Twilight Lives: The Representation of Autism in Japanese Millennial Media

Abstract

The alien has a remarkable ability to take numerous varying forms within the imaginations of many individuals; living as both a being and a state of being even within the same mind. When my research first began, my greatest interest was in discovering how the alien was formed in art and in the media and why it took on certain characteristics, particularly within the Japanese culture. However, the concept’s permeability made it quite difficult to capture and cut down into something manageable for that specific topic. After months of frustration and misdirection, attempting to narrow down such a large idea into a genre or theme, I took a moment to step back and understand the pull I felt toward the research. I needed to expand the issue until the larger picture was readily visible. That picture was social alienation.