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By Dr. Kristie DeBlasio, Advanced Mental Health Care –
Many movies depict mental illness through the main characters and attempt to present the reality that comes with each diagnosis. Movies such as Girl Interrupted, Leaving Las Vegas, and Shutter Island tackle the challenges patients face when living with Alcoholism, Delusional Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Borderline Personality Disorder, among others. The most recent movie to win critical acclaim for tackling mental illness, Silver Linings Playbook, takes a stab at portraying Bipolar Disorder. The main character, Pat, Jr. has just been released from a psychiatric hospital after suffering from a meltdown. Along his recovery he meets Tiffany, who is a young woman affected by Depression following the death of her husband. The two work together to tackle life and love in this beautiful portrayal of the human struggle with mental illness. This movie won much praise not only for its entertainment value, but also for providing watchers with a more positive and hopeful view of the struggle with these disorders.
While some feel movies help to educate and alleviate the fears and negative stigma that can accompany mental illness, some people feel their impact does more harm then good, as Hollywood sacrifices accuracy for entertainment value. Symptoms can sometimes be trivialized or exaggerated, leaving professionals in the field with the duty of correcting these myths. For example, another more recent movie, A Beautiful Mind, tells the story of a prodigy named John Nash, who develops Paranoid Schizophrenia. You watch as this diagnosis not only affects the life of Nash, but also his wife and friends. The National Alliance on Mental Illness praised the film for its depiction of the struggles that accompany this illness, calling it “authentic.” However, others in the field criticized the movie for diluting the reality of this disorder so that moviegoers would feel sympathy for the main character. Additionally, Rain Man often has been critiqued for oversimplifying Autism through its focus on the unbelievable memory skills that come with the disorder. While patients with Autism can have incredible intelligence, this is not always the case.
What most experts in the field can agree on is that much progress has been made over the years towards a more accurate portrayal of mental health in the movies, which in turn reduces its stigma and increases acceptance. These movies also spark conversations when mental illness is still thought of as a taboo subject that people shy away from discussing outside of the walls of their doctors’ offices. It is important to keep in mind, therefore, that you’re paying for entertainment; and what you see is not necessarily what you would get if you were living with the disorder.
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