Taken form Kevin Pollack Chat Show #150 with Kevin Pollack and Dan Harmon.

Dan talks about his relationship with aspies Community fans and the meaning of Abed's condition within the show.

Subtitles are included.

For some strange reason this video just got +10k views in one day, and after reading every comment, as I always do, I felt like it was finally time to write something in the description about the video, why I uploaded it, and to address some common criticism. Please feel free to disagree with anything I'm about to write.

In general, I prefer not to intervene in the comment session and let everyone express their thoughts. Props to the viewers, who have been very civilized and nice to each other for the most part.
Many viewers commented saying they are moved by this interview, they identify with the ideas in it or they got genuine relief from watching it.
Some people though are angry or feel hurt after watching the video. This was not my intention, but I can see how Dan's words may sound insensitive according to some.


Many have written comments along the line of - I have Asperger, or someone very close to me has Asperger. It is a serious condition that causes suffering to me or people around me in very serious ways. I'll quote one of the comments directly, since I could not express this thought any bettter:
- I understand that it's important not to stigmatize mental health, but we shouldn't sugarcoat it either. It isn't as simple as "He's just different, and people don't understand him." Asperger's can be truly, truly painful for people close to those who have it.
To the people who commented like this I want to say that of course you are right. I agree that mental illness should not be sugarcoated and it seems to me that Dan would agree as well.
In the show, though it is a comedy, Dan didn't shy away from portraying Asperger as a condition that can cause suffering, and can cause people who have it (Abed) to be manipulaive and mean to others whom they love. Some of the moments in the show when this side of Abed is shown feel very real and are very touching to me.
Still, considering that Asperger can take many different forms, I think the message of the video is a positive one and a valid one and I uploaded the video hoping to bring some happiness to people or to help them reflect.


Some said Kevin Pollack is a bad interviewer, he can't keep up, doesn't understand, has no sensibility, and so on.
Maybe you are right, but I think he did a good job, his interaction helps to bring home an important point at the end of the video. In other words, I don't think the content of this interview is only about people who have Asperger and for people who have Asperger. I think it is about people.


Where is the shaman talk?
Ok, only one person asked this but I feel like I should address it. As you can tell by now I couldn't be terse to save my life, and I couldn't make this video shorter when I edited it, so I needed something to persuade the viewer to sit throhogh a 14 mins video. There is no proper shaman talk, it's a reference to a speech Jeff gives in the pilot episode of Community.
It's a speech about being able to connect with other people, it's the moment when the community that gives the series its title is effectively created. Jeff says that Abed is a shaman, and then he explains why that is, except he doesn't actually explain it. Why use such a specific word? I think Dan gives the answer in this interview.
So yes, I'm guilty of clickbaiting, but I hope that most of the people who got tricked into watching the entire thing didn't regret it, and maybe someone even caught the reference.

You can watch the entire 2h long interview at
   • KPCS: Dan Harmon #150  

or visit Kevin Pollack Chat Show youtube channel at
   / kevinpollakschatshow