Rain Man as inaugurating a common but mistaken media stereotype that people on the autism spectrum typically have savant skills, and references to "Rain Man", in particular Dustin Hoffman's performance, have become a popular shorthand for autism and savantism. Conversely, "Rain Man" has also been seen as "dispelling" a number of other misconceptions about autism, and improving public awareness of the failure of many agencies to accommodate autistic people and make use of the abilities they do have, regardless of whether they have savant skills or not. The film is also known for popularizing the misconception that card counting is illegal in
The Man Who Went Too Far (The reason given as to why locals, Frank excepted, stay away from the woods at night.) These elements - of Pan as Satanic and neopaganism as a dangerous path - place "The Man Who Went Too Far" in a horror tradition with "The Great God Pan" (1890), a novella by Arthur Machen. Frank's obsession with hearing the music of Pan (who in mythology is depicted as playing a flute) and finally seeing him, which he believes will be a transcendent moment, is similar to the work of the character Dr. Raymond in Machen's novella. Raymond conducts scientific experiments with the