Mental Illness in Film: Girl, Interrupted
Girl, Interrupted, based on the book by the same name, tells the story of a woman and her stay at a mental hospital for 18 months. The woman, Susanna Kaysen, suffers from depression and borderline personality disorder as well as frequent dissacociation. During her stay, she meets many other girls who suffer from other disorders, such as schizophrenia, anorexia, bulimia, and sociopathy.
During the introduction, we see a flash of what is to come by the end of the movie, before starting the story at its beginning. As we go through the film, we see more of Susanna’s overall disconnection with time and the way that her mind wanders into memories through her frequent flashbacks of past relationships. This, along with the introduction being in the future, elucidates the idea that she is not grounded using film techniques. I think the idea of having the end of the movie be in the beginning is a brilliant idea, one that was also used in the movie Arrival, but I would rather show the past through flashbacks throughout the movie to showcase my character’s illness.
Mental illness is often presented as something to be afraid of, especially personality disorders or psychosis disorders. While some of the characters Susanna meets in the hospital are violent and angry, they are also depicted struggling and crying, showing the other side of their issues that are often ignored.
Some of the patients are also quiet and likeable people despite having stigma attatched to their issues.
Many patients, including Susanna herself, don’t have “visible” mental issues, showing how hypocritical people are when deciding who to put under the microscope.
All of these cases show how diverse the image of mental illness can be and how one size does not fit all. This is a film that not only was a big inspiration for the movie, but taught me these things that I need to keep in mind while making my film to avoid any kind of harmful stereotyping or misrepresentation.