It is a
truth universally acknowledged that movies are the best thing since sliced
bread. Movies have a huge amount of impact on culture and seem to reach all corners of the world. Why? We’re
an escapist, curious bunch of creatures. Fascinated by the grass on the other
side of our fence. Movies satisfy that craving. Movies offer insight, adventure
and a reprieve from the banality that is our own lives.
Whilst I’m
only a novice movie boffin, what I lack in experience, I make up for in
enthusiasm! This week we’ve been tasked with examining how mental illness is
portrayed in film. To say I’m chuffed is an understatement. Movies for
homework? I’m in Heaven! As excited as I was to begin, I realized this task
came with an immediate hurdle: which movie to choose???? So down the list I
went: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Rain Man, Forrest Gump, Girl
Interrupted, Split, A Beautiful Mind, Still Alice… I’ve seen them all and love
them all. This was an impossible choice. By virtue of a coin flip, “The Silence
of The Lambs” was decided upon. Okay. So the coin flip may have been rigged, as
I am currently reading the book. Busted.
In case you need a refresher, here's the trailer link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6Mm8Sbe__o
Aside from
being a brilliant psychological thriller, filled with incredible performances
from the likes of Sir Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster, The Silence of The
Lambs tackles some very controversial aspects of mental illness. The two
diagnoses that are portrayed within the film are Gender Dysphoria and
Psychopath/Anti-social Personality Disorder. Dr. Hannibal Lecter is repeatedly
described throughout the film as a “psychopath” who the media dubbed “Hannibal
the Cannibal” as he cooked up gourmet meals by using his victims as
ingredients. The portrayal of Hannibal meets the criteria for Anti-social Personality
Disorder, as according to the DSM-IV-TR, he demonstrates “a pervasive pattern
of disregard for and violation of the rights of others” (American Psychiatric
Association, 2013) and meets 5 of the 7 diagnostic criteria. Another central
character is Buffalo Bill, a Gender Dysphoric individual who captures and skins
women in order to make a “woman-suit” that he can wear to complete his
transition from male to female. It is worth noting that both characters, who
have clear mental illness, are portrayed as monsters who are decidedly
non-human by all other characters in the movie.
Buffalo
Bill is a fascinating character to explore. Upon first watching the film, I did
not appreciate the complexity of his character, as the audience is often
redirected to Hannibal who is portrayed as far more charismatic and intriguing.
However, Buffalo Bill and the portrayal of Gender Dysphoria is equally
intriguing. Gender Dysphoria is not a diagnosis that I have ever encountered
before, across texts or media. In doing further research I was able to deduce
that it refers to “the conflict that exists between a person's physical or
assigned gender and the gender with which he/she/they identify…People with
gender dysphoria may often experience significant distress and/or problems
functioning associated with this conflict between the way they feel and think
of themselves” (Parekh, 2016). Furthermore, Allen & Gorski (1990), go on to
state that “the most extreme form, where people adapt their phenotype to make it
consistent with their gender identity, through the use of hormones and by
undergoing surgery, is called transsexualism”. This gave me pause for thought,
as I had never thought of a transsexual or transgender person as having a
mental illness before. After scouring the internet and consulting literature,
I’m still not sure where I stand on the topic, perhaps that is just the
side-effect on being a Millennial, nothing is seen as “abnormal” anymore, and
to me, being transgender does not infer a mental illness. Although, society in
the 1990s when The Silence of The Lambs was released, would have certainly
believed that being transgender was a mental illness, and decidedly abnormal in
society.
The
portrayal of Gender Dysphoria through Buffalo Bill’s character is certainly a
gross exaggeration and a demonization of mental illness. Not only is the
character mentally ill, but he is a serial killer and generally displays quite
weird (his strange fascination with his dog and… hello?… tendency to sew skin-suits)
behavior. Nothing about his character is redeemable, relatable, or humane. This
in itself is a misrepresentation of mental illness. Similarly, Hannibal has
Anti-social Personality Disorder and is described as “evil”. Although those who
have anti-social personality disorder do harm others and are prone to
disregarding the law, they are still people who have redeemable qualities.
Hannibal is depicted as non-human, further evidence that this film incorrectly
depicts mental illness- personifying a mental illness as ‘monstrous’. What the
film manages to get right is the core components of anti-social personality
disorder (disregard for others) and gender dysphoria (distress towards assigned
gender), allowing these to be easily identified by the audience. However, the
overall criminalization and exaggeration of features of both diagnosis result
in an incorrect portrayal of these conditions. Though some traits are
accurately portrayed, it is extremely unlikely that individuals diagnosed with
these conditions exhibit all of the traits as the characters in this film. While
the movie can be commended on attempting to bring little-known mental diagnoses
to the audiences’ attention and generating discussion (as well as amazing
acting!), it ultimately serves as a disservice to mental health awareness.
https://ih0.redbubble.net/image.814371707.1631/aps,650x642,small,transparent-pad,750x1000,f8f8f8.jpg
Examining
how mental health is portrayed has been insightful and made me think about how
all some people know of mental illness is what they see on tv or read in a
book. The responsibility that rests on the media’s shoulders is therefore
immense. What stood out to me was how we formulate a lot of our opinions about
people from what we see in film. When applying this to fieldwork, we can note
how careful we as students need to be with our beliefs about certain diagnoses.
Just because movies associate mental illness with criminality and
non-redeemable characteristics, does not mean this is true. When we walk into
fieldwork sites, we need to get to know the person sitting in front of us, not
be misconstrued by the character they remind us of.
Until next
week,
Kaylee
References:
American
Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental
disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA
Allen, L.S.,
Gorski, R. A. (1990). Sex difference in the bed nucleus of the striaterminalis
of the human brain. J Comp Neurol. ; 302:697---706.
Movieclipsclassictrailers. (2002). The Silence of the Lambs Official Trailer. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6Mm8Sbe__o
Parekh, R.
(2016). What Is Gender Dysphoria. Retrieved 29 August 2019, from https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/gender-dysphoria/what-is-gender-dysphoria
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