I have colour music syneasthesia so when I first saw Krzysztof Kieslowski's Bleu I immediately recognized the condition in the main character, Julie. A composer who has survived a serious car crash, it is never made clear whether Julie was born with condition or if she is experiencing the effects of brain trauma. Since the film is focused on her emotional life, the syneathesia part is never made explicit.
Until recently I thought it was normal to visualize music in a fairly consistent way. Some kids I was babysitting last month somehow knew about syneathesia and were talking about it and so I told them I had it and they didn't believe me. The older child ran over to their mom's old yamaha synth (that they keep on the floor as a toy) and hit a sustained note that to me looked like a thin yellow beam. Knowing what yellow means to my brain I said, "C" (I don't have perfect pitch). Apparently I was correct and the kids were in awe of me for about 30 seconds. People tell me I'm really lucky and I guess I am though I have to say that my brain's tendency to layer sensory information makes me pretty sensitive. I get overwhelmed by noises and music specifically is impossible for me to tune out. I take ear plugs with me everywhere I go or else I know I will feel like a zombie in a karaoke bar when I shop for my groceries or try to read in coffee shop.
I'm sure everyone has something different about the way their brain orders their reality and I'm quite interested in all kinds of neurodiversity, including those conditions that are so wrongly labelled "disabilities".
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