Media Portrayal of Addiction in “Requiem for a Dream”
Rositsa Bahchevanova
Mental health NUR 433 01
Laurie Zack
Dominican University
12/09/2016
Is the Mental Disorder Appropriately Portrayed?
The targeted movie for this exercise is “Requiem for a Dream”. The 2000 film is directed by Darren Aronofsky. This movie narrates the story of Sara Goldfarb and the people around her life. The health issue outlined in this film is addiction. According to the film, addiction affects the lives of different people such as Sara, Tyrone, Marion, and Harry (Watson & Aronofsky, 2010).
The movie begins by narrating the story of Sara Goldfarb. This character loves watching a …show more content…
It also illustrates different forms of addiction from the right perspective. For instance, the story of Sara describes how people can be easily addicted by televisions. Individuals who are addicted to the TV might be categorized as sick people. This film shows conclusively that TV addiction is a mental condition that should be taken seriously in every society. The film goes further to show how drug addiction is a serious mental problem in the society. This is true because Marion and Harry are willing to do the impossible in order to get heroin (Watson & Aronofsky, 2010). This portrayal shows clearly that addictions can affect and transform the lives of more people in the society. Depression is another mental condition catalyzed by loneliness, lack of motivation, and lack of financial resources. Tyrone is portrayed as an individual who is adversely affected by PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). That being the case, the characters are addicted to heroin and prescription drugs. The film also shows clearly that Sara is a victim of TV addiction. The movie indicates clearly that addiction is a serious mental issue associated with different psychological conditions such as (PTSD), depression, and psychosis.
The symptoms portrayed in the film are in accordance with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Some conditions such as PTSD are good examples of psychological health problems. Substance-related disorder is presented throughout the film. This is the case because the DSM-5 framework includes dependence and use of drugs such as opium, heroin, or alcohol (Halter, 2013). Moreover, there is a section in the DSM-5 which shows conclusively that addiction to different substances should be classified as mental