I don’t keep up. A recent clear indication of this is that I’d never heard of Temple Grandin, autistic 65-year-old & revolutionary Ph.D. scientist in the gentle care of domestic animals, until I saw the movie of that name a few months ago. I discovered that most of my friends had known of her for years, even though they hadn’t yet seen the film. It simply blew me away. I’ve now seen it 7 times. It stars Claire Danes in an unbelievable performance. One can’t even recognize her from other movies she’s been in. In fact, after researching her, I discovered I’d already seen her in 2 movies & have now seen her in 3 more, & in none of them does she particularly stand out. It’s as though the part of Temple Grandin touched her deep inside & out came her character. She spent a day with the real Temple Grandin who was also consulted on the film throughout. Indeed, the DVD has as one special feature Temple Grandin herself, the director & one of the writers, giving commentary all the way through the movie. I usually avoid those like the plague, but this time I watched it completely mesmerized.
Of course, the real Temple Grandin is as unbelievable as Claire Danes in the movie. I have now read 3 of her books (2 on her autism & one on domestic animals, the gentle care & treatment of dogs, cats, horses, cattle, poultry, zoos & wild animals). If you own a pet, read that book! I shall read more, & see the movie again as well. So should you.