The Pitt

The Autistic representation in The Pitt is potentially life-saving

I have been putting off writing some iteration of this newsletter for nearly three years. It is my most vulnerable piece by far, and that's always scary to put on the Internet for strangers to read. There's also a part of me that wants to focus the attention on the media I'm talking about, not on myself. However, a handful of recent events, including the airing of the show I am discussing today, have finally led me to write the piece you’re reading now, a piece that has featured, since its inception, about 12 different movies or TV shows as the main course. Perhaps one day I’ll drop the Twin Peaks newsletter or any of the other character studies I have thrown in the proverbial trash, but the one thing they all have in common, as well as the actual focus of this piece in The Pitt, is that they all feature an Autistic main character.

The premiere of The Pitt is far from the only thing that forced me to write this today. As I mentioned, different drafts of this newsletter have been saved for a while, ever since my own Autism realization a few years ago. We can dive more into that as we go, but the thing that finally pushed me to publish this version of it was recent comments from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. For those blissfully unaware, he said the following quote; "Autism destroys families, and more importantly, it destroys our greatest resource, which is our children. These are children who should not be suffering like this. These are kids who will never pay taxes. They'll never hold a job. They'll never play baseball. They'll never write a poem. They'll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted."

First of all, if he thinks autistic people can't play baseball, he has clearly never heard of Zach Greinke or Tristan Casas (legally speaking, this is a joke). The claims are so ridiculous that even entertaining them is giving him more oxygen than he’s worth. Still, if we are talking factually, Tony Snell played nearly a decade in the NBA, and he has an official Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis. Snell is the highest-profile athlete on the spectrum, but he is far from the only one. Palestinian-American Tarik El-Abour was the first person diagnosed with ASD to sign a professional baseball contract in 2016. Ryland Zaborowski, currently playing college ball for the University of Georgia, has discussed how growing up with ASD has impacted his life. Zaborowski is attempting to become the first player to reach the Major League level. He will likely be drafted this summer. Okay, enough of a history lesson, back on track now.

RFK Jrs’s comments are so vile for reasons that should not need to be explained. His whole argument is based on the idea that vaccines cause autism, which has been scientifically debunked since the initial study came out back in 1998, using only 12 test subjects, btw. Quick fun fact about that study (I promise we will get to The Pitt so soon): the author, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, hadn't disclosed conflicts of interest, that he was being paid to work on a lawsuit against vaccine companies, and that he had falsified some medical records to support his conclusion. After it was proven that he manipulated the study for personal gain, he was banned from practicing medicine, and the study was retracted.

That's the study that initially rang alarm bells for RFK Jr and countless other anti-vaxxers, which is just mind-numbingly stupid, respectfully. The uptick in people being diagnosed with ASD is multifactorial, and that's not what this article is exploring. Still, it is partly due to increased awareness of the importance of getting screened, and it is now more accessible than ever. Tony Snell, the NBA player I mentioned above, only got diagnosed after his son was diagnosed.

My personal discovery was when a new friend, who is on the spectrum, asked if I was autistic like two hours after meeting me for the first time. It was a hilarious first question in hindsight, but truly a life-changing conversation in more ways than I can fully articulate. It just put so many puzzle pieces into place and answered the “Why” to so many questions that I had been asking about myself for nearly 25 years. To have an understanding of why your brain works the way it does is truly so liberating, and it feels like a switch was flipped at that moment. It doesn't mean that it makes the negative brain feelings go away, but it at least makes it a little bit easier to understand when I am the way I am. Another reason for the uptick in people getting diagnosed is a shift in the stigma around it, which (FINALLY) brings us to The Pitt.

Noah Wyle's wholly original medical drama, which was not at all influenced by any other medical procedural, takes place during one shift in an Emergency Room in Pittsburgh. The former ER actor, a totally unrelated piece of information, don't worry about it, is a writer and stars in The Pitt as Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch. The idea first came to Wyle in 2020 with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Or maybe the idea started in 2022, depending on who you ask, I guess.

Wyle wanted to tackle new things in the medical field since his ER days ended, such as the pandemic, which was seen in crucial flashbacks throughout the first season. He also wanted to tackle things that were certainly around in the aughts but not nearly as prevalent in the media of the time, such as gun violence, trans rights, and anti-vaxxers. I say with zero hesitation that it is genuinely one of the best things I've ever watched in my life. TV shows, movies, whatever, it’s truly in that upper echelon. I have never recommended anything more in my life; just ask literally every person I have come into contact with over the last month. Politicians can only dream about the word-of-mouth campaign that The Pitt has.

The most magical part about The Pitt, and there are so many to choose from, is just how effortless the writing feels. It is theoretically easier to write for something that is just one long day broken up into 15 episodes than it is to write about 15 different days because it means you can leave things up in the air to be resolved next episode and because it takes place where each episode is a real-life hour in the ER, you instantly get that pay-off. However, that also means you have to have the skills to keep viewers engaged for 15 hours without getting repetitive or formulaic, and man, they do that brilliantly. They tackle issues so seamlessly without beating you over the head with it. It is not at all secretive about its politics. I am not as caught up on recent TV as the average viewer, so I can't say this with 100% confidence, but in my opinion, it is the most woke show (complimentary) on television right now, and it isn't close. There are quick little jabs at anti-vaxxers, anti-maskers, and transphobic folk, among others, and it is probably the most anti-police show I have seen gain this much traction in a long time. However, that is not why we are here, though; we are here to talk specifically about Dr. Melissa King, played by Taylor Dearden. While I would love to write 2,000 words on every character in The Pitt, and we'll potentially see about that down the line, for now, I specifically want to explore the autistic representation of Mel.

While we do not get an "official" diagnosis for Mel, we do know that her sister, Becca, has ASD and is at a medical care facility while Mel is at work. Studies have shown that if one sibling is on the spectrum, subsequent siblings have a 20% chance of also being on the spectrum. So, while we do not get an official diagnosis, at least not in season one, we have plenty of hints that Mel is also autistic.

There's one moment early on, discussing vaccines and autism. Mel makes the exact same face I made when one coworker recently said, "In 100 years, everyone is going to be born with Autism," which is undoubtedly a sentence that I don't think I can dive further into, but you are more than welcome to make your own conclusions about the validity of that one. Mel quickly corrects the family, using the same information that I shared above. There's another scene where Dr. Langdon (bad vibes) is struggling to connect with a patient, and Mel takes a look at his chart and exclaims, "Oh, he's autistic!" when Langdon counters, asking why does that matter for his sprained ankle, Mel takes the lead and instantly connects with the patient.

For as bad as some parts of the disability are, instantly connecting with fellow autistic folk is a cool little trade-off on occasion. We also see a few other signs that are not as obvious if you're not looking for them, but I swear to god, the way she grabbed her shoulder blades is the exact same motion I make at least once a month when I am extremely overstimulated.

We get a scene of Langdon telling her she is very emotional, but that can also be a strength of hers. Despite claims from plenty of uninformed people, including one who is 11 bad breaks away from the White House, it is not uncommon for those with ASD to experience hyper-empathy and be deemed overly sensitive. Trust me, there are so many days when I wish RFK Jr were right about this one specific thing.

I just see so much of myself in Mel. She is not the first time I have seen myself on screen. I saw myself in Abed from Community, Dale Cooper from Twin Peaks, Fran from the criminally underrated Sometimes I Think About Dying, Frances from Frances Ha, and any time I see a Nathan Fielder character. Still, there's one significant difference between The Pitt and all of those others: The Pitt is not afraid to say the word autistic. While they opted against an official diagnosis, which is also a real-world thing, as I have a few friends who fully believe they are autistic but have refused to get it officially declared, based in part on how the current administration feels about those on the spectrum.

Implying Mel is autistic is so important for two reasons. First, this show is a ratings behemoth, with an average of over 10 million people tuning in to each episode, and the numbers continue to grow. I'm not entirely confident that a television show can completely change someone's entire belief system overnight, but I don't think it’s a huge stretch to say that watching this show might make someone view a person with ASD in a more positive light. If this show can create a world that is even 1% kinder and more accommodating to autistic people, then it’ll be a success, and maybe we can get past all the vitriol towards people who are literally just trying their best to exist in a world that is purposely designed against them. As we see in episode four, this sentiment is not only about people on the spectrum.

Beyond that, I would've come to my own autism realization a decade earlier if I had watched this then. If even one person watches this show and sees themselves in Mel the same way I see myself, and gets their own diagnosis - or not a diagnosis, if that feels safer for them - then this show is even more of an enormous hit than the ratings and reviews could possibly convey. Not to be hyperbolic, but it could literally save more lives than the fictional doctor could ever dream of saving.