How Nathan Fielder’s The Rehearsal Validated My Experience with Autism


In a 2017 Rolling Stone profilecomedian Nathan Fielder talked about researching Asperger’s syndrome to shape his character on the popular Comedy Central program Nathan For you. Although Fielder has not disclosed that he himself identifies on the autism spectrum, his latest project – HBO’s fascinating and deceptively moving docu-comedy The Rehearsal — reflects an experience faced by many autistic individuals like myself: maskinga survival mechanism in which autistic individuals suppress their neurodivergent behaviors in order to adapt to their environment.

The Rehearsal initially followed Fielder helping people practice difficult conversations and important life events by designing elaborate simulations for them. To do this, he hires actors to inhabit these sets, and creates dialogue trees to prepare his subjects to inhabit an upcoming encounter or a significant milestone. These controlled environments guide people to avoid mistakes with real consequences, while maintaining an illusion of verisimilitude.

Fielder also participated The Rehearsal himself and as he grows stronger in this confused orchestra, the series gradually shifts its focus to his dilemma with interpersonal ineptitude. Case in point: In Episode 1, Fielder calculates the best way to interact with his first client by building a replica of the client’s home to rehearse potential small talk, clever ones. quips, and body movements with a stand-in.

His subtle ruse works at first, but after telling an off-color joke and sitting in a chair at an uncomfortably low angle, Fielder worries about the uneven social dynamic between him and of the client and that the joke came out as a criticism. Watching that moment almost felt like a direct adaptation from my own memories of trying to navigate dangerous social terrain while dealing with and hiding my autism.

Although neurological disability and social awkwardness are not necessarily mutually exclusive, The Rehearsal Captures how autistic and other neurodivergent people are conditioned to interact with the world around them. To paraphrase an observation tweet in that regard, Fielder dramatizes the anxieties that many people with autism face in trying to belong, by breaking down the cultural norms that support and reward neurotypical behavior, which ultimately reveals their madness. and futility.

The Rehearsal (HBO)





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