Stigma In Girl Interrupted

Ever since the concept of mental illness became more mainstream, it has become a widely controversial topic. Based on what has been seen in society, people who are involved with mental disorders are often dehumanized in some way.

The film “Girl, Interrupted” is a true story adapted from the original memoir by Susanna Kaysen. Set in the 1960s, it relates her experiences during her stay in a mental institution after being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder following a suicide attempt. Many films include characters with a mental illness; the actors who play these characters have the immense challenge of staying true to the illness they portray.

Misinformation and misperception about mental illness can lead to the stigmatization of ourselves, our parents, our children, our spouses and others that we care about. The consequences of stigma range from social isolation to poverty to barriers to quality treatment and care. Stigma perpetrated on a grand scale can result in a system that reinforces the idea that people diagnosed with mental illnesses are unimportant and therefore are unworthy of access to quality and affordable care. Some media outlets (films and television) serve to perpetuate negative stereotypes and reinforce stigma. Although relatively few people with mental illness act out in

In the movie Girl, Interrupted the plot surrounds a period in the life of Susanna Kaysen played by Winona Ryder who was institutionalized at the Claymore mental hospital in the 1960s. In the movie, the main character Susanna is diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and undergoes treatment to which at the end of the movie she is released. It is at this hospital that Susanna encounters many other patients of which she shares many experiences with. One of these patients was the longtime resident and popular amongst all the other patients Lisa Rowe played by Angelina Jolie whom Susanna became close with and would mid-movie escape the hospital with to only return on her own and find that Lisa would be back a few days later. Lisa, while being the protagonist of the movie, was very charismatic in her own way and based on her behavior and revelation in the movie is diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder, particularly a sociopath in the movie.

The media in American society has a major influential impact on the minds and beliefs of millions of people. Whether through the news, television shows, or film, the media acts as a huge database for knowledge and instruction. It is both an auditory and visual database that can press images and ideas into people's minds. Even if the individual has no prior exposure or knowledge to something, the media can project into people's minds and leave a lasting impression. Though obviously people are aware of what they are listening to or watching, thoughts and assumptions can drift into their minds without even realizing it. These thoughts that drift in are extremely influential. The massive impact it

Girl Interrupted is a movie based on Susanna Kaysen’s novel, which was inspired by her stay in a mental institution in the 1960s. Incidentally the main character, played by Winona Ryder, is named Susanna. She is eighteen years old and begins the movie by reflecting back on the events leading up to her visit to the psychologist. She has just graduated from high school and other than being an aspiring writer, has no plans for her life. In addition she has flashbacks of her attempted suicide, though she denies taking a bottle of aspirin with vodka. When she was brought to the hospital they found bruises on her wrist, but she claimed she had

It is hard for someone to come out to others that either they or a family member has a mental illness to others. In the film Call Me Crazy: A Five Film, there are five different characters who either have a mental illness or they are a family member who is affected by it. The overall story follows a young woman named Lucy who is a law school dropout struggling with schizophrenia. Throughout the episodes, Lucy comes home from a psychiatric facility, conflicts with her resenting sister, and eventually defends a woman in court who is struggling from post-traumatic stress disorder. The directors of the film created these five episodes with these characters because they all had trouble trying to express to others about their situation and that it is okay to reach out for help. The cast and creators of Call Me Crazy portrayed the hardships of dealing with a mental illness by expressing the signs of their disorder (logos), using director Bryce Dallas Howard’s past experience with mental illness (ethos), and displaying the inner and outer conflicts between those who are affected (pathos).

18 year old Caucasian woman by the name of Susanna Kaysen was voluntarily admitted to a Psychiatric Hospital after an overdose of aspirin and alcohol. This young lady explained that she was not intentionally trying to harm herself, but was only trying to get rid of a headache.

The study of mental health has always been a challenging topic. As a society, we are quick to judge individuals who don’t conform to social norms, especially when there is not a distinct line between insane and indifferent. The movie, Girl, Interrupted examines the challenges of a young woman who has been diagnosed as having a borderline personality disorder. The lead character, Susanna, has been faced with depression and attempts suicide upon graduating high school. The suicide attempt proves to be unsuccessful and her family seeks out the help of a family psychiatrist to persuade Susanna in seeking help at a mental health facility. At the beginning of the movie we see Suzanna reluctantly agree to self-admit herself to the facility, but protest

Girl, Interrupted provides an in-depth look into Susanna Kaysen’s experience of living with a mental illness and staying in a mental hospital. Twenty-five years after she leaves McLean she learns of her diagnosis of borderline personality disorder and discusses it in her memoir. Kaysen reads about her disorder from the DSM-III-R and views her diagnosis as:

The film, “Girl Interrupted” directed by James Mangold focuses on the lives of many women who have a psychological disorder. I will focus specifically on Susanna Kaysen, an 18 year old, who struggles with mental health issues during and after high school. Susanna voluntarily admits herself to psychiatric ward after an unsuccessful attempt to commit suicide by taking a bottle of vodka with aspirin. Her decision was influenced by a short consultation with a family acquainted psychiatrist, because she is informed that she will only stay a few weeks. Afterall, she was institutionalized for a year and a half. Psychotherapy will attempt to diagnose and treat the disorder or symptoms she experiences, through analyzing psychological theory(s), that best understand her thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. The biosocial theory effectively supports Susanna’s diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), while Behavior Analytic Theory could be applied in the treatment of Susanna’s symptoms and correcting her behavior.

The media in American society has a major influential impact on the minds and beliefs of millions of people. Whether through the news, television shows, or film, the media acts as a huge database for knowledge and instruction. It is both an auditory and visual database that can press images and ideas into people's minds. Even if the individual has no prior exposure or knowledge to something, the media can project into people's minds and leave a lasting impression. Though obviously people are aware of what they are listening to or watching, thoughts and assumptions can drift into their minds without even realizing it. These thoughts that drift in are extremely influential. The massive impact

In most cases, people who are portrayed with mental illnesses are commonly exhibited as being violent and/or aggressive, but are also frequently depicted as eccentrics, seductresses (in the case of women), self-obsessives, objects for scientific observation, simpletons and/or failures. One or more of these such labels can reasonably be applied to the characters examined in both The Beauty Queen of Leenane and The Holy City... As such, a skewed, and ultimately rather unsavoury, picture of mental illness is often presented to the public. There is plenty of evidence that these pervasive negative portrayals can have harmful effects, particularly effects they might incur through perpetuating the stigma associated with mental illness as well as potentially reducing the likelihood that those with mental illness will seek out the appropriate help. In April 2005, a psychological review put together by Jane Pirkis, R Warwick Blood, Catherine Francis and Kerry McCallum examined the effect of fictional portrayals of mental illness. They made reference to studies that have employed surveys and focus groups to examine the sources of community attitudes towards mental illness, having found that the media in general are perceived as the root of such

“The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.” -Malcolm X. It can be said without a doubt that media plays a massive role in how society views certain things. A negative media portrayal ultimately leads to negativity and stigma towards whichever group. One of the groups that is severely impacted by these dismissive representations is mental illness. The portrayal of mental illness in mass media as violent, amusing, or downright “nuts”, is inaccurate and vilifying, but can be resolved by the inclusion of mental health specialist in program planning.

One in every seventeen people in America suffers from a mental disorder. These disorders inhibit the afflicted person from functioning properly and coping normally with daily life. Many afflicted with a psychological disorder do not exhibit obvious symptoms, as medical advancements have made it possible for these disorders to be suppressed or even nonexistent. Today, however, harsh stigmas exist that unfairly categorize those with a mental illness as violent, unfriendly, and abnormal. The media and federal government are culprits in fabricating the unrealistic depictions of mental disability that define the portrayal of those who are mentally or psychologically disadvantaged.