¶ … Girl, Interrupted (1999) is a film by James Mangold based on the eponymous 1993 memoir by Susanna Kaysen. The film recounts Kaysen's experiences in a mental institution during the late 1960s. The film stars Winona Ryder as Susanna Kaysen, Angelina Jolie as Lisa Rowe -- a role for which she won an Academy Award -- Brittany Murphy as Daisy Randone, Clea DuVall as Georgina Tuskin, and Elizabeth Moss as Polly "Torch" Clark, all of whom portray patients at the Claymoore Hospital during Kaysen's her institutionalization. Through the film's mise-en-scene, point-of-view, and narrative, Mangold is able to create a dramatic, yet sympathetic, portrayal of not only Kaysen's experiences, but also of the mental health system during this time. Through the film's composition, costuming, and setting, Kaysen's experiences at Claymoore Hospital are made more realistic. The film does not use crisp, saturated colors, but rather relies on muted, washed out colors that help to emphasize the mood of the mental institution. The use of these muted colors works well because it helps the audience to understand that the hospital was a depressing...
Additionally, the fact that film was shot at the Harrisburg State Hospital in Pennsylvania imbues the film with realism because it allows the audience to see how confining, yet simultaneously devoid of privacy, a mental institution was and is (IMDB, n.d.).
Thus, even Valerie singles out the protagonist as special from her insane peers. Susanna's conflicts are seen as more, rather than less compelling than the other women's struggles because Susanna is 'really' sane, and able to take the advice of good people like Valerie. In contrast, the problems of people such as Daisy, who has a flip hairdo and an enmeshed relationship with her sexually abusive father, are used more
Girl, Interrupted depicts the journey of a young lady, Susanna, from craziness back to sanity. After graduating high school, Susanna is the only one from her graduating class that does not go on to college. On the contrary, she does not want to follow in her mother's footsteps and instead wants to be a writer. However, Susanna takes a bottle of aspirin with vodka in an attempt to take control
film, Girl Interrupted is a demonstration of the development of an individual who may or may not have a psychological disorder but who struggles with acceptance and belonging and feels unable to control the outcome of her life or her success and/or failures. Suzanna Kaysen (Winona Ryder), the 18-year-old recent high school graduate demonstrates fragmented thoughts that manifest into outward disengagement in normal social situations. She feels trapped by
Chromosomal Abnormality: Down Syndrome Down Syndrome is a chromosomal abnormality which is accompanied by both serious physical and mental developmental problems, and it is one of the most common genetic syndromes. According to Rebecca Saenz (1999), Down Syndrome occurs in one out of every 800 to 1,000 live births, which is an extremely high rate of incidence. This disorder occurs equally among both boys and girls. There are several genetic occurrences
Diversity Sometimes the worst disabilities are those which are invisible to the naked eye; people who have a mental illness or disability are overwhelmingly stigmatized by society and discrimination against them is both widespread and fully condoned in our culture. (Johnstone, 2005). The disadvantages of mental disabilities are compounded by the fact that the abilities which are disabled, so to speak, tend to be those which are most useful in navigating
As for the implications of such celebrity-icon statuses, these can only be related to reactions and feelings of admiration, interest and even worship. The one consequence to be taken most seriously is the active influence that role models like Angelina Jolie have on the personalities of young fans, on teenagers who see in Jolie an example to be followed. This is the point where responsibility and awareness have to kick
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