3 ms·
I can speak to this. Like the cartoon strip suggests, watching a TV series or movie can get very confusing if you (I) can't tell the difference between actors.
by rikroots 4y ago
I can speak to this. Like the cartoon strip suggests, watching a TV series or movie can get very confusing if you (I) can't tell the difference between actors. Who's sleeping with who? Done harm to who? How did X get to Y so quickly? Why does the character go and do a stupid thing when they already know stuff so they don't need to go and do stupid stuff? I always know when my prosopagnosia is playing up when a character turns up in a scene with their twin that they've never mentioned before.
Historical drama can be a minefield of misdirection - the hats and clothes may be different colours but they're all basically the same outline - and they change wigs at an alarming rate. And the programmes/films rarely show full body shots so differentiating characters by gait is not possible. Which often leaves voice as the main differentiator ... assuming the character gets to speak during the critical scenes.
... Don't start me on RuPaul's Drag Race: I love that show, but I have no clue who's doing well because there's no hope of me working out which queen on the main stage is which person in the workroom.
I play a game with my partner as a hopeful exercise to maybe overcome the prosopagnosia: guess the actor. I'll vaguely "recognise" an actor onscreen and attempt to guess in which shows I've seen that actor before. The rush of joy I get when I guess correctly is exhilarating!