Medical Trial and Croydon Riots

While I’ve on the study I’ve had a few problems with the ward’s hospital internet connection. I’ve tried logging on several times using different passwords but despite the fact the wireless symbol is showing there is a strong feed the firefox Mozilla and google chrome are refusing to recognise it. I don’t know what I’ve done to my laptop and I’ve tried to consult it’s help support centre but there doesn’t seem to be a reason why the internet explorer wouldn’t work. Technology is wrong. Or the people who made it are. And their mistake is preventing me from updating my blog as I would like.

Since Monday my experience on the study ward has been quite normal and routine. Well, that’s as “normal” as you could possibly expect. It’s never boring as there is always something happening or someone to talk to, if you don’t mind a stint of claustrophobic isolation and periods of laying about checking your email (sic) and watching tv.

For the study myself and eleven other volunteers have to spend a period of roughly six to eight hours laying silent and still on our beds while doctors and nurse tiptoe around us and hush us at the slightest movement. They are taking heartbeat tests using an ECG monitor and blood samples from a canulla valve injected into the arm. It is not a painful experience except for the uncomfortable feeling of laying on your back for such a long duration and occasionally at 6 am when a nurse accidentally misses a vein in your arm and pushes the needle into your muscle and then goes through a controlled panic of locating another vein before doing it again. The only other complaint I have of the ward, besides the limited entertainment and DVD selection, would probably be the hospital. It’s back to school dinners, and if your pallet isn’t against bland microwave dishes consisting of endless variations of rice/pasta you won’t have a problem, though the quality of the food itself can often feel…well say…bland. The one other human necessity you will have to do without is of the intimate sort. The trial is mixed sex so often you’ll find someone to talk to and sometimes the close proximity of the volunteers can mean ample opportunity for conversation and exchanges but you must be aware of etiquette and remain polite where there is an extreme absence personal space and privacy. You might be surprised to find yourself introducing who you are to your neighbour on the ward and chatting away on various subjects that you never even knew you possessed knowledge on simply as away of breaking the pulverising monotony. Most of the volunteers are students, graduates or travellers alongside individuals who are either out of work or between jobs. On this trial I’ve met two medical students midway on there courses who have chatted to me a lot about their career interests, full moon parties and gap year holidays abroad. I feel like I know a lot more orthopaedic practice and the labyrinth complexity of exams taken they must undergo over a 5-7 year period.

So far the trial has lasted for two periods of five days with one weekend intermission in between. On Monday 8^th August during my admission for the second period I became a window spectator to the Croydon riots that occurred just 10 minutes away on the road leading to the city centre. My sister, who I had been staying with at her flat in Brixton, had woken me that morning to tell me that town centre and its’ railway station had been closed due to the damage caused by the riots the night before. Funny, as we met outside the Ritzy cinema near the main junction Brixton underground and I felt surprised to see so many bystanders and young people who I leaned had been at a local music festival that Sunday.

LOMO report October 2011

Hi, I meant to contribute a write up the work that was done for Lomo. But I think like most of the volunteers who contributed pictures if was much more fun taking pictures than it was to sit down and actually write it. LOMO itself, from a creative approach, doesn't seem like the type of thing that is about the input of one individual and is all about constructing a bigger eclectic image. I think this was what made it so much fun in that there were two separate stages to the projects' consummation. The first part being the early discussion of ideas that was held between the volunteers who met at the end of summer and then the later meetings in October where everyone got together to actually put the pictures together to see what would happen. In the end we had between 15-20 people contributing pictures which grew from an original number of about 6 or 7, these being myself, Martin and the MW team, Ann, Sharon, Igor, Matt and Steven if I remember. Each volunteer was given an option of using a LOMO camera, old instant with improvised colour filter or phone app to complete the task and achieve the retro photo style effect that is the LOMO trademark. Though there was a prize given to the person who recruited the most volunteers for the exhibit, I think most of the volunteers took the challenge merely for the pure joy of taking colourful snaps and doing something out of the ordinary. Early on during the project the team had calculated that we would need atleast 1200 pics to create and image which would cover the wall space in the gallery. Each of the wall spaces had a size of between 5 by 10 feet so the actual installation would need some careful pre-planning and alot of pictures. I'd had some doubts as to whether all of the pictures from each of the 3 sets of canon 36 shot films given to each us would come out in the development but I think most of them did. I'd resorted to taking some interesting blurry pictures using my phone along with the instant plastic camera I'd found in a charity shop as I was concerned we'd run out! Fortunately there were enough volunteers and I think everyone had similar worries and there was more than enough to fill the wall space. On the day of the installation Steven had made a rough diagram of a rainbow design to fit the different coloured 4by6 pictures on to. It took some time to draw the pencil lines on each of the cardboard panels which would eventually slot together to create the wall pattern and then some further cutting where some of the panels didn't fit together. I think we were all surprised how easy it was to fit the panels together after we had decided on the design. Once the first design was completed we then discovered that we could just as easily create a second smaller image without relying upon diagram. It became just about finding the right colours to match the pattern and putting them in a symmetrical order. Some of the pictures needed to be adjusted or moved about where the pattern didn't quite flow and we were lucky there weren't any accidents of panels being glued together so it meant the whole day went very smoothly. Thanks to everyone who came and everyone who contributed pictures to the exhibition.

Alchemy at the UK at the Nuffield 30 October

ALCHEMY IN THE UK by Maggie Nevill.

A fortnight ago I was fortunate to attend the last showing of Maggie Nevill’s recent play Alchemy In The UK directed by Peter Sandford and thought it was still worth writing some more praise. The story takes place in present day Southampton and explores the problems of unemployment through a chance encounter between two families from lower and middle classes backgrounds. Inspiration for the play is featured on the poster; a graffiti by the controversial street artist Banksy that depicts a child holding a red balloon and which later comes to symbolise the play’s central theme and manifesto. True to life, the graffiti was reported to have mysteriously appeared on a wall in Bevois Valley in November 2010 while the artist was supposedly travelling to the Bestival on the Isle of White.
I felt it was both wonderful and disturbing to see that Nevill has taken inspiration from some of theatre’s most highly regarded playwrights and has transposed these so effectively to my hometown. The ones that came immediately to mind and also showed some obvious thematic resemblances were Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman (1948) and Dennis Potter’s Pennies from Heaven (1978). These are two seminal works which explore the destructive impact of social and political changes occurring within the personal relationships of the protagonist. It shows elements of Greek Comedy/Tragedy in the portrayal of individuals who are helpless to prevent the psychological damage being inflicted on their subjective consciousness or the threat to their family’s wellbeing, to the extent that their grip on reality begins to collapse. In both plays the protagonists are left with no choice but to face the bitter truth that their convictions and livelihoods were based on hypocrisy. This represents both an existential crisis and moral indictment and, as with Pennies From Heaven and unlike Death of a Salesman, all politics aside Alchemy In The UK gives hope to its characters and shows that redemption for the soul exists through Art, creativity, music and friendship.
The play shows the contrasting lives of two families and the separate generations as they face the dismal prospect of redundancy after the government’s recent budget cuts. Nevill enjoys parodying the middle class anxieties of its characters as their comfortable lives are thrown into chaos and are forced to re-evaluate their own circumstances. The drama takes place at a fictional recycling facility on the outskirts of the city that is illegitimately managed by a retiring working class father ‘Jack Shit’ (Geoffrey Freshwater) and his son Kellogg aka ‘Rooster’ (Paul Wyett), a greying punk poet. It is here that the men take pride in salvaging and restoring products left on the rubbish heap and where they perform their ‘alchemy’; the magical act of turning discarded objects into gold! The stage uses a striking piece of set design as a large skip has been erected (designer Juliet Shillingford) and used as a platform for characters to walk on for different scenes. The skip is the location where most of the drama unfolds and acts as the catalyst in the scenes where family visit the two men and exchange stories. This huge metal container which the two men appear to inhabit is overflowing with household junk, televisions (in one scene there is a hilarious Dennis Potter-style pastiche of the The Weakest Link) and even a library thrown out by the council.
Brian (John Bowler) is a middle-class family man who has just been made redundant from his managerial position with Southampton City Council. In a monologue he talks hysterically of his frustration with applications forms, pointless interviews and condescending Job Centre Advisors. Here Nevill manages to satirize the British attitude towards work in our modern age; where no job too good when you can survive an isolated and humiliating existence signing on at the Jobcentre. Brian’s problem is that he is a middle-aged professional who wants a job but because of his demographic and financial commitments he is either overqualified or inexperienced for the majority of jobs available. Nevill creates grim parody where the dad speaks obsessively about his method of completing an application form for a cash-and-carry job at a hairdresser’s, and the surgical precision he uses to answer every box; one must be a leader but also a team player, strong but subservient, clever but stupid etc. It is important to emphasis that the play is a satirical comedy, and I felt relieved to finally see some jokes about the debilitating feeling of life spent on the dole.
There is a comic rescue scene where the Brian (a self-loathing figure comparable to the suburban dentist from the BBC series My Family), is persuaded to climb off a ladder in a suicide attempt hanging over Jack’s skip. Jack speaks philosophically about his life, a man slowly dying from cancer, and the upshots of no longer needing to worry about an unhappy job. That unemployment can be seen as a chance re-invent oneself and to pursue a childhood dream but that more importantly life should be about making the most of things. I respect such a noble sentiment, and Nevill draws attention to the modern family’s unhealthy appetite for consumer goods, narcissism and luxuries. The dialogue scenes where the two men share their plight and display a yearning for recognition seem contrived to me but provided an unusual sense of composure and friendship between the pair.
However, the ‘those-with’ and ‘those-without’ are sparsely represented in the class divide between the two families. Nevill is not attempting to make a statement about social mobility or explore the sense of class-culture as in a Mike Leigh film since there is little sense of the inequality or political status between the two families. It is apparent that the only threat to Brian’s family is a purely facile one that is more related to their own individual roles and self-image. There is a comic scene where Brian’s redundancy results in a loss of sexual performance and failure to arouse any interest from his overworked wife Claire (Julia Righton). In another scene their teenage daughter Tiff (Eleanor Yates) realizes that her desire for a new car is completely superficial but that somehow not having one would leave her world strangely incomplete. In contrast, Jack’s son Rooster, a student from the Bristol arts college where Banksy attended, never had the financial support of his family and reminisces on the camaraderie he felt among his peers during the employment of the 1980s. In a monologue he describes with nostalgia the youthful disregard for authority but shows a faint regret when he compares his present situation to his friends who took careers, bought mortgages and grew up. He represents a man of that era, sadly lost and forgotten, who kicked against the government’s broken machine but discovered a utopia through punk music. Today this exists as a subculture that is still alive and active among a growing population of unemployed graduates, young people and workers of all ages and backgrounds.
Since Graduating, I have after two long years been trying amongst the plethora of steadily increasing unemployed graduates to build a career and been forced to take any poorly paid temporary jobs offered by malevolent recruitment agencies simply to support myself, reduce my debts and break the monotony. This experience of working in restaurants and warehouses has shown me the real direction that the working life amongst the lower classes and unskilled workers is headed as the government’s policy on education and unemployment becomes implemented. The gap between the rich and poor is widening like a silent but impending avalanche. I think it’s important to mention that my experience of being unemployed (partly motivated by my own concerted effort to avoid a career as a teacher or insurance) has been an illuminating one that has taught me to understand hard work and humility. At times I have enjoyed indulging myself by pretending to be something which I am not: a benign and bourgeoisie author on a journey across the human zoo, a lá like Joyce, Kerouac or Orwell. However, I must admit that cleaning toilets has rarely felt either idyllic or uplifting, and though I have met many interesting people along the way (I enjoy saying I got to make coffee for The Strokes when they headlined the IOW Festival 2009) much like the working class outsiders Jack Shit and Rooster, in real life their counterparts are far less brimming with romanticised aphorism and existential poetry. In fact there are strong feelings of anger, shame and unhappiness. I think perhaps I could be the one who is mistaken. After all, I am from a lower income background, and even though I was fortunate to go to University and study a subject I enjoyed I’m disappointed to find that it hasn’t helped me to achieve the media career I wanted. Despite this, I still see myself as an educated member of the middle class because I have a degree in literature. In truth, I remain an outsider in a status driven society, and who would rather avoid this reality by escaping into novels and poetry. I can identify with the characters in the play, particularly Rooster, who conveys a sense of spirit that others choose to feel enamoured with or sneer at; a cliché and a rare bird.
For some of us, University life and unemployment has shown similar notions of disillusionment on both ends of the spectrum. Perhaps it’s because I didn’t work hard enough, or didn’t choose to study something useful, or maybe because I was young and naive, but I have sensed in myself and others a unanimous detestation for the ‘social climber’, a common stigma. In many instances my efforts (or conceits) have generally been received with hostility and contempt and not the respect of my peers (or factory workers) for any achievement, this might just be because there are simply too many of us at university these days. Bitterly, I wonder what effect the Tory government’s hike in University fees will have. Surely this rise on tuition fees to £9,000 per year will mean student funds will increase in correlation, though as Tiff and her mother testify during one scene, there is worry whether students from middle income backgrounds will continue to afford their own cars, club nights, skiing holidays, student discounts on Iphones and Topshop.

SHORT FILM TREATMENT "CAGE"

“Cage In The Water” Short film Treatment.

Synopsis

On a summer’s day two boys decide to play a dangerous game of dare in the back garden swimming pool; a game with unexpected consequences.

Story Outline

The theme of the story is the perception of childhood among boys. The film takes a vision of the world in which little value is attributed to things beyond action men, football, adventures and school.

Sean and Robbie have a closeness based on a mutual need for identification and fantasy outside the rules they normally adhere to. Robbie’s parents, Mike and Jane, seem like a happy affluent couple who are both enjoying their weekend. They have a house in a quiet cul-de-sac with a large garage, swimming pool, big kitchen, family dog and designer interiors. Robbie is an only child and even though his parents have the money to give their son every opportunity he often misbehaves at school. Sean is younger, shy and from a large family, though he is well behaved and happy his parents sometimes struggle to make ends meet.

The boys have had a sleepover. In the morning the pair eat their breakfast while Jane gets ready to go on a shopping trip and Mike baby-sits and spends his afternoon fixing his motorcycle. The boys can’t resist getting into mischief and spend the day having water fights, doing karate, football, playing with a penknife, throwing toys in the pool and stealing a whiskey miniature from the kitchen.

They become bored and begin bickering until Robbie has the idea of building an underwater obstacle course using ropes, weight lifts and a large dog cage. The aim of this challenge is to see who can hold their breath the longest and retrieve the most weights from the bottom. Each person must swim with a rope tied to their waist through the cage and back. Robbie designed the test so Sean must go first.

Sean swims through the cage and ties a weight to a string hanging down. When he tries to swim to the surface he feels the rope pulling him back through the cage. Bubbles scream from his mouth when he can’t untie the knot. He pulls the noose over his knees dragging his shorts off simultaneously. Sean hits his head and blood streams through the water. He gets to the surface gasping for air.

Sean is hurt and demands to know why Robbie pulled on the rope. Robbie blames the dog for biting the rope and then notices his friend is not wearing his shorts. Robbie lifts the trunks out and teases Sean who starts shouting. Sean climbs out and chases Robbie around the garden but refuses to give back the shorts unless he begs. Sean picks up a toy bat and the two boys fight. Sean hits Robbie on the elbow and he falls over backwards. Sean then runs inside the house to the bathroom and takes a minute to dry off and check his cut in the mirror.

When Sean walks back to the garden, Jane is kneeling over Robbie who is unconscious and giving him mouth to mouth. Jane calls for help and carries Robbie indoors. Mike walks out and asks Sean what happened but the boy can’t speak. Mike walks over to the pool and looks at the ropes and he asks again what they were doing but Sean’s face is on the brink of tears. Mike stands up and looks around the garden feeling lost.

Biography
I am a Film and English Graduate from Southampton University looking for a career in the film industry. After graduating I spent a year doing different jobs in Australia where I had the idea for the story.

KATHAROS horror script proposal

FRIDAY. The plot centers upon a man named Jonathan, 38, who has been out of work for several months and on the verge of a separation from his wife Ellie. Before this he had worked for Social Services until suffering from a nervous breakdown due to exhaustion and alcoholism. At a psychological research clinic, Jonathan alludes to feeling suicidal during a meeting with a colleague called Graham. Jonathan on the drive home from London is stuck in traffic when he witnesses the death of a young girl after she walks into traffic. Incredibly the girl, after first being hit by a car and despite her injuries, runs along the road before being killed by a lorry. When Jonathan arrives home he finds the house empty but finds some divorce papers left on a table.

SATURDAY The next morning Ellie is in the conservatory working on a clay sculpture. They argue about the letter and then Jonathan explains about the accident. Ellie leaves to work at the Health Spa which she owns but agrees to drive Jonathan into town. Outside they hear an argument from next door between their neighbors. Megan, 17, storms out the house while her stepmother shouts after her. At a boxing gym in East London three boys discuss their plans for a robbery. Denny, 14, has obtained a handgun for his two friends, Lewis and Duma. Denny lives with his mother in a council flat and his friends think he is “slow” because of his dyslexia.

Megan has problems with low self esteem because of the difficulties she has with her parents. Megan’s father, William, is a strict patriarch who runs an export business. Sometimes he is violently abusive towards his family and step-mother, Janine, who is a bitter woman obsessed with maintaining the household. Megan has a brother called Paul who is manipulative and tries to compete against her. Megan finds it difficult to relate to people and feels embarrassed due to her shame. She arrives late for her drama class at college where the students are rehearsing Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The teacher punishes Megan by making her perform a scene where Hamlet humiliates Ophelia. Megan feels distraught but agrees to go for a drink that evening with her friend Catherine.

At the night club the two girls meet a boy who gives them Ketamine tablets to swallow but who also spikes Megan’s drink with ecstasy. When the drugs take effect the rooms starts to spin, faces begin to blur, colours are changing and everything is going out of focus. Megan rushes to the toilet and attempts to calm herself but meets a girl vomiting in a sink. Megan steps forward to see if she can help but notices that the girl’s face is deformed. The girl begins convulsing and attacks Megan. The two wrestle on the floor until the sick girl hits her head and falls unconscious. Megan runs out the washroom to find Catherine and escape.

SUNDAY Duma, Lewis and Denny arrive at the shop they plan to rob. In the shop a tall man in a long coat behaves suspiciously as he attempts to chat with random strangers while his deformed hand steals things. Duma and Lewis, wearing scarves over their faces, take the gun out and threaten the cashier. Denny stands by the exit. The man in the coat fights with Lewis who rips the coat off to reveal the man holding shotgun. The man shoots Lewis while Denny ducks behind a trolley and Duma runs away. The man’s body is covered with grotesque limbs. Denny escapes but is then arrested by police. At the police station while Jonathan is giving a statement he recognizes a police officer called Martin. Martin talks about the events that have been happening, and that they arrested a boy called Denny who Jonathan worked with in social services. Before Martin allows Jonathan to escort Denny back home he shows Jonathan the body of the man who was shot during the robbery. It does not appear to be human.

At Ellie’s health spa, her friend Charlotte is giving massage to a rich client. Charlotte finds the man attractive and they argue when he asks if he can pay for sex. She refuses the money but accepts his proposal. While having sex the man suddenly grows tentacles, but despite the man’s grotesque appearance he is not dangerous and the women manage to lock the door before escaping. Megan is at home having a Sunday roast with her family. Her father William is in a rage and no one realizes he is mutating. Then during a domestic row with the stepmother Janine he takes an axe and kills her. Megan climbs out onto the roof to call for help. Ellie arrives home and hears Megan shouting next door. She enters the house and finds William in the garden building a petrol fire to burn the bodies. William chases Ellie into the house but is rescued by Megan who knocks him unconscious with a bat.

While Jonathan is escorting Denny on the London underground their train derails and the passengers start to panic. The passengers start to mutate but the two manage to escape above ground while the city descends into chaos. There are mobs of people carrying weapons to defend themselves or attack anyone who has become infected. Policemen carrying machine guns try to control the crowds. Denny and Jonathan hide but are apprehended until Denny hijacks a truck to make a getaway. As they drive away, tanks and soldiers wearing chemical suits appear and start to shoot people indiscriminately. They drive to Jonathan’s house where they find Megan and Ellie hiding. Together they travel to an isolated farm in the country. On the way they are surprised to find a young escaped elephant wandering on the road and eating leaves from the trees. They stop to take pictures before continuing their journey. When they get to the cottage they spend time recovering and visiting the forest.

MONDAY/TUESDAY A squad of roaming soldiers discovers the teenagers playing in the forest and then capture them. Denny fights with a soldier and is shot and killed. The soldiers drive them to a military base and put them in quarantine. Jonathan is taken to headquarters where he meets Graham (his friend and psychologist) who apologizes and explains that the virus is an engineered biological weapon he helped to create. Jonathan is then locked away in a cell. During a decontamination shower several soldiers notice strange marks on their bodies and realize that they must be infected. The soldiers begin mutating and attacking each another. The emergency siren goes off and the soldiers evacuate. Several mutant soldiers drag Jonathan, Megan and Ellie to a room where they want to abuse the women but Ellie manages to escape. When Jonathan is being tortured he transforms into a mutant and kills the soldiers. Mutant Jonathan carries Megan’s unconscious body outside where he finds Ellie. Ellie points a gun at him but Jonathan pacifies her by putting Megan in a truck for them to escape. After Ellie drives away Jonathan goes back inside to confront Graham. Graham has turned into a mutant but persuades Jonathan not to kill him. When Jonathan walks outside into the sunshine he is human again.

Proposal for documentary on Aspergers

“UNIQUE Is the world so round? An investigation into Aspergers” by Edward Learman. 10/05/2011

I have been interested in developing a documentary examining the research into the Autistic Spectrum and specifically the case studies of individuals diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. I would like to explore both the clinical research and cultural attitudes represented in the media while attempting to capture how those in their personal lives overcome the difficulties they face with communication and social rules. This proposal has been inspired by the growth in digital filmmaking and in response to the biographical and social issue documentaries Tarnation (Jonathan Caouette, 2003), Grey Gardens (Albert and David Maysles, 1975), Crumb (Terry Twigoff, 1994) and the BBC television series The Autistic Me (Mark Soldinger and Jes Wilkins, 2009).

I have grown up with a brother who was diagnosed with AS from an early age and for who I am often concerned for as I don’t believe there is appropriate services or support available which would allow him to work and live independently. I do not intend to make my brother the primary focus of the narrative as I would like to allow other case studies of families and individuals to give their insights. I feel that the aim of the film would be to investigate the adult development of individuals with AS, since they are known to be intelligent, communicative and capable of leading independent lives. It is here that there is some ambiguity in the research regarding how Autism is identified using the modern diagnostic framework and the extent to which AS can be determined using these methods. One of the aims would be to investigate how the progress of research has developed and what circumstances and factors have contributed towards the study of Autism. I have been in contact with several Professors and departments in the field who would be willing to contribute to the film project and would provide their professional insights. Dougal Hare, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology at Manchester University. Professor Valerie Benson from the University of Southampton’s Psychology Department. Dr. Tony Brown of the Diagnostic Research Centre in Southampton. I hope to organise the research with contribution from charities such as The National Autistic Society, The Hampshire Autistic Society and online sources such as Research Autism Net.

There is I believe, despite the abundance of material available through charities such as the NAS and online sources, limited opportunities and information available to families and individuals with AS wishing to access services and find appropriate support for their needs. I have come across several examples of where a diagnosis was given to relative but due to the lack of knowledge or support this had a detrimental effect on the family relationships. It seems as though there has been, until fairly recently, a lack of strategies for families on how to understand and adapt their behaviour to accommodate this event. I feel that because of these circumstances, both for my family and in my personal life, that there has and remains an absence that has not yet been identified and an inability to find a resolution to a clearer perspective. As a result of this, I think my brother’s life with his condition, alongside our relationship and responsibility to him, remains a question mark to us all. I often feel, though it is naturally a difficult subject even for professional practitioners whose responsibility it might to give an opinion, that for myself and for others who I have contacted this remains a closed discussion.

As many generally do, I see my brother’s condition as undetectable and it is only after scrutinizing his behaviour over a period of time that the condition becomes apparent. Until recently, I have described my brother’s condition as “mild Autism", a term I am aware that is incorrect but have felt difficulty in finding a clearer substitute. I have found the majority of people are unable to identify what the condition is or how to recognize it except to reference fictional portrayals and caricatures taken from television or other sources. I’ve come to realize that this is not how I would describe my brother and nor is it likely that his friends and relatives would subscribe to this since James has never allowed it to prevent him from pursing his interests or private life. The following quote is from a young woman with AS who spoke in an interview for an online film found on the NHS Choices webpage: “Autism is a neurological condition, which just means that the brain is physically different from what is considered to be neurologically typical, which is like a benchmark that scientists have decided upon as being what they consider to be normal. It's a neurological condition that affects three main areas, communication, understanding other people and social skills. I have problems with reading people's body language and also making friends and getting on with people in general. What worries me the most is being alone, not having a support network and not having a partner.” (Robyn Steward)

My brother James is 27 and seems capable of performing many of the tasks and activities that the most of us have learnt over our lives. Of his own endeavour, despite the personal and financial difficulties he faces, James has managed to be accepted among a social group of friends and to pursue his own interests in fantasy role-play, videogames and relationships outside of work. Alongside his high functioning social abilities, James shows a strong awareness of his status and to navigate his environment, and has to date worked in full time employment at a local cinema multiplex. Here James fulfils numerous duties such as Customer Representative and box office cashier and has done so for over two years despite his frustration with the role and organisation. I feel that in this regard, and in a scenario which maybe both paradoxical and debatable, my brother has of his own accord learnt to develop social skills in order to succeed in this capacity. However James still struggles to form relationships and understand emotions and facial expressions beyond his friends and work environment. This is one area I would like to highlight, where upon my brother can successfully make this transition to an environment where there is a limited or fixed structure of social interaction and behaviour, but a lack of opportunity in terms on social mobility and means to progress further. I expect that many of his colleagues and students who work there on a part time basis, some of whom are only in their teenage years, will learn to develop new skills and outgrow their adolescence while my brother will struggle to make this step in his adult life. I want to investigate the areas of work and employment opportunities for those with AS and what measures can be taken to allow those individuals to develop in a positive and supportive environment.

My brother remains dependant on our parents for guidance and support while receiving disability benefits. Before starting employment he had attended several uncomfortable meetings with bewildered career advisors and support workers through the university and jobcentre in an attempt to find suitable employment after Graduating in 2007. During this period we had became aware of the problems that existed with the assessment methods and criteria used by advisors to determine the amount of support required for someone with AS. In retrospect, and as Dr Tony Brown of the Diagnostic Research Centre has commented, the assessment methods and guidelines for those with AS used to determine an individual’s abilities does not appear to anticipate the unpredictable nature of the condition itself. This can be more clearly observed in examples of AS and Autism where individuals have shown remarkable skills and intelligence with numeracy or practical abilities but had difficulty with communication and emotional intelligence. The following is quote taken from the NHS Choices website concerning diagnosis of AS in adults “The autistic spectrum (the range of symptoms people with autism have) is very broad and two people with the condition may have very different symptoms. No one will have all the traits in the triad of impairments, but most people with autism have the following difficulties.” The main areas of difficulty for people diagnosed with Autism and AS are listed on the NAS webpage and are described using the term “Triad of Impairments” which is defined as follows: “Social Communication (recognising verbal and non-verbal language or gestures). Social interaction (problems understanding emotions). Social imagination (problems predicting or imagining other people’s intentions or behaviour).”

As with many individuals diagnosed with AS my brother shows an obsessive nature with specific routines. This being most noticeable in his fantasy role-playing activities which involves complex narratives to be played and improvised as a group in a series of episodic adventures. Perhaps this may not entirely distinguish James entirely from any ardent football fan or Television enthusiast who passionately devotes time to memorising and recreating details that many people would think trivial, but I believe it is in the strength of his concentration that is pertinent. This is another area I would like to investigate, where a community or society through its’ cultural practices facilitates and enables an individual to pursue their routine or obsession within a socially acceptable form of engagement. In this case, how does one properly determine how a person with AS is to be distinguished from a person who is capable of disengaging or overriding their own obsessive impulses? And what are these patterns of behaviour or routine in contrast to obsessions which become morbid and provoke withdrawal from reality?

Here I present an extract sourced from the Research Autism Database that gives an outline of these characteristics but provides little insight into what the social or practical implications might be:

“There are various theories as to why people with autistic spectrum disorders have impaired social skills. Some people think poor social skills may be caused by:

• a failure of affective processing
• a failure to develop a “theory of mind”, which prevents the individual from understanding what other people are thinking or feeling
• weakness or absence of the social gaze response
• memory dysfunction, such as deficits in memory for faces and common social scenes, which prevent the individual from remembering other people or events
• other problems, such as sensory distractions, which prevent an individual from concentrating on social issues” (http://www.researchautism.net)

An aspect of the documentary that must be addressed is the social context of the subject and the influence of the individual investigating the subject. I am aware that in making a documentary often a paradox comes into play where there is a relationship or a personal connection between the filmmaker and the subject. Here I’ve relied upon a quote from the psychologist Carl Jung to help illustrate this point: “Subjectivation (in technical terms, transference and countertransference) creates isolation from the environment, a social limitation which neither party wishes for but which invariably sets in when understanding predominates and is no longer balanced by knowledge.”(Jung, 1954) In this regard, biography and social context become closely intertwined and is therefore the responsibility of the filmmaker to respect their own arbitrariness. I hope to acknowledge this debate during the development stages in an attempt to underline the biographic history and material of the subject being investigated. It will be my aim to avoid biographic content in the narrative and to instead focus upon the key issues related to the individuals being represented within the film, their circumstances and how this relates to wider critical discussions. In terms of ethics and representation this is an issue I have considered but feel comfortable reflecting on and discussing with others.

City Of Night by John Rechy. Reviewed 1/07/2009

City Of Night, John Rechy

I read this book because I heard that it was the inspiration for Gus Van Sant' film My Own Private Idaho. River Phoenix's character is apparently based on the same transcient faceless narrator and I think if you enjoyed the film the book makes an interesting companion.
Many of the same themes are present, with some fascinating character portrayals that resonate strongly in the film.
The book and film both seem to explore this concept of 'otherness' and 'difference'. Van Sant has said sexuality is more complex than the labels 'straight' and 'gay'. In the novel a lot of the hustlers and 'scores' don't refer to themselves as 'gay' or 'homosexual' but use a common derogative terms such as 'fag' and 'fairy' to express their faux masculinity and aggression in the vernacular. The danger and debauchery the characters entertain themselves with also seems like a performance but one that is often the result or masking of deeper more complex emotional fears about identity and sexuality.
As a psychological study it is fascinating, but the narrative and plot are meandering and oblique in the extreme. Often the scenes resemble cryptic dreams and the laconic indifference of the narrator to those around him creates an overwhelming sense of dispair and darkness. Despite the bleakness of the character, the story does give some fantastic descriptions of New York in that era from a very hazy beatnik perception.