In this paper I will be explaining the different aspects of abnormal psychology and how it is frequently portrayed in the media. The movie I will be basing this off of is What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. It shows the life of a depressed, morbidly obese woman and one of her children who has a mental disability. There are many different ideas as to what is considered normal versus abnormal especially when it comes to the understanding of different disorders and their approaches to treatment. One of the main disorders I will be talking about is Depression. Depression is a clinical disorder that results in severe dejection. Some symptoms include: Absence of motivation and drive, disinterest in life, fatigue, and lack of social interaction. People with depression hold extremely negative views about themselves and feel that they aren’t worth anything. Not only are there mental symptoms, but depression entails multiple physical symptoms too. Some physical symptoms would involve headaches, dizziness, and indigestion. Although, most commonly, depression results in a lack of sleep and appetite. Treatment of depression first starts with the …show more content…
This movie is about the Grape family, which consists of four children and their mother, Bonnie. After her husband’s death and years of depression, Bonnie became morbidly obese and the laughing stock of their town Endora. Because of his mother’s condition, the oldest child, Gilbert, looks after his brother Arnie who has a mental disability. This can be a difficult task because when left unsupervised for a certain period of time, Arnie runs away and attempts to climb to the top of the water tower. Meanwhile, the whole town cheers as his family and multiple police officers try to get him down. At one point, this had caused him to get arrested. Then, while doing this, Gilbert also works at the local grocery store hoping to be able to help provide for his
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
The book, Of Mice and Men, and the movie, What's Eating Gilbert Grape are very similar in many ways. Despite the fact that they are very different stories, Of Mice and Men and What's Eating Gilbert Grape can be seen as parallel when analyzing the characters of George and Gilbert, Arnie and Lennie, and other similarities the stories share.
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape is based in a small town named Endora in 1993. This film presents the lives of the members in the Grape’s family as they develop and cope with daily tasks. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the mental development of each member in Grape’s family along with the people who they interact with in Endora. Developmental theories are then used to connect with the developmental themes in the film to obtain an integrated understanding of Grapes’ lives.
The symptoms of depression usually vary from person to person; symptoms can either be severe or moderate. Some people can be indecisive, have uncontrollable sobbing, and feelings of despair, anger, and worthlessness. People with moderate symptoms might still be able to function, but their depression can cause them to lack a feeling of pleasure or ambition. As the above symptoms suggest, depression has to do with a lot more than just being sad. Depression symptoms can interfere with five areas of functioning: emotional, motivational, behavioral, cognitive, and physical. Depression can affect
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.
His oldest sister, Amy, is a very caring woman that tries to take on many responsibilities herself and the youngest sister Ellen, who is only fifteen, has many issues with her family that she is trying to overcome, as well. Becky, a young girl that traveled into town with her grandmother and their caravan found romance with Gilbert and a certain connection with Arnie accordingly. Arnie is not your average boy; he is mentally challenged and was not expected to live to see his tenth birthday, let alone, his eighteenth, which he surpasses in the movie. Arnie is associated with many heights in the movie as he is regularly seen dangling from the roof, climbing trees, and of course, his ritual of scaling the water tower. Although Arnie loves the heights, he can not seem to conquer the depths as he will not venture to the basement of the house. “I don’t want to go down there, Gilbert; Dad’s down there,” thus voicing the repressed fear that no one in the family will, or can put into words.
Write a 1-2 page essay that explores the paradox that when the film ends, Gilbert is in
According to Piaget, the development of a child's moral judgment is a shift from a heteronomous to an autonomous mode of thinking. Heteronomy is characterized by egocentrism, unilateral respect (where the child respects the parents' authority but is not respected in return), rigidity of rules (as given by adults and therefore not changed), and objective responsibility (action judged according to consequences (Ruffy, 1981, p. 61). A child is morally autonomous when s/he can establish relationships with others based on mutual respect. Moral autonomy also means the child places more importance on the intention leading to an action than on its consequences (Ruffy, p. 61). In other words, the child does the right thing because s/he understands what is right and makes a conscious decision based on that knowledge, rather than refraining from doing the wrong thing simply to avoid "getting into trouble." Arnie Grape, the younger brother in the film What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, has not attained an age-appropriate level of moral development because he is at the low end of the autism spectrum. He is incapable of understanding others or considering the consequences of his actions.
“What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” has multitudinous psychological factors throughout the movie, mostly consisting with an overly attached relationship with food and consumption. In other words, this film is centered around food with Gilbert being swallowed by it at home, thanks to Bonnie’s excessive eating, Annie’s unreasonable amounts of cooking, and when he attends to his job everyday. Gilbert is being gnawed away through his life, family and work, because of the repetitive cycle food puts him through. Food becomes more than a nutritious substance that is vital for every human being, but a death-threatening addiction that is affecting Gilbert and his family.
The movie Whats Eating Gilbert Grape, portrayed a beautiful family dynamic in a small town called Endora. The film is narrated in Gilbert’s perspective of how he understands his family and cares for his brother Arnie, who has a developmental disability. As Gilbert shows many adversaries in his life, he also shows strengths. Thus, the purpose of this essay will illustrate my reflectivity of my personal story to Gilbert’s. Additionally, the lens of a social worker will highlight the Grape family’s issues. In order, to understand the lack of support the family has and how to best support them. Therefore, the importance of reflectivity allows opportunity for clients and social workers to challenge self-awareness and creativity of self-care.
Abnormal psychology is the study of abnormal behavior, thoughts and emotions. There are many people with mental disorders that never get treated. It is very important to make correct diagnoses when diagnosing a patient. Accurate diagnosing will insure that the individual is receiving the best treatment possible. The earlier mental illnesses are detected they easier they are to treat. It should always be ones priority to function as normal as possible and get back on track. Educating people on their disorder and treatment options will give them a better understanding of their condition and what they can do to stay healthy and recover to normal.
Depression is a common mental disorder, characterized by sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, feelings of tiredness, and poor concentration. Depression can be long-lasting or recurrent, substantially impairing an individual’s ability to function at work or school or cope with daily
Shutter Island is a film depicting several of the many facets of Abnormal Psychology as defined and studied over the course of this term. Several of the concepts discussed in our lectures and demonstrated during our classroom time were evident and vividly depicted in the film including personality disorders past and present; stress and anxiety disorders; psychosis, and mood disorders. There were others subtly displayed in the film however, these listed were of primary focus and coincidence most closely with our study this term. While focusing more on the abnormal, Shutter Island
In the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic & Statistical Manual (APA, 2000) the symptoms of depression are: loss of interest or enjoyment in activities; changing in weight and appetite; changes to sleep pattern; loss of energy; feeling worthless or guilty; suicidal thoughts; poor concentration and being either agitated or slowed up.
Depression is mental illnesses characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, despair and worthlessness that interfere with daily functioning and personal relationships. It is an illness caused by an imbalance of the chemicals in the brain. It affects about 19 million people and cost billions in any given year (Ford-Martin). Some of the symptoms of depression are having a hard time focusing, constant crying, and loss of interest or pleasure in ordinary everyday activities, sleep problems, problems with eating and weight (gain or loss). Depression strikes all age groups, and often goes unrecognized or inadequately treated.