Are movies confusing people's impression of mental illness? (07/30/01)

by Ulrika Kahl, Ph.D.

I saw a movie on TV the other day. It was an American production from 1995, called "Dare to Love", and it was based on a true story. The movie starred Josie Bissett from TV's long-running series "Melrose Place". In the movie Bissett plays a young, beautiful woman, who is happily engaged to the love of her life. Then schizophrenia strikes, and suddenly her whole life changes. She gets hospitalized and separated from her fiancé, family, and friends. She refuses medication, and her condition becomes more and more severe. She gets put in an isolation cell in the mental institution she is in. An attempt of her very supportive parents to bring her back home fails completely, and she is sent back to isolation. Eventually she agrees to take medication - clozapine - and eight years after the hospitalization she is discharged.

Realizing that she is still in love with the man she was once engaged to, she tracks him down, and they meet again. Despite the many years of separation, the man too still has strong feelings for his previous significant other. Although, he also has doubts whether he dares to get back together, and fear that the woman's mental illness may separate them once again. After some hesitation he gives in and agrees to re-unite, and in the end scene the two lovers dance calmly to "their song". The after-text lets us know that they are still together and in love, leading what is referred to as a "normal" life. The production company - feared of giving promises that may lead to law suits, I assume - also inserts a sentence, indicating that Bissett's amazing way of improving is unordinary and only happens to about 15 percent of patients that are treated with clozapine.

"Dare to Love", I think, is unusually realistic in many ways, compared to many other movies that deal with mental illness, and a lot of people will probably be able to relate to the characters in the movie. However, there is still the same old Hollywood glow over it. Why do the movie producers have to go overboard with happiness in the end? I think convincing the audience that medication indeed often helps can be done in a much more subtle way. Why not let the character just simply improve and slowly start getting back to life, without picturing her as the complete "Miss-100-percent-happy-all-over-overnight"? In the last scene of the movie there is not even a trace of the eight years of mental illness in Bissett's character, or anybody around her for that matter, and that is hardly realistic.

I have no direct personal experience from schizophrenia or other mental illness myself. That is, none of my relatives or close friends has so far been diagnosed with schizophrenia. However, I do consider myself enough informed to realize how mental illness ruins millions of lives over the world every year. I ask myself what it is people want to see on the wide screen? Do people who are going through the turns of mental illness themselves feel uplifted from watching "Dare to Love", feeling that there is hope and joy in the future? Or do they get confused that their ride is not quite as smooth? Do the unrealistic parts of the movie make them annoyed? I am just asking.

Mental illness is one of those sensitive matters that you never know how much you can joke about, or how much you can ignore the truth about when portraiting it. Just like alcoholism, eating disorders, religion, death, war, violence, sexual abuse, and many others. Whenever a serious topic is presented inaccurately or as a joke on film, many of those who know the real deal will be upset or hurt. Which is very understandable. There is always a chance that the audience will get the wrong ideas, and that very serious matters are simplified in a negative way. If you are in pain from something, it feels hard when the general public is basically given the impression that what is causing the pain is just a joke, and not something life devastating.

Mental illness is a much bigger burden to society than I think most people realize. A huge amount of money and resources is spent on trying to help the mentally ill and their close friends and relatives, to inform people that mental illness are due to neurobiological defects, and to find medications and treatments for mental illness.

So I wonder, why is it that Hollywood can't spend a little more time, effort, and budget, to find out the real facts and truth before they make a movie about such a serious matter as mental illness? I am sure there are many out there who would appreciate it.

Movie facts on eonline

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