Relection on Movie "What's Eating Gilbert Grape"

The family has fallen into a pattern of dysfunction. This consists of Arnie acting out in some way. The behavior of Arnie causes Gilbert to assume responsibility and diffuse the situation. Most

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape portrays a family that is dealing with the trials, tribulations, and also great times of having a member with a disability. The Grape family consists of Gilbert, Ellen, Amy, Mama, and of course, Arnie. The Grape family lives in an isolated town of Endora in a house that seems to be in shambles since their father died. In the beginning, Gilbert’s voiceover states that “living in Endora is like dancing to no music,” which one can definitely relate to after viewing this touching film. Gilbert Grape is a young man that has been impeded by more burdens than any man ought to have in an entire lifetime. He stocks shelves and delivers groceries for a local store, Lamson’s Grocery,

Throughout the film, Arnie’s diagnosis is never mentioned. “The doctor said he would live until 10…but 10 came and went, and the doctor said it could be anytime now” (Matalon & Hallström, 1993). After observing his mannerisms, it is clear that as a child Arnie was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Arnie has difficulties with ineffective impulse control, verbal communication, proper hygiene, and positive coping skills. These are evidenced by Arnie’s constant climbing of the water tower, not realizing how dangerous it is or how much distress it causes his mother and Gilbert. Arnie is seen constantly repeating words or phrases those around him say, like “Dad’s dead!” and “She’s a whale!”, and cannot fully express to others how he feels. Additionally, Arnie is not able to bathe himself, so Gilbert is the one who bathes him every night before bed. Later in the film, Arnie is seen running away after Gilbert hit him, and got very agitated and upset when he dropped Becky’s groceries on the ground, thinking he ruined them.

Many people may say one is a retard without knowing the truth behind the actual word. Intellectual Disability, also known as Mental Retardation, is a very serious psychological disorder that few are faced with for life. Intellectual Disability is characterized by a below-average level of intelligence (a mental ability) that lacks skills necessary for daily living. An IQ is the standard way to measure the level of intelligence one may have. Roughly 95% of humans have the IQ between 70 and 130. (Meyers and DeWall, 2014). The other five percent are either absolute genius or intellectually disabled. Being intellectually disabled can be caused in many ways

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape is a 1993 American drama film written by Peter Hedges and directed by Lasse Hallstrom. The film’s main characters are Johnny Depp as Gilbert Grape and Leonardo DiCaprio as Arnie Grape. The film depicts the burden of family caretaking and the affect it has on a family both mentally, physically, and financially. Gilbert is the primary caregiver for his mentally and developmentally disabled seventeen-year-old brother Arnie (who has the mental capacity of a young child), his morbidly obese mother Bonnie, known as Mama, and his two sisters Amy and Ellen. Amy, the oldest daughter, shares most of the household chores with Gilbert and helps with Arnie’s care. She plays the mother figure role for Arnie even though Arnie’s mother is alive. Ellen, the youngest daughter, is very negative in her feelings toward her family. She doesn’t help much with the family because she is busy being a teenage girl.

Arnie Grape was referred to this agency by Sheriff Jerry Farrell of the Endora Police Department. He was concerned about Arnie's continued lack of supervision. Sheriff Farrell stated that

In Lasse Hallström’s film, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, the struggles of living with a mental illness is displayed through Arnie Grape, the protagonist’s younger brother. Grape’s disability is never discussed in the movie, as the movie focuses on Gilbert Grape, the principal character, and his struggles with life and family responsibilities. With the use of various resources, such as a psychology textbook (Lilienfeld 2014), credible health associations’ websites, and The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DMS-5), one is capable of analyzing the nature of Arnie’s disorder and make a valid assumption that he is dealing with a mental illness: autism. Autism is a spectrum disorder characterized by “various degrees in difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors” ("Learning About Autism," n.d.). It becomes clear, through Arnie Grape’s social and cognitive impairment, that he has Autism, despite the fact that the film does not clearly state that he has a mental illness.

Attitudes toward the mentally ill started to change in the 60’s and 70’s from both the communities and professionals. The two began to recognize that the mentally ill had rights to live an independent life style like that of ordinary citizens. Before this, people with mental illness or developing disabilities had been institutionalized, giving strong medications, sedated and isolated from the rest of society. Living amongst the community, they receive their medication as well as interact with the general public. In addition, they also interact with security personnel and law enforcement officers, and all too frequently with unfortunate consequences. (Russell, 2012).

Gilbert has the responsibility of caring for his younger brother Arnie. Arnie has classic autism, is a constant stress for the whole family. having a child with autism, there’s always a chance that a number of unforeseen things could happen. Gilbert worries that because of the small town that he lives in, the community will be less tolerant of Arnie's behavior. Gilbert has the responsibility of being a parent for Arnie since his father is deceased and his mother is morbidly obese. While it is clear that Gilbert cares greatly for Arnie, it is also apparent that he distances himself from his family in an attempt to cope with his situation. He loves and cares for Arnie, but the tone of his narration would suggest that Arnie is more of an annoyance than a member of the family. The same goes for Gilbert's mother, Bonnie. He abhors his mother's size, describing

There are many forms of mental retardation. Webster’s New World Dictionary defines mental retardation as “a condition, usually congenital, characterized by subnormal intelligence” (Agnes, p404). Mental retardation can be caused by a certain birth defect due to a traumatic event during the mother’s pregnancy, or mental retardation can also be inherited. The most common inherited form of mental retardation is Fragile X Syndrome.

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape is a motion picture drama that follows the life of the Grape family in the small, lackluster town of Endora (Hallstrom, 1993). Gilbert Grape, played by a young Johnny Depp, is the film’s predominant character and apparent man of the family after his father’s death. Throughout the movie, Gilbert narrates his thoughts as he attempts to navigate his familial responsibilities, his work, and his personal life. Gilbert struggles to take care of Bonnie, his morbidly obese mother, his new love interest, Becky, and his autistic brother, Arnie. Arnie is played by Leonardo DiCaprio, and for the purpose of this assignment, will be the focus of this analysis.

A most common stereotype depicted of disabled characters is that of a ‘super-man’ (Safran, 2000) or ‘supercrip’ (Harnett, 2000), where a disabled character overcomes massive odds to beat or succeed in defeating their disability to become ‘normal’. The character is often seen as a hero to have made such progress. Although Arnie does not reflect a hero status, his character is beating his disability by the very fact that he is still alive. In the opening scenes of the movie, Gilbert’s narration lets the audience know that “doctors said we’d be lucky if Arnie lived to be ten, well ten came and went” (Matalon, Ohlsson, Teper & Hallström, 1993), implying Arnie’s ‘triumph over tragedy’. He defies death that would be otherwise be brought about by his disability.

Image a life where you have difficulty defending yourself and nobody can clearly understand you. Now visualize trying to convince others that you are innocent of a crime. Since the early 80s, more than sixty mentally ill criminals have been executed the US (Mental Illness on Death Row). This paper will discuss the relationship between the law and the challenges faced by mentally criminals from tries to appeals and execution. It provides examples of some of the more famous cases of the execution of the mentally ill and describes current legislative. But we would try answer the whether the mentally disabled criminals should be charged with a death penalty. Throughout this paper, we will use Borromeo 's definition of someone with mental issues. He stated "mental retardation is a lifelong condition of impaired or incomplete mental development..." ( Borromeo 178). Some examples of these illnesses include but are not limited to major depression, bipolar disorder, post traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder .

Gilbert and Margaret share a unique relationship throughout the novel. Margaret serves as Gilbert's most fond hallucination despite having great doubt and confusion towards Margaret as he is never able to interact with her face to face. It is not until Gilbert is presented with an opportunity to take her virginity that he shows any interested in her. It is now that Gilbert can truly feel like a man that he shows any signs of dominance. After receiving an invitation into Gilbert's cabin Margaret refuses resulting in Gilbert saying, “Oh, don’t be such a little ass. I’ve been sitting here for goodness knows how long. Come in if you’re coming. If you’re not, I want to go back to bed.”(143). Gilbert believes that for Margaret it is an honour to sleep with him and Gilbert feels that he should not have to spend any extra energy than required. This is for multiple reasons such as age. Gilbert is many years older than Margaret and with that comes a status and power. Gilbert feels as if he is higher than Margaret and too good to wait even another minute for her to enter the room. He would rather go back to bed then to spend anymore time waiting for Margaret to come and sleep with him. Another reason is the simple fact that Margaret is a female. With Margaret being a female Gilbert is given an excuse to be a jerk throughout the whole situation. This is not the first time Gilbert has demonstrated a lack of respect towards females. In a prior interaction with Margaret's mother, Gilbert is caught up in the

Gilbert Grape is a 24-year-old Caucasian male living in Eldora, Iowa with his mother, Bonnie, his two sisters, Ellen and Amy, and his younger brother, Arnie. After their father committed suicide in their basement, Gilbert, his older sister Amy, and younger sister Ellen, have worked to take care of Bonnie, who is obese, and Arnie, who has a developmental disability. Gilbert, Amy, and Ellen also work on repairs, clean and do chores, and make food for the family. To provide money for the family Gilbert holds a job at the local grocery store called Lamson’s Grocery, while Ellen works at an ice cream shop called Dairy Dreme. Because of Arnie’s disability Gilbert is having to constantly take care of him and his needs and keep him out of trouble, since Bonnie is unable to because of her condition. Gilbert’s relationship with Amy and Arnie is stable, while Gilbert will sometimes argue with his sisters.