Girl Interrupted - Essay Example

? Analysis of Ideology- Girl Interrupted Introduction: Girl interrupted is a beautiful movie which is well directed by James Mangold in 1999. This movie revolves around the life of a directionless and stressed teenager known as Susanna which is admitted in the hospital due to her failed suicidal attempt. However, she denies about her suicide attempt. Her doctor recommends her to get admitted in a psychiatric hospital which would help the young soul to re-discover the purpose of her being. Susanna is a teenager who is faced with different personality disorders. She is weak, she finds herself drawn to same sex, and depressed. During her stay in the psychiatric hospital, Susanna becomes friend with other ward-mates; a group of different women who are faced with different mental disorders. Susanna’s real life journey in finding her identity, purpose of her being and coping with her personality disorders. The story of the movie holds different themes and set of ideologies in it. Each theme tells the viewer of the reality, a different yet bitter truth that is faced by majority of the young generation and everyday life of a person who has no focus and no direction in life and how world and the society stands against that downtrodden soul. This is a true story of Susanna Kaysen which was earlier published in the form of a book under the same title. However, Susanna has tried her level best to communicate with the audience directly about the problems she was faced with in her life through this movie. This movie unveils the different hidden layers in the personality of a young teenager girl which represents the overall young generation and their suffering in a very well directed manner. The critical analysis of the movie enables us to understand what major key factors have been highlighted in the movie which can make us understand the reason behind the insanity of the patients shown in the movie and how well this movie narrates the causes that can dismantle the personality of a young teenager. Critical Analysis of the Movie: Girl interrupted is a movie which well describes the fact that how our society plays an important role in shaping the behavior and attitude of our young generation. Role of Society and the Family in the Life of a Child: We cannot deny the fact that culture is the basic key element in the establishment of a society however; our culture has failed to give the rights and the proper status to the young generation which has left them unfocused, directionless and depressed with a blur future. It has been clearly shown in the movie that those young children who do not get enough love from their homes and attention from their parents become the victim of confusion, distress and with the passage of time their personalities become shattered. Strong language has been used in the film which shows that how mentally unstable women use language as a medium to vent out their emotions and feelings of hate and betrayal. It is a common fact that those children who do not get attention from home become use to of using strong language in their daily life because they lack the sense of respect and grace for others and for themselves. This film describes the role of parents in this regard that how their attitude can push their child into insanity. It is important to understand that female children are more prone to adopt compulsive personality as compare to males. Gender Exploitation: As the title of the movie says, “Girl Interrupted,” this movie revolves around the story of a female which is a victim of gender exploitation by the society and also by the culture. It is important to understand that women are the victim of discrimination; they are provided with limited choices with no significant importance given to them by the society. In today’s world, women are faced with prejudices and gender bias by majority of groups present in the society. Similarly, in the movie Susanna is shown as a weak gender which is the victim of inequality, betrayal and harassment. Majority of women are faced with mental stress and personality disorders. It has been observed that the symptoms of such illness are much apparent and obvious in women universally. The director of the movie has carefully shown that how these women has become the prey of incest and male dominance. It has also been observed that women has been found out of more shoplifting, eating disorders and alcoholism as compare to males because of their mental illness and vulnerability. The movie clearly highlights the way and the behavior of the American society towards the treatment of such women (Vera Chouinard). These women face extreme prejudice and discrimination from the society on the basis of their gender. This movie became immense popular among females because of the subject that addresses their problems and the attitude of the society and culture towards them. This movie explains the journey of Susanna that how she became friends with the women who were suffering from the same disorders and about her quest in search of peace and getting out of the pain of her deadly past. On every stage of her life, Susanna has been shown a vulnerable helpless soul who is making every effort to break the chains and to get rid of her unrest soul. Overall the direction, the editing and the cinematography of the film is good and the director has put all his efforts to show how these mentally ill women are treated in such an environment. The film compels its viewer to ask few questions from themselves that what could be some of the basic factors that contribute together in shaping the personality of a teenager; parents, culture or the society. Insanity: The film revolves around the strong theme of insanity that how cultural values, family attention and societal discrimination against women can bring about changes in a person. The movie’s lead character Susanne has been shown as the main person who suffers from personality and mental disorder mainly because of all the factors mentioned above in her life. Instability and insanity in her personality is due to how she was treated by the people around her. She became friends with the women from the same background in her ward who had different personality traits in themselves. Her insanity and insecurity brought her closer to Lisa who is shown as the dominant figure in the movie and that how Susanne finds security and feeling of attachment and belongingness with her. It is important to understand that insanity is the root cause of all the evils in the society. Insanity happens mainly due to some behavioral disorders, madness or unrest in one’s attitude due to various reasons. These reasons can be neglecting attitude of the family or it can be depression (Porter Roy). The film shows that how Susanne develops insanity which brings her closer to other women who are suffering from the same condition. These women are very much obsessed with each other mainly because of the condition and the environment which has brought them closer to each other. Each one of them relies on one another. Susanne finds herself emotionally dependent on Lisa who is a psychopath and has a greater influence on rest of the group members. They feel a strong bond with each other. It has also been shown in the movie that circumstances play an important role in a person’s life; same circumstances bring people closer to each other regardless of their gender and position in the society. Conclusion: The movie has a positive ending which shows the recovery of Susanne along with her other group mates. She is headed for a new journey in her life; a journey that is filled with confidence and experiences of her past. This movie well shows the various phases in one’s life; a mixture of love, hate, betrayal, insanity, rejection and acceptation. This movie has covered all the basic themes that are present in our society and a complete analysis of the key elements that contribute in giving rise to emotionally unstable generation. Works Cited: James Mangold. “Girl Interrupted.” Motion Pictures. (1999) Porter, Roy. “Madness-A Brief History.” Oxford University Press. (2002), p.10 Chouinard, Vera. "Placing The 'Mad Woman': Troubling Cultural Representations Of Being A Woman With Mental Illness In Girl Interrupted." Social & Cultural Geography 10.7 (2009): 791-804. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Dec. 2011. Read More