarcastic? If you learn to stop yourself from blurting out anything and reflect back what they're coming across as you might have you'll have an easier time. That is, assuming you are able to identify other people's behaviours.

 

[Southern Discomfort]

I changed my mind, I rented it. It was a good film, the twists were predictable but their affect was great. The way Luke handles being rejected from his peers is a great visual representation how much it pains him mentally to be different even among people who share his intellectual brilliance.

 

[Aeolienne]

There's a screening next Sunday (2 April) in Oxford: 17:30 - 20:00 at the Ultimate Picture Palace, Jeune Street, Cowley Road, OX4 1BN.
The Ultimate Picture Palace
This is part of the "Brain Diaries" exhibition and event programme.
www.braindiaries.org