Examples of movies (3)

To The Bone (2017): this film focuses on the different kinds of eating disorders and presents this illness in a non-romanticized way. Ellen (Lilly Collins) is a 20 years old anorexic who is sent to an institution that focuses on multiple eating disorders.
During the entire film, Ellen wraps her fingers around her bicep; constantly checking if her fingers meet. This is one of the symptoms of an eating disorder called “Body Checking”. Other symptoms correctly shown in the film include: self-induced vomiting, over-exercising, bingeing, chewing and spitting, loss of menses, calorie counting, fear of gaining weight and food restriction.
The film not only focuses on the journey of the patient suffering from the disease, it also registers the family’s desperation and their struggles. It accurately depicts that the disorder is not just affecting Ellen but also distressing the whole family and they’re constantly involved in her journey.
This part of the movie would empower families that have a person suffering from this disease to keenly be involved in treatment. It tells the audience, especially people suffering from this disease, that their family is their ally and are also a crucial part of their recovery.

July 15, 2019 0

Examples of movies (1)

The following list of movies are engaging in a realistic approach to educate others the experience of mental illness and does not disdain or portray those with mental illnesses in a negative manner. The first I have selected is; Girl Interrupted (1990), which entirely focuses on women with mental illnesses. This is essential because throughout history, mentally ill women have been rejected and ridiculed for being “hysterical”.

It was actually the official diagnosis for women; psychiatrists would even treat women by masturbating them to orgasm, which is how the creation of vibrators took place. Although this film is based on that time period of hyper-sexualisation, it is refreshing to see Susanna (Winona Ryder)’s hyper-sexuality as a symptom of her borderline personality disorder instead of being there for the sole purpose of arousing viewers.

Girl Interrupted (1990): This film is surrounded by two main female leads and many other secondary female leads. Susanna is diagnosed with borderline personality disorder that she, herself, discovers with time. At the beginning of the film, she tries to combine alcohol with pills and almost kills herself. During the entire film, the audiences alongside Susanna are not sure if she is truly suffering from an illness or not. She tells the shrink that her overdose was not a suicide attempt as sometimes one puts themselves in a reckless position, just to silence the voices in their head. Now this character is a representation of many women who have ever felt unclear about what is going inside their minds, in regarding either a rough childhood in general or suffering from a mental illness.
Lisa (Angelina Jolie) is diagnosed as a sociopath. She is a chronic inhabitant at the institute and has tried to escape multiple times. She is shown to be quite manipulative and has rebellious tendencies. Lisa isn’t being villainized without a purpose; it is shown quite evidently that she chooses to not get help for her illness and she, herself, becomes the reason for her life falling apart. On numerous events during the movie, it’s evident that Lisa is a kind human who’s just lost in her illness.

July 15, 2019 0

Examples of movies (2)

Black Swan (2010): this film wraps numerous subjects of mental illness. Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) is a professional ballerina, suffering from an eating disorder called bulimia nervosa as well as chronic hallucinations that could be a symptom to Schizophrenia.
Eating disorders have always been a serious issue through history but were not highlighted earlier or taken seriously; however, this was one of the first few movies that placed the spotlight on this problem, especially in the dance world.
She also had a few symptoms including Psychosis that lead us to believe she could also be suffering from Schizophrenia. They did an excellent job portraying the terror that comes with psychosis; she is shown to lose her mind as she is so invested in her hallucinations that strengthen her journey for perfection. She also showcases symptoms of an anxiety disorder with obsessive compulsive behaviors. She’s shown to inhabit some self-injurious behavior as well.

July 15, 2019 0

Using movies as a representation

Visibility in movies is significant. In this present reality where culture is enormously impacted by movies and TV, it is incredible to discover approval of your identity and where you originate from in movies. Though, for individuals who suffer from psychological illness every day; that visibility is frequently not exactly perfect and can be even risky. Mentally ill characters are almost always depicted as dangerous, deluded scoundrels, or in general just horribly misrepresented in any medium.

However, there are a few exceptions with movies that portray mental illness in an acceptable and applaudable manner. They are no longer depicted as “uglifying” roles, but presented as ordinary people in different ways; normalizing the stigma of being mentally ill. There is also a certain growth in films with mental illness as their central theme or just having secondary characters with particular mental issues.

For example; Charlie Covell, writer of the new 2019 TV series The End of the F***ing World states that “Mental illness is such a huge part of the human condition. To not depict it onscreen would be to miss out a massive subject, which affects people on a daily basis.”

July 15, 2019 0

Recognizing Mental Illnesses:

Bipolar Disorder (Girl Interrupted)

Bipolar disorder, otherwise called manic-depressive illness, is a brain issue that causes abnormal changes in state of mind, vitality, action levels, and the capacity to do everyday tasks.