Blog #163: Is Dusty from “Twister” (1996) Neurodiverse?
- Jeffrey Snyder
- Jan 19, 2022
- 4 min read
When you look at the career of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, you may think of him for his serious movie roles in films like “Capote” (2005) or “Charlie Wilson’s War” (2007). But for me, personally, my favorite Philip Seymour Hoffman is as Dusty in the 1996 film, “Twister.”
Now, a lot of people can connect with Dusty as someone who is carefree, loves to crack jokes and enjoys the thrill of the hunt of chasing tornadoes to dispatch sensors that measure a tornado in the hopes of creating an advanced warning system.
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But all these are traits of Dusty that can ultimately lead to the conclusion that he is neurodiverse, but not in the traditional sense. For one thing, Dusty is a big fan of music. His team’s mobile van is named “Barn Burner” and themed around rock and roll music. When he is not displaying monitors featuring weather reports, you can often see Dusty playing music by Eric Clapton or by various other rock and roll artists.
A lot of neurotypicals may often view characters like Dusty as way too extravagant and too overbearing to be around and that can be evident in some degree.
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Dr. Melissa Reeves (Jami Gertz) being confronted by Dusty (Philip Seymour Hoffman) after her encounter with Jo’s falling truck in “Twister” (1996).
For one thing, he somehow doesn’t respect personal boundaries which is a common trait of some neurodiverse individuals such as myself at times. Take for example the character of Dr. Melissa Reeves (Jami Gertz), the fiancee of the film’s deutagonist, Bill Harding (Bill Paxton).
At the end of the first tornado chase, Melissa is nearly crushed by Jo’s (Helen Hunt) falling truck and is obviously terrified. Who is the first to reach her after this moment? It’s Dusty and he gets in her face saying that it was awesome that she missed the truck.
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Take a look at the scene and ask yourself if that is how personal boundaries are violated? The answer would be yes because clearly Melissa doesn’t need Dusty getting into her face immediately after a possibly fatal encounter. It could also seem like Melissa is a fish out of water during her time chasing tornadoes, which is true and ultimately leads to her breakup with Bill after the drive-in scene.
But fish out of water or not, personal boundaries are meant to be kept and unfortunately, Dusty represents what happens when personal boundaries aren’t kept.
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Another aspect of Dusty is his fixation with the dark side of nature, otherwise known as “The Suck Zone.” Now, some neurodiverse individuals have a fixation with something dangerous or unhealthy. But Dusty represents that while some fixations may be good for him, that doesn’t mean its good for others around him.
To him and the rest of Jo’s team, tornadoes are a fixation to them not just because they are trying to create a warning system that saves lives. However, some fixations can lead to stark revelations that the ones we love do have a dark side to them.
Take for example the scene at Aunt Meg’s house when Melissa asks, “Is there an F5?” Notice how they all go silent when she asks that question. To them, F5 tornadoes are sort of like that boundary that they don’t want to cross. They love tornadoes and live for them, but F5’s are something that they don’t want to mess around with and they prefer to stay out of it.
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Now, of course, this scene signifies a moment of shear importance in the characters, particularly Dusty. They all are going to come across an F5 eventually, but they refuse to believe it. Many neurodiverse individuals will often try to create their own limits on how much they can handle.
But unfortunately, life doesn’t go that way and life will make you see things that you try to avoid. “Twister” gets that point across sharply in the infamous drive in scene as shown in the clip below:
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“It’s coming! It’s heading RIGHT FOR US!!”
It is after this scene that you start to see a change in Dusty and the team. They have witnessed the horror of their greatest enemy and now they view tornadoes from a far different perspective than what they are used to seeing. We are all caught up in the moment of something that we are fascinated with that we tend to not take heed of the dark side of that fascination.
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One final trait of Dusty and for that matter the whole team displays in regards to neurodiversity is their steadfast loyalty and camaraderie for each other.
Right after the drive in scene, the F4 twister heads for the town of Wakita, home of Jo’s Aunt Meg (Lois Smith) who is also the team’s “mother” if you will. Once they learn of where the tornado is heading, they immediately head for Wakita and are clearly shocked when the whole town is destroyed, but are doubly shocked when Meg’s house is destroyed.
To someone like Dusty, Meg is very much like a mother to that person even if they aren’t of family blood. When you watch the clip, listen to how Dusty scream’s Meg’s name after the house collapses. It is how a son would react if something bad happened to their mother or father.
To Meg, Jo’s team are like sons and a daughter to her (don’t forget Haynes is the only female team member aside from Jo) and Dusty would do anything for his “mother” the same way a biological son would.
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In a way, each member of Jo’s team displays a trait of neurodiversity because they are all fixated not just by tornadoes, but by each of their specialties and interests:
Robert “Rabbit” Nurick and Allan Sanders (Maps)
Alan Ruck and Sean Whalen as Rabbit and Sanders
Tim “Beltzer” Lewis and Patty Haynes (Doppler)
Todd Field and Wendie Josepher as Beltzer and Haynes
Jason “Preacher” Rowe (Photographer)
Scott Thomson as Preacher
Joey and Brian Laurence (Technical Advisor and Photographer)
Joey Slotnick and Jeremy Davies as Joey and Laurence
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Yes, each character in “Twister” has their own quirks that come with being neurodiverse, but the one who stands out to me at least is Dusty. He was and still is my favorite character and the only character that Philip Seymour Hoffman portrayed that I will always identify him with.
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Catch you all later!!
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