{"id":13730,"date":"2016-08-23T10:30:18","date_gmt":"2016-08-23T17:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/?post_type=films&p=13730"},"modified":"2025-02-20T08:49:57","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T16:49:57","slug":"best-and-most-beautiful-things","status":"publish","type":"films","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/best-and-most-beautiful-things\/","title":{"rendered":"Best and Most Beautiful Things"},"content":{"rendered":"

In rural Maine, a quirky, charming, and determined young woman named Michelle Smith lives with her mother Julie. Legally blind and on the autism spectrum, Michelle has big dreams and proudly wears the badge of outcast. Searching for connection, Michelle explores love and empowerment outside the limits of \u201cnormal,\u201d including a provocative sexual awakening. <\/span>Best and Most Beautiful Things<\/span><\/i> tells Michelle\u2019s joyful story of self-discovery as a celebration of outcasts everywhere.<\/span><\/p>\n

After receiving an extraordinary education at the Perkins School for the Blind, a world-famous institution outside Boston which was attended by the young Helen Keller, Michelle becomes isolated after graduation, spending hours and days alone in her room, struggling to envision her future. She attends an alumni weekend where a school administrator unexpectedly offers her the possibility of an animation internship in Los Angeles. While Michelle eagerly anticipates this dream opportunity, her family and teachers worry about real-world logistics and Michelle\u2019s readiness to live independently on the other side of the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

Michelle passes time on the computer, feeding her interests and bold curiosity about the world beyond her walls. Online, she meets and falls in love with a young college student named Michael, and together they become involved in a local fetish role-playing community. Through her relationship with Michael and their adventures with kink and BDSM, Michelle experiences a burgeoning empowerment and finds the acceptance that has eluded her since her time at Perkins. <\/span>Best and Most Beautiful Things<\/span><\/i> gently reveals how all the most beautiful things, including love and sexuality, are not bound by disability.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In rural Maine, a quirky, charming, and determined young woman named Michelle Smith lives with her mother Julie. Legally blind and on the autism spectrum, Michelle has big dreams and proudly wears the badge of outcast. Searching for connection, Michelle explores love and empowerment outside the limits of \u201cnormal,\u201d including a provocative sexual awakening. Best […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":13731,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"topic":[1219,1239,1227],"class_list":["post-13730","films","type-films","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","topic-health-and-environment","topic-identity","topic-women-and-girls"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBest and Most Beautiful Things | Quirky Young Blind Woman | PBS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A documentary of Michelle Smith, legally blind and on the autism spectrum, with big dreams and a kinky passion.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/best-and-most-beautiful-things\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" 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