It is an amazing phenomenon how a person, who suffers from autism, will always try to connect to the real world. It can be seen in the short story "Being there"; that is, although Chance suffers from a kind of mental disorder that makes people unable to communicate, he manages to learn through the television and tries to relate with people that surround him thank to what he learns from TV. In the same way, people in the society are informed by the media every day; but there is no real apprehension of the reality as TV projects images and does not let people imagine and create their own opinions, it does not teach them anything, it informs instead. Chance does not learn but is informed about tips of how to greet or how to make love. However, it is good enough for him to develop in his context.
"Remembering that during his television press conferences, the President always looked straight at the viewers, Chance stared directly into President´s eyes." (Kosinski, J, 1970, Being there) Chance relates all what he sees on television to his own life and lives his life according to what it "teaches"him. In spite of the fact that Chance based his life on the television, it does not teach him but only informs him. The television bombs our minds with thousands of images, words, phrases, cartoons and advertisements; in such a way that our minds can not process all that information. A person has to learn how to select, process, understand and learn from the television having his/her own opinions and beliefs about the information that this appliance sends us every day and, for that end education is essential.
People suffering from autism have great difficulties to communicate with others. Parents realise it when they are only children. They have problems with babling, they have mental retardation, they repeat others´words or movements. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism) "Chance was an orphan, and it was the Old Man himslef who had sheltered him in the house ever since Chance was a child. Chance´s mother had died when he was born, No one, not even the Old Man, would tell him who the father was." (Kosinski, J, 1970, Being there) Even so, belonging to a set can be of great benefit as regards feelings of friendship, communication and sharing interests. Despite having a tutor who gave him house and food, Chance have not a family that could give him the special care he needs. As a result, he relies on the TV to fill the gap left by the absence of his mother and father, as well as a teacher´s role. Among other symptoms, these children follow rules perfectly. "Reluctanly he got up, carefully turned off the TV, and stepped outside. The fat maid leaning out of the upstairs window flapping her arms. He did not like her. She come some time after black Louise had gotten sick and returned to Jamaica... As a rule he listened to her rapid speech only when she was bringing him food and telling him...he had said." (Kosinski, J, 1970, Being there) Apart from that, they resist changes; they may injure themselves, and mainly they have linited focus such as on a specific TV program. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism) If these kind of people are to change some rule of life, they may react with epilepsy or some other symptoms due to the stress it causes to them. The most important theme depicted in the short stroy is his dependence on the TV to move in life. If it was not for its programs, he would never have developed mentally. Chance is informed about many themes: what happens when a person dies or how to greet somenone important such as the president. "Chance knew that he should not reveal that he could not read or write. On TV programs people who did not know how to read or write were often mocked and ridiculed." (Kosinski, J, 1970, Being there) Despite the fact that TV is the only model Chance has, it does not teach him anything. He just repeats what he sees on it. The same happens in real life where the leading channels, political programs, or the news on TV has an influence on ordinary people by changing or modifing the real way events happen every day. According to their own ideology, they call "evil" to some and "angels" to some others. For instance, in Argentina this week De´Elia assaulted a police station after a person was killed and the police did not come to help him. Apart from thet, De Angelis assaulted a bank too. Apparently, both events are equally violent but some channels talk positively about de Angelis and negatively about De´Elia. As a matter of fact, people may have their own ideology regardless of what the TV says. However, in Chance´s case, he can not form his own ideology since he suffers from a mental disorder. Nowadays, there is a program, which may be a light at the end of the tunnel, that tries to offer the autistic the necessary tools to socialize. Firstly, they receive simple exercises that the children are able to solve. After taht, they are giving gifts as reinforcement. It is done at home and at school. (21/05/09, www.demedicina/ninos/educacion-en-autistas-ensenando-a-aprender ) The Tv constantly mould the minds of millions of people.That is why it is essential to be well educated, socially interconnected and open- minded and to possess some criterion to discern what is right and what is wrong.
Although autism is a mental disorder that some people suffer from, ordinary people also repeat what they see on TV: imitate what an actor/actress does, imitatean advertisement, do a task in a job repeteadly. On the one hand, when people meet an autistic person, they discriminate, separate and have difficulties relating with that person. On the other hand, the majority of the relatives of autistic people who do not know the nature of their limitations tend to patronize them demanding from them less than they can potentially do. It is now known that autistics may have problems to interact socially but they are very intelligent. This means that provided they get education, they are intelligent enough as to develop intellectual abilities. In consequence, they do not need to copy behaviour but can develop themselves provided they are supported and encouraged by their parents.
Bibliography
Kosinski, Jerzy, 1970, Being there, Bantam Books, United States, Pages 44, 6,7 and 19)
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