The Big Bang Theory vs Community: How to Write Autism WELL

After much demand, I finally have dedicated a video to discussing WHY Sheldon Cooper is a negative autistic rep and where Abed from Community excels where he fails. Hope you enjoy! Leave your thoughts down below.
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#autism #mentalhealth #neurodivergent #show #television #sitcom

[noahthetter]

What do YOU think of Community and Big Bang Theory? Is Big Bang Theory actually GOOD? Am I painfully wrong? 🤔 Tell me down below 👇

[amanul_]

"Jeff you can be my father"
"I don't wanna be your father"
"Perfect, you already know your lines"

[jodzict]

I think it’s important to mention that abed’s character too played into the stereotype of being inconsiderate and prioritizing his own feelings over others. Even Abed’s final line in the ‘6 candles’ episode is about how Abed intentionally tormented Britta for his own gain. What I think is special about these instances is that the show wouldn’t always let Abed brush off his behavior like with Sheldon, Abed’s actions really had consequences for himself and it allowed the audience to sympathize with him and understand him more. By the 3rd season, there were whole episodes about how Abed’s behavior was being questioned, and there were some really intense growing moments for him. By season 5 & 6, Abed had become the most emotionally intelligent and considerate person on the show.

[Emperor-Quill]

The episode where Abed makes that film about his parents never fails to send me into tears.
Being autistic, it's really, REALLY difficult to put my emotions into words, so often times, I just keep them to myself. Watching someone so much like myself have not just a way to communicate, but also be listened to just sends my soul into oblivion.

[telercoi]

I think for me the biggest difference between Sheldon and Abed is the feelings towards them in the show. With Sheldon, it feels like a lot of “We love him and we’re friends with him but also we think he’s terrible and hate him a lot of the time, ” whereas with Abed it’s more “Look at this little weirdo! He’s our little weirdo! We disagree sometimes and we’ll call him out if needed but we love him and he’s an inherently valuable person!” It felt like over time, the BBT writers didn’t love Sheldon anymore, but the Community writers always loved Abed

[blackbird-sleeper]

Abed has a benefit- to me at least- as being a rare autistic person on the screen who isn't good at math, or science, and that's their "thing, " the autistic savant stereotype. Instead, he's a film major, and he uses narratives to piece together how the world works. It's me! Abed is just like me! The fact that so many other people in the comments are saying they're autistic and found Abed relatable proves that he's a character taken seriously and not a stereotype.

[mbaelstromos]

As someone getting tested for autism and doing this research, I started to see how Sheldon was a bad portrayal, and even people said I acted a lot like him. My mom thought he was a good springboard for Autism, but I had to explain to her that while he does exhibit some traits, he is a stereotype.

[EpicMailPotato]

I think what makes Community and Abed so good as well is that Abed, despite being the 'one who can't express emotions' is actually the emotional centre of the group. He's most likely to be the one to pull together in the end, he's most likely to actually apologise for how he's hurt people and he's often times the only one actually aware that what he did was wrong. I think the key example of this is at the end of the Halloween episode where they show the insanity test results right before credits roll

[Yardnoc]

Important to know that Dan Harmon, the creator of community, has gone on to say that Abed is a bit of a self-insert. That he too often has to use film to understand other people. So Abed is just Harmon dialed up to 11.

[robbyhanlon]

The difference? Community had heart. Plain and simple. Character growth, actual jokes and creative storytelling didn’t hurt either.

[DadpoolandPulverine-fw]

Im really, really glad we have Abed for an autistic character rep

[aspider]

Ik this is a small thing, but Abed is not “autistic-coded”, his character explicitly has autism, the autism isn’t coded, its part of his character.

[EmSquems]

It’s always nice convincing people to watch community. It’s become my hyperfixation and I watch like what? 3 hours worth of community related content. It’s actually how I communicate with people sometimes

[ottojablonka]

“6 SEASONS AND A MOVIE”

I absolutely love community because of Abed and Troy. They were never meant to be such an inseparable duo but the chemistry between both the characters and the actors was just way too good. After Troy left, Abed was basically the only reason why I kept watching.

[willjohnson]

Just to clarify, the Russo brothers directed Community, but (aside from one season) it was written by Dan Harmon and his writing room.

Dan based the character, Abed, on a real person he’s friends with. That always helps because it means Dan has a pretty good idea how the real Abed would react.

Dan’s also neuro-divergent (self-diagnosed with autism) and the character of Abed often serves as a voice for Dan’s own opinions and issues.

Most importantly, Dan’s a writing snob. He’d be frankly angry if his jokes didn’t have punchlines and were simply the audience laughing at the nerd being nerdy.

[GoofyGooberGawrsh-hd]

Yeah, I just wish with all of Sheldon's terrible actions, he would just LEARN or GROW. But he doesn't. You hit the nail on the head. Thanks for doing great videos on autism awareness man

[lyranorthernstar]

I thought Dan Harmon wrote community and the Russo brothers directed it. Also Dan’s said in the past he wanted to be like Jeff but in reality he acts like Abed.

[DAMDO]

Troy and Abed are my favorite Community characters so i'm glad to see the appreciation they receive online

[mattlombardi]

Can’t even lie, I started to think I was autistic because of the character of Abed Nadir, because I too live my life as if it were a narrative and not a life.

[lululuvscats]

Abed is not just my favorite character on the show, he's basically _everything I want to be_ as a fellow autistic. He's aware of his own flaws, but at the same time isn't ashamed of them and pursues his own creative hobbies without worrying what the rest of the world will think. Not only that, he genuinely tries to learn from his mistakes and while he does get made fun of occasionally, his friendships with the study group actually feel genuine. I cried so hard when Troy left because I also know what it's like to latch onto one specific friend who not only GETS me, but also keeps me grounded in the real world. Hell, I'm crying right now writing this XD That's how good this show's writing is and how much they nailed it with Abed's autistic representation.