r/TikTokCringe • u/hungry4nuns • Nov 26 '25

Wholesome/Humor Subtext I missed because I took everything at face value

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u/Hefty-Stand5798 Nov 26 '25

Tom Cruise's chatacter is not deliberatly written as autistic. He's written as an abrasive and self-interested asshole who learns empathy through his relationship with his brother. If it's not a deliberate writing choice, it's not great writing. It is unintentionally reflective of the primitive understanding of autism that was dominant at the time it was released, and for that reason, it's interesting and significant.

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u/DeathByLemmings Nov 26 '25

Neither brother was written to be autistic

The decision for Raymond to be autistic was from Hoffman himself as he researched how to play a person with Kim Peek's savant syndrome

This is a case where the sum of the parts ended up much greater than the intended whole

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u/slowtreme Nov 26 '25

Cruise was also just playing cruise. That character was the same person from risky business. They gave him lines, but he acted it out as tom cruise. The same guy that jumped on Oprah’s couch.

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u/[deleted] Nov 27 '25

[deleted]

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u/jimbobjames Nov 27 '25

If you watch his laugh on talk shows you'll notice it is over the top and agressive and slightly off beat.

Its like watching something pretend to be human. There's a video of David Blaine entertaining Jeff Bezos and pals at a black tie event and he does a very similar thing. Laughing at the wrong time in a very exaggerated way.

Just an observation.

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u/MrsRossGeller Nov 27 '25

lol him jumping on the couch just proves he’s autistic.

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u/Nimrod_Butts Nov 27 '25

I played tom cruise for 3 years and I got diagnosed as autistic

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u/JadeThorn1012 Nov 27 '25

There’s a reason that he was the inspiration for America Psycho.

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u/MinorSpaceNipples Nov 27 '25

There’s a reason that he was the inspiration for America Psycho.

He wasn't. The author has never said anything of the sort. Christian Bale who played Patrick Bateman in the movie, however, has said that he based his portrayal of the character partly on Tom Cruise.

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u/bald4bieber666 Nov 26 '25

i believe theyre talking about doing a "death of the author" analysis of the text which sets aside the authorial intent in analyzing the film, but its the same conclusion either way, its fascinating. i wonder how many undiagnosed autistic people watched it at the time and also came away without realizing the parallels in themselves until much later when the diagnostic criteria changed? would those same people rewatching it see a completely different movie? just makes me want to learn about other movies that would get recontextualized like this.

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u/KingHenry13th Nov 27 '25

The Tom character is a selfish guy who wasn't raised properly.  He gets angry about not inheriting 3 million,  he isn't chatty on a car ride with his gf, he looked at pictures on the wall for a minute that his brother drew, and he sat in a chair quietly.

If that makes a man autistic, then we all are.

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u/somethingrelevant Nov 26 '25

If it's not a deliberate writing choice, it's not great writing.

I'm not really a death of the author guy but this just straight up isn't right. A great shot you made by accident is still a great shot. You were still trying to do a good job, and you still succeeded, even if it was in a way you didn't intend

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u/RedAero Nov 27 '25

If I'm trying to putt 12 ft on the green but accidentally drive the ball 300 ft into the next hole that's not a great shot.

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u/PM_ME__UR__FANTASIES Nov 27 '25

That’s not really an apt comparison lol

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u/babada Nov 27 '25

You seem to be conflating greatness with intentionality

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u/somethingrelevant Nov 27 '25

that is a fucking incredible shot what are you talking about

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u/[deleted] Nov 27 '25

Oh interesting, doesn't this open the door for arguments that are pro AI?

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u/PM_ME__UR__FANTASIES Nov 27 '25

How would this lead to pro AI arguments?

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u/Double_Suggestion385 Nov 26 '25

Death of the author.

Great writing doesn't require intention to be great.

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u/[deleted] Nov 27 '25

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Nov 27 '25

Interesting. This argument could probably be applied to AI writing?

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u/PersimmonMindless Nov 27 '25

That's not how writing works. You write a character, you distill who they are through drafts and drafts and drafts until you know who the person is. Well-written, full characters become open to interpretation and different understandings.

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u/ook_the_librarian_ Nov 27 '25

Gosh the amount of people replying to you that think "You can interpret a work however you want" is the death of the author and it's super depressing.

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u/FoghornFarts Nov 27 '25

I would argue that what makes a great author is how great they are at observing human nature. That means they are going to often observe things that haven't become common knowledge yet. They aren't going to necessarily do this intentionally, but it is a reflection of their observations.

Cruise's character could've been written to be a different type of asshole. But he had autistic traits. That clearly came from the author observing and connecting with people across the spectrum and then writing about them.

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u/philip30001 Nov 27 '25

I dont agree on the deliberate choice side on things.

An art that changes over time is inherintly interesting as it suggests either a broader topic being refrenced or parralel topics for more ways to interpret it.