temple grandin

i love (love!) this movie. as a side note, i realize i've been mostly writing about books and movies, and not as much the baking/cooking. i will soon share a crockpot recipe (winter vegetable beef soup!); otherwise, i'd have to change the blog's name or continue feeling like a fraud.

but for now, i have to tell you about temple grandin. the title of the movie is the name of a girl born in the 40's with autism who exceeded expectations, to say the least. claire danes did an amazing job. her mother, played by julia ormond, also- amazing. other supporting roles that i thought were fantastically played- her favorite teacher dr. carlock, & temple's aunt.

i won't go into detail about the movie. or even tell you everything i loved about it (yet). but i am pleading with you to watch it. and i want to tell you briefly about a scene where temple and her mother are talking after a christmas party- where temple's anxieties were stirred due to overstimulation. she tells her mother she doesn't understand why people were looking at each other while she was talking excitedly about her studies. what do the sideways glances and smirks mean? her mother grabs temple's shoulders and looks directly in her eyes.

"you know how people tell each other things with their eyes?" she asks. "well, this is me telling you, 'i love you, and i respect you.'"

the mother love, not to mention the attention and concern of her professor and her aunt, were instrumental in motivating temple to accomplish all she did. i love a story where skeptics and naysayers are silenced by the belief and motivation of a few!