One of the best ways to show the mistreatment of people is through media. People are more likely to watch movies because it is entertainment, and this is how we can expose harsh truths without creating fear. One of the movies that did a good job at exposing the truths of an institution without causing people to fear counseling was Girl Interrupted. Girl Interrupted is a movie focusing on the mental disorders of certain women. The main character is Susanna who was taken to an institution by her parents, however was coerced into signing herself in. During the therapy sessions she stated that she did not wish to commit suicide, however the therapist disagreed with her. He prescribed her medication without telling her about it, and she was unable to discuss the reasons for the medication. On multiple occasions she asked the nurse why she needed to take this medication, and instead of telling her the reason the nurse told her to consult her doctor in the morning. Her questioning the diagnosis became a symptom of the disorder instead of someone thinking for themselves. This lack of information can cause a person to feel they are ignored, and accept the diagnosis that was given to them (M). Diagnosing a patient places a person …show more content…
One of the men discussed his friends experience in an institution. The man had been seeing purple elephants and after a few weeks of living in the facility he decided that he wanted to leave and told his doctors that he did not see the elephants anymore, and was ready to leave. They allowed him to leave within the week even though he was not treated for his visions. Susanna told her doctor that she did not see anything anymore, was ready to leave the institution, and was not suicidal. She was not allowed to leave even though she had signed herself in. This was the one part of the movie that showed a difference between how people treat women and how they treat
Susanna’s actions prove that she is continually working towards recovering. Jim Watson visits Susanna, asking her to run away with him, however, Susanna denies his proposal and stays at the institution: “For ten seconds I imagined this other life...the whole thing...was hazy. The vinyl chairs, the security screens, the buzzing of the nursing-station door: Those things were clear. ‘I’m here now, Jim,’ I said. ‘I think I’ve got to stay here’” (Kaysen 27). Susanna wants to stay at McLean until she is ready to leave; her choice supports what Buddha said, “There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting” (Buddha). Susanna finds reassurance from McClean as she undergoes her journey. Susanna sees the young nurses at the ward who remind her of the life she could be living: “They shared apartments and had boyfriends and talked about clothes. We wanted to protect them so that they could go on living these lives. They were our proxies” (Kaysen 91). Susanna chooses to take these reminders as a positive motivating force along her journey. However, Susanna is also surrounded by patients who have different, more severe psychoses. These girls do not hinder Susanna’s progression, but instead emphasize her
However, these thoughts are not always true all the time. Sometimes Hollywood makes films to show the audience the truth contained in the movie. In the movie “Girl, Interrupted,” the filmmakers have balanced the grim realism of the book with audience-pleasing elements of entertainment in order to make the film more comfortable. The graphic representation of mental illness makes audiences feel its realities, while the use of attractive actresses captures the attention of the audiences and makes it easier to relate to the story.
Mental Illness or Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is still taboo to talk about in our society. BPD is defined by the
Kriesman wrote in his article Is Borderline Personality a Woman’s Disease? He believes that women are treated better than men when it comes to emotions and lashing out, while us women get the diagnoses of borderline personality disorder men get jail time and reprimanded for acting out in such ways. In two clinical studies that were conducted after clinicians were presented with patient’s symptoms, they were told later what the sex was of the case studies, and reports indicate that only after indicating the participant as male or female that is when the diagnoses of borderline personality disorder increased. So, in fact clinicians do associate this disease with being a woman’s
James Gilligan is an American psychiatrist who presents the causation and prevention of violence from his point of view of working in US prisons for decades in his book “Preventing Violence”. Gilligan provides readers with a multitude of data and theories, but his book (or at least the first four chapters) boils down to the fact that violence towards other is caused by shame. He calls upon his many years of interaction with prison inmates and explains how inmates who committed violent crimes often said it was because they were disrespected, and therefore shamed. However, it’s very important to highlight that it takes not only shame but also an inability to “regain respect” after a shameful event, to cause violence as Gilligan proposes. This
In the past, BPD was believed to be a set of symptoms between problems associated with mood and schizophrenia. These symptoms were believed to be comprised of distortions of reality and mood problems. A closer look at this disorder has resulted in the realization that even though the symptoms of this disorder reveal emotional complexity, this disorder is more closer to other personality disorders, on the basis of the manner in which it develops and occurs in families, than to schizophrenia (Hoffman, Fruzzetti, Buteau &ump; Neiditch, 2005). The use of the term borderline has however, resulted in a heated controversy between the health care fraternity and patients. Patients argue that this term appears to be somehow discriminatory and that it should be removed and the disorder renamed. Patients point out that an alternative name, such as emotionally unstable personality disorder, should be adopted instead of borderline personality disorder. Clinicians, on the other hand, argue that there is nothing wrong with the use of the term borderline. Opponents of this term argue that the terms used to describe persons suffering from this disorder, such as demanding, treatment resistant, and difficult among others, are discriminatory. These terms may create a negative feeling of health professionals towards patients, an aspect that may lead to adoption of negative responses that may trigger self-destructive behavior (Giesen-Bloo et al, 2006). The fact however, is that the term borderline has been misunderstood and misused so much that any attempt to redefine it is pointless leaving scrapping the term as the only option.
While in prison, fourteen men had experienced intimidation of being assaulted or killed by other prisoners and three were actually subjected to serious violence. Personality traits of aggression and intimidation were learned for self-protection. Victims claim that visitation with family is extremely tormenting. Since physical contact is typically not allowed, it became emotionally intolerable for the victim to the point that it was sometimes easier not to have visits. Grounds (2004) contends that twelve of the men met criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Sanity is subjective. Every individual is insane to another; however it is the people who possess the greatest self-restraint that prosper in acting “normal”. This is achieved by thrusting the title of insanity onto others who may be unlike oneself, although in reality, are simply non-conforming, as opposed to insane. In Susanna Kaysen’s Girl, Interrupted, this fine line between sanity and insanity is explored to great lengths. Through the unveiling of Susanna’s past, the reasoning behind her commitment to McLean Hospital for the mentally ill, and varying definitions of the diagnosis that Susanna received, it is evident that social non-conformity is often confused with insanity.
movies are about men’s lives, and the few movies about women’s lives, at their core, still
The 1991 movie My Girl tells the story of 11-year-old Vada Sultenfuss who, having lost her mother at birth , lives with her dementia-ridden grandmother and her job-oriented father in the funeral parlour that he owns and operates. The story follows Vada, an extreme hypochondriac who has many strange misconceptions about death, through a variety of life-changing experiences, including the engagement of her father and the devastating loss of her best friend, Thomas Jay. Through these experiences, the audience witnesses Vada’s social, emotional, and intellectual growth, as well as her changing views of death.
According to Varcarolis’s Foundations of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing, “Borderline personality disorder is characterized by severe impairments in functioning. The Major feature of this disorder are patterns of marked instability in emotional control or regulation, impulsivity, identity or self-image distortions, unstable mood, and unstable interpersonal relationships.”(Halter, 2014). Susanna demonstrates many of these features. She has few friends, is easily angered, and demonstrates impulsive behavior and poor coping mechanisms. One main coping mechanism that is mentioned many times in the film is Susanna’s promiscuity. This is demonstrated by an affair with a married professor, a sexual encounter with her boyfriend on the unit while in the hospital, and the seduction of a male orderly on the milieu. Self-destructive behaviors are also very common in individuals with Borderline personality disorder. Susanna validates this trait by her lack of motivation, conversations about suicide, and her suicide
It can be very difficult to treat a patient when the cause of their illness is unknown or when the illness itself is difficult to understand. It is for this reason that mental health professionals need to categorise mental disorders as clearly and concisely as possible.
As with cancer or heart disease, mental illnesses are often physical as well as emotional and psychological. Mental illnesses may be caused by a reaction to environmental stresses, genetic factors, and biochemical imbalances. Most of the public does not believe mental health issues exists, and sees them as only excuses for unfit actions and laziness. They do not understand the cause and extent of effects on individuals, or what mental disorders actually are. Depression is perceived as extreme levels of emotion, bipolarity as constant mood swings, and anxiety as being nervous for a presentation or job interview. These are issues every person faces, so why should those who are labeled as affected by a mental disorder receive special treatment, while the rest of the population struggles with the same situations? The argument of the critic is not viable because mental health issues are not so simple and easy. A change of thinking or constant exposure is not going to resolve mental health issues. People affected by mental health issues deserve extra care because: depression, is having no motivation to get out of bed and feeling constantly empty, bipolarity is having no control of one’s thoughts or emotions and feeling trapped, anxiety is being too afraid of leaving the house for fear of being judged, shaking, feeling frantic, and not being able to breath. Mental
The movie that is being reviewed and analyzed is Fight Club, which stars Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. Fight Club is in a genre on its own, but falls into the categories of action and mystery. We will be looking at the subdivisions of plot, character, setting, and focus. By analyzing these points of the movie we can see why Fight Club belongs to the certain genre it is placed in.
The movie that I have chosen to review is called the League of their own, which was based on a true story took place in during World War 2. The main focus of this film is fore the view to see that although baseball was a sport that was designed for man, women would be able to be just as good at it, if not better than man. Although it was the women who were going to be playing a man's sport, they would still have to act and be a lady and fallow certain rules.