Question 1
The main character of this film, Susanna Keysan, is diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. This diagnosis is made after she is sent to a mental institution, due to a suicide attempt a few days prior. During the introduction, the movie only skims over how Susanna got sent away. The only distinct symptoms they show before admission is impulsivity in sexual relationships, a suicide attempt, and pessimism.
Question 2 Susanna’s diagnosis should be taken into context. Girl, Interrupted is set in the 1960’s when people were sent to institutions for a long period of time with sometimes illegitimate reasons. Susanna was sent after a suicide attempt, but it remains somewhat ambiguous if what exactly was wrong with her. Regardless of the legitimacy of her diagnosis, she did behave in ways that indicated abnormality. When she attempts to kill herself by taking an entire bottle of aspirin followed by an entire bottle of vodka, it reveals a sense of …show more content…
It is important to understand the context in which it is analyzed, because the world was different 15 years ago compared to today, and even more different during the 60s. This movie had some true portrayal of abnormal psychology, as well as plenty of over the stop sensationalism. The movie’s theme involves the spectrum of abnormal to normal, crazy to sane, which is seen in the opening quote “Maybe I was just crazy. Maybe it was the 60s. Or maybe I was just a girl... interrupted.” The theme is explored throughout the movie, in a way that would slightly reduce stigma in the public view since it present mental illness as a sliding scale, rather than black and white, crazy or not crazy. Towards the end, Susanna said “Crazy isn 't being broken, or swallowing a dark secret. It 's you, or me, amplified”, inviting the audience to think of themselves, that what they think might think is crazy is just themselves
The main character of this film, Susanna Keysan, is diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. This diagnosis is made after she is sent to a mental institution, due to a suicide attempt a few days prior. During the introduction, the movie only skims over how Susanna got sent away. The only distinct symptoms they show before admission is impulsivity in sexual relationships, a suicide attempt, and pessimism.
Question 2 Susanna’s diagnosis should be taken into context. Girl, Interrupted is set in the 1960’s when people were sent to institutions for a long period of time with sometimes illegitimate reasons. Susanna was sent after a suicide attempt, but it remains somewhat ambiguous if what exactly was wrong with her. Regardless of the legitimacy of her diagnosis, she did behave in ways that indicated abnormality. When she attempts to kill herself by taking an entire bottle of aspirin followed by an entire bottle of vodka, it reveals a sense of …show more content…
It is important to understand the context in which it is analyzed, because the world was different 15 years ago compared to today, and even more different during the 60s. This movie had some true portrayal of abnormal psychology, as well as plenty of over the stop sensationalism. The movie’s theme involves the spectrum of abnormal to normal, crazy to sane, which is seen in the opening quote “Maybe I was just crazy. Maybe it was the 60s. Or maybe I was just a girl... interrupted.” The theme is explored throughout the movie, in a way that would slightly reduce stigma in the public view since it present mental illness as a sliding scale, rather than black and white, crazy or not crazy. Towards the end, Susanna said “Crazy isn 't being broken, or swallowing a dark secret. It 's you, or me, amplified”, inviting the audience to think of themselves, that what they think might think is crazy is just themselves