Content warnings for this post: eating disorder, anti-trans author.
Spoiler warnings: all media listed.
After all this time you’d think I’d be back for an ~important~ blog post, but instead I’m finally just writing an inconsequential fun one. Welcome to: favorite AAC moments in the shows I watch over and over!
This is sort of a listicle, in that it’s organized by show (in no particular order), with brief(ish) commentary on my favorite manifestations of AAC in each franchise I’ve become attached to. Some of the following media I’ve seen 10x or more, but others only a few times so far, so these won’t be exhaustive lists of every AAC-ish instance in their respective canons. Just stuff I love. And as a lot of this is fantasy/sci-fi, I’ll be stretching the definition of AAC for sure. Enjoy!
Star Trek: I’m sorely tempted to do one item per series on this franchise, but instead I’ll focus on TNG for its plenty of AAC awesomeness. First of all, Riva’s telepathic chorus that voices his words I think counts as AAC (though not sign language, which d/Deaf AAC users have taught me generally shouldn’t be considered AAC – as signed languages are full languages of their own right, not “alternative” to anything). Secondly, the Bynars’ primary language for communicating amongst themselves, that doesn’t use mouths, I think could be considered AAC as well. But I think my favorite non-spoken communication method in this series is the bright flashes and responsive humming witnessed in a nonbiological life form found in the soil of a planet being terraformed in Season 1… in part because, when finally patched into the Enterprise’s universal translator, the first English words to come from this being are this hilarious address to the biological lifeforms listening: “ugly giant bags of mostly water!” Indeed we are, dear new lifeform, indeed we are. (Honorable mention on this series is, of course, the ubiquitous “Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra” – which, though it technically uses mouthwords, is such an expansive/creative use of language that I think it deserves a mention on this list.)
Sherlock (the one with Cumberbatch): Well, I’ve got to love the constant text messages to Sherlock from Irene Adler – in which both the content of the text and the pointedly intimate sound the phone’s notification makes could be considered AAC. Partly because the main alternative I can think of here is Moriarty forcing innocent victims to act as voicer for his words under threat of bodily explosion if they do not comply. Everyone deserves some means of expressing themself, but that’s just not okay.
X-Files: For the record I am not a fan of the less MSRy seasons, but I’m going to go with the alternate-universe paralyzed Doggett getting to use high tech switch scanning as my fave for this series, because the idea that anyone would have gotten him access to that kind of system that quickly and that long ago is so cool! I wish everyone who needs that level of tech had that kind of access. One runner up is the Red Museum episode – when I was first watching this series as a kid I think I didn’t quite grasp that they typist was channeling walk-ins (and as such the walk-ins were essentially using him as AAC), but I do recall seeing the woman reading the typist’s words aloud and thinking “gosh that would be nice”. (Finallly, fifteen years later I found out about AAC for real… *sob face*.) But the second place item for this series is absolutely Mr. X.’s last act being to write a clue on Mulder’s floor in his own blood, because that’s definitely the most badass AAC I can think of.
Skins (UK): I’ve only seen this a couple times, and the writing I’m about to point out was likely hallucinated, but as a former anorexic I can’t skip over the “EAT” messages Cassie sees on her phone and plate and etc. Perhaps stomachs can send imagined AAC back to the brain when in desperate need of sustenance.
Buffy: If you’ve seen Buffy you probably already know how I’m going to finish this paragraph, but I’m going to do it anyway… Good lord, “Hush” is pretty much a masterpiece of AAC ingenuity considering it was (as far as I know) written entirely by speakies. Like, it’s amazing how quickly AAC becomes more available and more acceptable when a whole town needs it! When else would you be able to buy necklace whiteboards on the street corner? (I know partly I’m just a sucker for wearable AAC, but that component of this episode really highlights for me that the main reason mouthwords are considered a superior form of communication is that they work well for most people* most of the time. Take that aspect away, and all of a sudden more tools are made available for EVERYONE to communicate in diverse ways.) In any case, I will never forget Giles’ hilarious overhead projector drawings as quintessential on-demand AAC.
*abled people with power, in particular
Leverage: So in this show the team’s constant reliance on earbud comms means that there’s not much AAC use outside of situations where they’re right in front of a mark and can’t speak freely (or in code). Because of that, I was thinking of having my entry for this show just be “every single meaningful facial expression that Sophie has thrown at Parker (and that Parker has of course misunderstood or missed completely)”, but then I remembered San Lorenzo – who else besides Hardison can say they’ve stolen a whole country by means of an email? And I can’t help but adore the ensuing exchange:
Moreau: “I have the guns! I have the money! I have… the goverment!”
Nate: “You know what I have? I have a 24 year old… with a smartphone and a problem with authority.”
Me: *heart eyes face*
Bones: Although technically impressive cryptologically, I am not going to give Pelant the dignity of citing his rearranged human spine as cool AAC. Nothing Pelant has ever done has been anywhere in the realm of “cool”. Hodgins, on the other hand, accidentally proposed to Angela by rearranging glow-in-the-dark shrimp. HODGINS CLEARLY WINS. As an honorable mention, because Booth/Brennan is pretty much my OTP, I’ll include Bones’ handwritten note to him when buried alive, later read aloud on a certain auspicious date. *the good kind of sob face*
Doctor Who: The Ood who use translation spheres are arguably using a type of AAC, but the Doctor’s message to Sally Sparrow written under wallpaper (hooray time travel!) and the stitched leaf with Melody Pond’s name embroidered on it are equally awesome and far less slavery-related AAC moments. But top of my list for this series (admittedly, I’ve only seen Doctors 9 through 11!) has to be the typistless typewriter clacking out “MUMMY MUMMY ARE YOU MY MUMMY?”
Veronica Mars: Not really on this list, because although I consider it one of “my shows” I’ve only seen it a handful of times and can’t think of any good AAC moments, beyond just, day-to-day text messaging. Can you help?? Please, comment below!
The series that must not be named: Only kind of on this list, because 1) it’s not a TV show, 2) the author is a piece of shit, and 3) it’s mostly just a long series of missed opportunities for AAC! The missed opportunity I want to highlight here is that a certain small giant whose name starts with G could really have benefited from some magical AAC. Heavy stone pictograms that were carved via magic? Untearable letterboard enchanted to speak a speller’s words aloud? There’s so many directions this could go in, and if I was still as attached to the series as I was in the past, I might have made a whole post about my ideas for wizarding AAC. As it is, I’ll leave it off here. Go give money to a trans person.
Speechless: Not really on this list, because I’ve only seen it once and it’s pretty much all AAC all the time! If you haven’t seen it yet, I definitely recommend it!
Stranger Things: All-time best for last. There’s nearly endless examples of AAC in this series, both supernatural and not. The absolute classic is Joyce figuring out Will can use the Christmas lights for both partner-assisted scanning and a letterboard – in fact, I keep a sticker design of this string light letterboard on the back of my phone case, just in case I ever lose battery and need an alternative form of AAC! But I especially love 011’s quiet improvised gestural AAC in Season 1 – pointing to her tattoo/herself to share her name, using the demogorgon figurine and the D&D board to explain where Will is, motioning as if with a gun to tell Mike that their lives are in danger. Just like Mike is figuring out on the fly how to best interact with a traumatized autistic, 011’s figuring out how to say more than she’s ever been allowed to say before. I know I said Booth/Brennan is kind of an OTP earlier (and mentioned my attachment to MSR), but I’ll take kids saving the world over a story about grownups any day. 011/Mike (and their communication) forever.**
**Sure they can be polyam with Max and Will (respectively) but like… sorry not sorry folks, it’s STILL 011/MIKE FOREVER. And yes, of course Mike is gay, 011 is his agender boyfriend.
Okay, headcanon ranting over, silly blog post at its end. Are you an AAC user that has favorite AAC moments in one of these shows or another piece of media you love? Please tell me all about them in the comments!
homo qui vixit 