Parents with autistic children said, “I feel uncomfortable with ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’”… Netizens responded, “I can understand why they feel this way”
While the drama “Extraordinary Attorney Woo”, which tells about a lawyer with autism spectrum disorder, is gaining syndrome-level popularity, a netizen expressed an unfavorable opinion.
A post titled “No matter what people say, I still feel uncomfortable with Woo Young-woo” was recently shared on various online communities. This article was originally posted on an online cafe for members who raise children with developmental disabilities and autism.
The post’s author A said, “Dramas are just dramas and I admit that they have good functions, but an autistic person can be a lawyer?.. Then it’s hard to call her an autistic person”.
A shared their thoughts, saying “She’s more like a lawyer who used to have autism… Even if she has a genius brain due to the Savant syndrome, she’s no longer autistic if she can become a lawyer who needs to quickly understand and make impromptu judgments according to changing situations as well as read people’s minds well.”
They pointed out, “Autism is a disease that causes mental and physical weaknesses, but if a lawyer is autistic, doesn’t she also have mental and physical weaknesses?”, adding “Then how can such a lawyer defend her clients?”.
Citing a scene from “Extraordinary Attorney Woo”, A said, “In the scene where the witness asks the doctor whether Woo Young-woo is autistic or not, I hated how he rolled his eyes and spoke in a mechanical voice as he couldn’t make eye contact with Woo Young-woo. The appearance of autistic people seems to have been turned into a thing to entertain”, expressing their discomfort.
A showed their regret, saying “In Korea, where many people still believe that adults with developmental disabilities should be accompanied by their guardians 24 hours a day and have to stay at home and be sent to facilities for the disabled, Woo Young-woo seems to be the only person who can come out and live in society.”
Lastly, A concluded, “I don’t know if this drama, which is gaining so much attention, will be able to reduce prejudice in society or broaden people’s perspective.”
In response to this article, netizens commented, “Parents with autistic children can feel this way”, “It is easy to understand why you think so if you’ve experienced the inconvenience of raising children with disabilities…”, “This is so heartbreaking…”, etc.
Source: Dispatch
