Mental disorders are some of the most serious problems which affect the well-being and the livelihood of many people in society. The statement can be evidenced by the fact that individuals suffering from mental disorder need a lot of acute attention and a lot of funds for medication so that they can remain stable. The number of individuals suffering from different mental disorders and statistics showcases that 1 in every 59 children in the globe have been identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and this is according to the estimates by CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) network. As a result, there are different effects which the persons diagnosed with mental disorders have on society. Cinema is perceived as one of the avenues through which the community is taught about ways of accepting and dealing with persons with mental disorders. Specifically, cinematic representations such as The Black Swan, Good Will Hunting and I Am Sam tend to showcase how individuals with mental disorders are treated in the society. Therefore, this paper aims to identify and also explain the psychological disorders which affect the main characters in the mentioned cinematic portrayals. Moreover, the essay will examine the link which exists between the three movies.
The Black Swan
The Black Swan can be seen as a psychological horror film which shares the life of a dancer. Nina, the main cast who is a ballerina in New York City, is a dedicated dancer and this happens to consume all her time and life. The character struggles in her professional career an obsession which affects her level of mental stability. The mental instability affecting Nina is also enhanced by the mother who is domineering and pushes her to the limit something which makes her become doubtful and lack self-confidence. Given the sequence of events and how she struggles to fit the role of the black, this makes her develop borderline personality disorder. In the film, she fails to cope with the fact that she cannot match the professional level of her mother and the competition which she faces at work. As a result, she develops a dark side that starts to think of doing bad and unreasonable things.
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From the film, the character portrays the specific traits which come along from borderline personality disorder. Nina is unable to control her emotions and this drives her to showcase instances of paranoia, mood swings and also profound episodes of anger, anxiety, and depression. There are various consequences which can be viewed when a person has such kind of disorder (Scott et al., 2016). In the film, Nina happens to receive hallucinations, low self-esteem and also cases of self-mutilation. Moreover, there are internal and external pressures which affect the mode of thinking as well as the ability to make sound judgmental decisions. In the end, the continued level of depression and pressure makes Nina unable to hold back and this causes her to take her life. Therefore, the character is precise in showcasing the effects of mental instability on the life of the person and the entire society.
Good Will Hunting
The film explored the life of genius with a very high IQ who works as a janitor at MIT. The character is played by Matt Damon (Will Hunting) who is a party addict and likes taking in the content from the library and storing it in his photographic memory. One day, the professor, Lambeau posts a question and expects anyone to provide the answer to the question. Will provides the answer but does not seek any form of recognition because he suffers from the fear of abandonment and attachment. As a result, he always tries to push people away from him something which makes him lead a lonely life. For example, one he is arrested and taken to court he tries to use his knowledge to avoid jail time. Therefore, through this, one can learn some of the problems which are associated with the fear of abandonment. According to Halonen et al. (2018), people with the fear of attachment primarily have trust issues and they fear that once they build their trust on somebody, in the long run, they may regret the step or the decision which they undertook.
One of the problems which are evident in the character is that he becomes angry very easily. The statement implies that he is not in a position to understand the situation of another person because he chooses to maintain distant relationships. Based on the concept shared by Halonen et al. (2018) there are different aspects which promote the emergence of such situations. One of the primary reasons is childhood trauma. Childhood trauma can result from an event which took place when one was young or even in a situation where a person was subjected to bad parenting. Therefore, the child grows with a weird perception about the event and always tries avoiding that no such aspect happens to them again. Therefore, the film captures the life of Will and how he tried to push people away due to the childhood troubles which he faced.
I Am Sam
The film captures the life of Sam who is an autistic man who is a single father. The wife left when the baby was born and as a result, he was forced to take care of the baby alone. Being autistic, the process is not easy and he faces a lot of setbacks which affects his state of sanity. According to Scott et al. (2016), autistic individuals tend to have a problem in the socialization skills and this affects the mode of communication between one individual and another. In the film, Sam showcases a lack of social skills and this can be viewed on the way he associates with other individuals. Moreover, it is worth noting that he has challenged verbal and non-verbal communication skills something which makes him different from other people. Sam behaves like a person who is disturbed something which does not brand him as the best person to take care of a young girl.
There are various outward characteristics which can be spotted on the character and how he interacts with the environment. El Achkar and Spence (2015) provides some of the characters and the behavioral trends which an autistic person tends to display. The authors note that the individual becomes absent-minded on different occasions and the persons tend to lose touch with the community or the immediate environment. Sam happens to stare in the air most of the times and keeps rocking. Moreover, the individual has a fixed fascination with beatles and happens to experience communication barriers. Considering all these aspects, the author aims to showcase the specific elements which affect the condition of the people as well as the condition of the society. On the other hand, the daughter, Lucy, is only seven years old but has the same IQ as the father. All these facts are disturbing but the fascinating aspect of the film is that despite the autistic nature of the father, he was able to take care of the daughter.
The Link between the Three Films
From the assessment of the behavioral traits of all the characters, it is evident that anxiety is an aspect which can be observed all through. The characters are anxious in whatever they undertake and this can be perceived as the reason why they face a lot of problems in their lives. For instance, Will is unable to bond with other individuals because he is anxious about the repercussions of the union. On the other hand, Nina is unable to concentrate in her filed and balance her life because she is anxious about what her mother would think of her if she fails to be the ballerina the mother anticipates. Furthermore, Sam is autistic and the condition and the life he leads with her daughter is filled with anxiety something which enhances the mental condition.
Another similarity which is evident in the films is the ability to showcase the symptoms of the different disorders accurately. The behavioral states of the cast members have been showcased comprehensively and thus from an outsider’s point, one can clearly point out the specific elements which affect the person. There is an accurate description of the events and how it not only affects the person but also the community at large. It is also clear that the movies showcase the happening and considering the normal environment and how the individuals can help each other in the community.
Despite the similarities, there are some differences in the ultimate condition which took place and how the mental disorder was handled. For example, I Am Sam outwardly showcases a mental disorder. The case is different in Good Will Hunting because at certain situation he can be perceived as a normal person. On the other hand, The Black Swan ends in suicide and thus the audience is left wondering about how borderline personality disorder can be handled. As a result, it is evident that there are different ways through which mental problems can be addressed in the long run.
Therefore, the films have an educative aspect of the dangers and the troubles faced by persons with disability disorders. The characters provide an accurate description of the specific problems. Moreover, the films showcase the basis of the problems and how they can be escalated over time.
References
El Achkar, C. M., & Spence, S. J. (2015). Clinical characteristics of children and young adults with co-occurring autism spectrum disorder and epilepsy. Epilepsy & Behavior , 47 , 183-190.
Halonen, J. I., Merikukka, M., Gissler, M., Kerkelä, M., Virtanen, M., Ristikari, T., & Lallukka, T. (2018). Pathways from parental mental disorders to offspring's work disability due to depressive or anxiety disorders in early adulthood—The 1987 Finnish Birth Cohort. Depression and anxiety .
Scott, K. M., Lim, C., Al-Hamzawi, A., Alonso, J., Bruffaerts, R., Caldas-de-Almeida, J. M., & Kawakami, N. (2016). Association of mental disorders with subsequent chronic physical conditions: world mental health surveys from 17 countries. JAMA Psychiatry , 73 (2), 150-158.
