Analyzing The Portrayal Of Bipolar Disorder - 2253 Words

Analyzing the Portrayal of Bipolar Disorder in Silver Linings Playbook Micayla K. Freehan Boston University Anne Sullivan-Soydan HP252: Health and Disability Across the Lifespan November 13, 2014 More often than not, Hollywood films incorrectly portray mental disorders, usually by exaggerating symptoms and stereotyping individuals with a mental disorder. For example, Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film Psycho, in which man with schizophrenia murders guests in a hotel, influences viewers to believe that all individuals suffering from schizophrenia are dangerous. However, that is rarely the case (Polatis, 2014). Therefore, it is refreshing to find a movie that accurately portrays the true personality of and individual living with a mental illness. The movie Silver Linings Playbook chronicles the experiences of Pat Solitano, a man suffering from undiagnosed bipolar disorder who was recently released from a psychiatric facility. Although this paper focuses on Pat’s experiences, it is important to note that the film not only takes on the task of portraying bipolar disorder, but also mental illness in general with other major characters suffering from a mixture of psychol ogical or personality disorders. The film opens with Pat at Karel Psychiatric Facility in Baltimore, Maryland. We later learn that Pat was institutionalized for nearly beating to death the man with whom he caught his wife Nikki cheating on him. The rest of the film detailsShow MoreRelatedHow Does The United States Media Affects Mental Illness? Essay998 Words   |  4 Pageswill be analyzed to find any indication of a shift from misrepresentation of the mentally ill to a portrayal that does not represent them as incapable or unable to perform well socially in the real world, or in a job. Shows such as Grey’s Anatomy and Homeland will be evaluated based on the correct representation of disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder, alcoholism/addiction, and bipolar disorder. These shows will be compared to other television shows such as Saved by the Bell that misrepresentRead MoreVladimir Nabokovs Lolita Essay1368 Words   |  6 Pagesbelieve those who act on their immoral sexual desires will blame it on their illness and not their actual judgement. This has occurred in society before where criminals convicted of murder simply blame it on their Schizophrenia or Bipolar disorder. Barbara Straumann, when analyzing the relationship between young Humbert and his lover Annabel, states, â€Å"Yet, if the Annabel story is one of his fakes, it is fabricated to deceive himself...thinking about the cause of ‘the rift in my life’ giving rise, or ratherRead MoreWhy Do People Shoot Up Schools? Essay2156 Words   |  9 Pagesresult of multiple factors such as lifestyle, socioeconomic status, and genetics. There are a few mental illness that we primarily associate with people that commit these malicious acts such as; Bipolar Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, Depression, Dissociative Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Schizophrenia. We can investigate one tragic massacre that occurred in 2007 at Virginia Tech University. The perpetrator was a 23-year-old student, Seung-Hui Cho who moved to the UnitedRead MoreThe Sumerian Goddess Of Sexual Love And Warfare4034 Words   |  17 Pagesresponses to two primary questions: 1) how is Inana portrayed in various texts, and why is this significant? And 2) what can be learned about the nature of ancient Babylonian religion and its relationship to the people through her representation? By analyzing of a variety of primary and secondary sources, I propose that Inana is presented as a dual personality in a selection of myths and hymns, which both contributes to her part as the divine model of the undesirable by allowing her to deviate from submissionRead MoreStatement of Purpose23848 Words   |  96 Pagesfrom other forms of food restriction and obsession, namely the modern ritual of dieting and its most extreme manifestation, an eating disorder. Though not willing to evade those complicated (and controversial) parallels between modern and early modern usages of food and food symbolism to control the lives of women, I also wish to offer as an historian a nuanced portrayal of how early modern conceptualizations of female appetite were infused with contemporary, historically contingent notions of sexualityRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesrelevance of white ethnicity in the United States, not only regarding public activities like voting but also in terms of intimate behavior such as mores and manners, childrearing practices, adolescent styles, and attitudes toward illness, psychiatric disorders, and authority, even in cases where the individuals examined were not particularly aware of their ethnicity.70 The recent waves of migration are still too new to say anything definite based on the situations of existing migrant communities. The