MovieChat Forums > I Am Sam (2002) Discussion > What disability?

What disability?

posted 16 years ago by shanny_bo_banny
12 replies | jump to latest

I have to write a paper on this movie. & I can't find anywhere
that he is protraying a specific disability. Does anyone know
what SPECIFIC disability "sam" is suppose to have?

[–] xlimepops 16 years ago

The closest the movie comes to explaining it is during the trial where the lawyer trying to take away Lucy claims that Sam has "Autistic tendencies" But other than that, your guess is as good as mine.

[–] Greycatclimber 16 years ago

I would think autism. I read somewhere that Sean Penn based his performance on Dustin Hoffman's portrayal of an austistic man I cant remember the charecters name, sorry) in Rain Main.

[–] ranmalein 16 years ago

i don't think he's autistic, or at least not only autistic. like the poster above said he has autistic tendencies, but he's not a real autist.
we can only guess here, they didn't say anything specific in the movie. just write this on your paper ;]

"Angel Investigation - we hope you're helpless" - Doyle

[–] persephonescry 16 years ago

i think he has autism...

[–] shurbanm 12 years ago

He makes prolonged eye contact without a problem and he is very empathetic. Definitely not autism.

[–] gcarras 10 years ago

Dustin Hoffman's now iconic "Rain Man" character name was just plain Raymond.

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[–] persephonescry 16 years ago

it said on the film he had mental capacity of a 7 yr old. he keeps on repeating things.. saying things all over again.

[–] inblooom-1 16 years ago

hi i'm no expert but it looked like autism. however the fact that he had such a strong social support network and relationship with his daughter tends to point to something else.

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[–] Mehki_Girl 16 years ago

It says in the movie that he has mental retardation and has autistic tendencies (he is stuck in certain routines, textures, etc), but some people with mental retardation also may like routines.

[–] donbrent 14 years ago

He doesn't have autism as such. He may have some "Autistic tendencies" but then we all do to a certain degree it could be argued. His main disability as such appeared to be an extremely low "IQ". Sam displays a good empathic understanding of those around him throughout the film which is a very good sign that he was not heavily autistic. Autism does not necessarily correlate with what most class as intelligence, with a large portion of autistic sufferers actually being of above average intelligence, many scoring in the top percentile of the general population.

The Autistic tendencies displayed are mainly in Sam's repetitive activities such as the origami and the sorting of sachets at work obsessively.

"I'm just a chilled out entertainer"

[–] HyperU2 14 years ago

Full retard.

[–] LauraCohle 13 years ago

Intellectual disability with Autistic traits.