Refrigerator Mothers is a 2003 documentary TV film directed by David E. Simpson for Public Broadcasting Service. The film focuses on the lives of mothers who were raising children diagnosed with autism in the 1950’s and 1960’s, including their struggles and worries. They were labeled «Refrigerator Mothers» because the science of that age was blaming them for not giving enough attention, care, and warmth to their children. The film also tells us about Bruno Bettelheim, a follower of the Freudian psychoanalysis method, who popularized the theory. I find this film interesting and thought-provoking, though it is quite sad and sometimes hard to watch.
You feel very sorry for these people who have grown old and still behave like children, but even more, you empathize with their mothers. One of the interviewees in a movie described his mother who raised his autistic brother as a «Hero» because she was able to lay aside her needs for another person for such a long time (Simpson, 2003,17:10-17:19). Having seen the film, I share this point of view, because when you see the devotion and compassion these mothers have for their children, they cannot be called any other way.
When you raise a child, you need to watch them constantly before they become conscious, so they would not do something wrong. But when the person is having autism, they have to be cared for throughout their lives. In the 1950’s, some of the parents took their children to the special treatment centers where medical workers looked after them. The medical establishment of that time popularized the idea that the reason that caused autism was the lack of maternal love. Therefore, the best way to handle it was to remove children from the families, so it was crucial to put persons with autism in these centers. Perhaps, if this theory had been true, it would have been a good idea to take children from the families into the hands of caring and kind doctors. However, the film shows us these mothers, and they do not seem like «Refrigerator Mothers»: in fact, they are very caring and attentive. It makes Bruno Bettelheim’s theory look divorced from reality and it becomes unclear what prompted him to these thoughts.
It is also disturbing to watch scenes where Bruno Bettelheim talks about his centers. He compares relationship between parents and autistic children to interaction between guards and prisoners in Nazi camps, but the way he treated children is also terrible. The film tells us that children were locked in rooms without toys and any other objects and it was prohibited for their parents to visit them, which gives a negative impression.
Decades later, his theory was denied and rejected by further researches. The film tells us about psychologists like Bernard Rimland, who proved that the causes of autism were biological, not social (Simpson, 2003,34:52-35:20), which, luckily, helped psychiatry shift to a more humane direction. Nonetheless, Bruno Bettelheim was not a villain, who did such things because he was cruel. He wanted to cure these kids, but he could not, because his unethical therapy was based on false presuppositions.
In conclusion, I would like to say that the film left a strong impression on me. It made me think about what would I do in a similar situation as these mothers. The devotion and care they give to their children are examples of the best and most admirable notions that human nature can have. This film also amazed me how cruel our society can be when false dogmas are systematically used in order to harass oppressed people. It is to be hoped that our life will move in a positive direction and that one day our society will be developed enough to treat these problems with all attentiveness and carefulness.
Reference
Simpson, D. E. (Director). (2003). Refrigerator Mothers [Film]. Kartemquin Films.