So let's talk about something more interesting than the sources I used to gather my information. Through the cinema and various perceptions of schizophrenia and MPD, the truth about these disorders can be confusing and not entirely correct in evaluation.
Let's start out with some movies that portray these two disorders in different and a more accurate light. The plot for the movie Identity is a murder mystery about a man with multiple personalities. In the link of the clip, John Cusack's character Ed has just realized that his perception of who he thought he was is based on one of the personalities created in the serial killer Malcom River's mind. In Identity, the multiple personalities created by Malcom collide into each other's world when one identity begins to kill all of the others off. By the end of the movie viewers are left with another slasher film after discovering that the little boy Timmy is the identity committing the heinous murders. Although it may not be the best horror flick, the portrayal of Malcom River and his severe cas of MPD is fairly authentic.
Perhaps one of the most haunting movies about a true case of severe MPD is found through the story of Sybil Mason who was severely abused as a child. The movie Sybil starring Sally Field portrays the adolescence and adulthood of the psychologically troubled women with sixteen different personalities. Sybil is well directed and acted movie showcasing the affects and prominent tendencies with the disorder and although it is slightly exaggerated, it stays fairly true to the real story of the woman with MPD.
Of course there are many representation of MPD and schizophrenia in movies that aren't as well portrayed. In most cases, illnesses like schizophrenia and MPD are exaggerated or combined into an almost entirely new disease for a more interesting plot.
That's true in the case of Donnie Darko, a movie about a troubled teenager in high school who experiences both sign of schizophrenia, multiple personalities, and the ability to time travel with some clairvoyance about future events. Donnie also periodically stops taking his medication in the movie which allows him to see his friend Frank, a large grey rabbit who guides him into another dimension. Obviously, Donnie's psychosis is obviously extremely exaggerated, but it doesn't stop from making it a great story.
The movie Pi and A Beautiful Mind are both psychological thrillers sharing two themes: the presence of schizophrenia in the main characters and their fascination for numbers and math. A Beautiful Mind is based off of the real life of John Forbes Nash Jr., a math prodigy who also suffered with years of schizophrenia. While this movie gives a realistic portrayal of the disorder, Pi, a movie also about an incredibly talented numerical genius who suffers from schizophrenia, exaggerates the main character's illness to coincide with the psychological twists in the movie plot.
The media's fascination of portraying schizophrenia and MPD in popular culture is perhaps due to the still little known information there really is on multiple personalities since patient cases are can vary so much. A new popular Showtime series called United States of Tara even adds humor to the subject of MPD.
I love the movie Sybil. I agree with you that the movie is exaggerated but it was still interesting to watch and then later to learn that the movie was based on a real person. Because of movies, I always assumed that schizophrenia was the same as multiple personality disorder. I feel the media has blurred the line between the two illnesses, making the terms and illnesses interchangeable. What do you think? Great work on your blog.
ReplyDeleteThis series looks really interesting! I knew there was a difference between MPD and Schizophrenia, but I just thought that people with Schizophrenia always had MPD as well. But that is interesting that you said schizophrenia is a disorder you are born with. In this one book I read, it talked about a boy who wasnt diagnosed with schizophrenia till he was in college. So do you think thatthe book was just wrong, or is it possible that he was born with it but it just didnt show up till like twenty years later in his life?
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your presentation and topic. I am writing because I had another question. Can drug abuse cause schizophrenia? I’ve heard a lot of people say it that.
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