Joan Crawford: The Hollywood Culture

The Hollywood culture is made of looks, a great name, and who holds the most captivation (Blakemore, 2015). The patient, Joan Crawford, reinvented herself completely and has stopped at nothing to reach the top of stardom. The glitz and glamour to her is necessary, and without it Joan feels unfit to be in the public eye. Sources illustrate Joan as receiving eye and dental work, over dramatizing her make-up, and sexually exploiting herself to become famous (Blakemore, 2015). Joan also has vigorously studied operatic arias, French, has lost weight, changed her name, and even transformed her mannerisms in order to become accepted in the movie industry (Calhoun, 2015). No personality or intelligence tests on Joan have been reported.
Actor and director …show more content…
A friend of Joan’s named Betty Hutton lived near Joan in Brentwood California, and recalls seeing Joan’s abuse towards her children firsthand as well as seeing the children after abuse behind closed doors (Lester, 2013). Betty describes trying to get Christina and Christopher away from Joan where they could play with her children and have some moments of peace (Lester, 2013). Actress Eve Arden believes that Joan has bipolar disorder because of her violent temper, alcoholic tendencies, and has portrayed characteristics that prove unfitting to be a mother (Lester, 2013). Author Christine Ann Lawson believes Joan suffers from a borderline personality disorder as well as being obsessed with sanitation relating to OCD (Lester, 2013). Screenwriter Frances Marion describes Joan as being the pinnacle of heartless self-centeredness (Blakemore, …show more content…
Helen explains that Joan’s children are never allowed to speak in public unless they had permission from Joan and would be reprimanded otherwise (Musto, 2011). On one occasion, Helen describes Joan going a rage when seeing balloons and a birthday sign in her wardrobe room for her son Christopher’s birthday (Musto, 2011). Helen believes that Joan didn’t believe her son’s birthday was worth celebrating (Musto, 2011). Helen also illustrates another situation where she asked Joan why Christina was made to go to school for the summer, with Joan defending her position because it would make Christina appreciate how important home is (Musto, 2011). Joan’s daughter Christina believes that Joan’s toxic and demanding personality made her husband Alfred Steele live a life of anxiety, which drove him to a heart attack (Musto, 2013). Christina also recalls Joan telling her that her birth mother was dead when she wasn’t (Day,