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Adrian Monk Disorder

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It seems recently that the entertainment industry has provided America with authentic portrayals of characters that are suffering with psychological disorders. At first glance these characters seem to depict the disorders they are given in a somewhat realistic light. At closer examination though, the truth of the seriousness of these disorders seems minimalized and at times even glorified. Two characters that come to mind are Adrian Monk, of the USA network show Monk, and Dr. Gregory House of the Fox TV show House. Adrian Monk was brought to life by actor Tony Shaloub, and was a funny and enjoyable detective show, which has now ended after eight successful seasons. Adrian Monk is a very likeable “Colomboesque” detective who was …show more content…

Frequently episodes would focus on Monk being obsessed with a singular thought for example remembering a schoolmate bullying him and on a different episode wondering if a friend was going to “steal” his therapist. Monk repeatedly stated that he wished he could be more like “normal people” which did bring to light the obviously unwanted nature of his disorder (Feldman, 2008). Often though, the show depicted his disorder as funny and sometimes cute and endearing to those around him. Since I have a cousin who has been struggling with this disorder her entire life, I know that this is not realistic. My cousin has not been able to keep many jobs, and has lost most of the relationships with friends and even family. Idiosyncrasies that may be funny at first glance become annoying and difficult for those around the person to understand and put up with, especially on a long term basis. I do feel this show made an admirable attempt at depicting this disorder in a realistic manner and also keeping the entertainment level needed to keep people watching. Furthermore, it seems the show grew more realistic in depicting Monk’s disorder as it progressed. (Monk, 2002)
. Another character that displays a psychological disorder is Dr. Gregory House, the title character of “House” which is portrayed by Hugh

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