Petition – Music by Sia should be Included in the National Film Registry

by Yuval Levental

Introduction: The film Music was released around one year ago. Severe autism is a major topic of this film. I really liked this film and did not understand most of the media’s questionable criticism (https://corticalchauvinism.com/2021/02/15/music-a-colorful-well-written-film-that-discusses-important-autism-issues/).

Because of the backlash that Sia faced, she became suicidal and went to rehab, which she later discussed. She said that it would be too stressful for someone with severe autism to play the role (https://variety.com/2022/film/news/sia-suicidal-rehab-music-outrage-1235157745/).

Click here to sign the petition! https://www.change.org/p/music-by-sia-should-be-in-the-national-film-registry

Music by Sia is one of my favorite films. Most critics misunderstand the point of the plot.

Music focuses on the more severe forms of autism. The main plot involves Music, a severely autistic girl, and Zu, her half-sister who is recovering from drug addiction. Zu is nervous because she wonders if she can take care of Music when she becomes her guardian. However, at the end, they reconcile and Zu decides not to send Music away.

The film is controversial because of its focus on severe autism, and because it takes place in an underprivileged inner-city neighborhood. One of the movie’s strengths is that while the colors used in the musical numbers are very bright, the color coordination is excellent.

This kind of tale is rarely told in Hollywood, where the focus is on more idealistic forms of autism. This film should someday be included in the National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”.