False Portrayal of Mental Illness in the Media Essay -- The Roommate, F

False Portrayal of Mental Illness in the Media Protagonist The movie â€Å"The Roommate,† revolves around a young girl named Sarah (Minka Kelly) who is starting her freshman year of college. Little does she know that she has a roommate that is diagnosed with numerous mental disorders that she is not treating by taking her medication. When they are initially acquainted as roommates, Sara comes across as being innocent and depicts very normal behavior. However, as soon as Rebecca and Sarah become closer to each other, Rebecca forms an obsession with Sara and strange events begin to occur. Each of Sarah’s close friends or allies becomes hurt, and even killed. As soon as Sara discovers the symptoms of her mental illness, she becomes extremely wary in her presence, and grows more distant of her. Additionally, she sees her as a threat and as the cause of all the wrongdoing that is occurring around her. Diagnosis portrayed In the movie, the antagonist, Rebecca is diagnosed with bipolar disorder. However, the movie does not initially introduce her as someone with this mental illness. Rather, at the start of the movie, Rebecca acts naà ¯ve, innocent, and completely normal. As a result, no one gets the slightest impression that she is abnormal in any way. Ultimately, the truth is revealed to the leading character, Sara, when Rebecca’s mother asks if she has been taking her medication. Moreover, things become significantly clearer when Sara and her love interest, Stephen, find a full bottle of Zyprexa pills in her room, implying that she has not been taking her medication. Thereupon, they find out that it is used to treat bipolar disorder. Dysfunction portrayed As the duration of the movie progresses, Rebecca’s true colors come out when ... ...e but that she is also sad and very lonely. Nevertheless, the scene at the end of the movie, showing Rebecca’s death, was inevitable that left me feeling empty, and empathetic towards Rebecca. However, from a clinical view, I am a bit insulted in how the media depicted her disorder as being inhumane and monstrous. On the same note, it disappointed me to see that many viewers would get a misguided impression of the people who suffer from bipolar disorder. References Crowe, M. (2011). Feeling out of control: A qualitative analysis of the impact of bipolar disorder. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 19, 294-302. Karriem, Vernada. (2011). Understanding Bipolar Disorder. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/ss/slideshow-bipolar-disorder-overview False Portrayal of Mental Illness in the Media Essay -- The Roommate, F False Portrayal of Mental Illness in the Media Protagonist The movie â€Å"The Roommate,† revolves around a young girl named Sarah (Minka Kelly) who is starting her freshman year of college. Little does she know that she has a roommate that is diagnosed with numerous mental disorders that she is not treating by taking her medication. When they are initially acquainted as roommates, Sara comes across as being innocent and depicts very normal behavior. However, as soon as Rebecca and Sarah become closer to each other, Rebecca forms an obsession with Sara and strange events begin to occur. Each of Sarah’s close friends or allies becomes hurt, and even killed. As soon as Sara discovers the symptoms of her mental illness, she becomes extremely wary in her presence, and grows more distant of her. Additionally, she sees her as a threat and as the cause of all the wrongdoing that is occurring around her. Diagnosis portrayed In the movie, the antagonist, Rebecca is diagnosed with bipolar disorder. However, the movie does not initially introduce her as someone with this mental illness. Rather, at the start of the movie, Rebecca acts naà ¯ve, innocent, and completely normal. As a result, no one gets the slightest impression that she is abnormal in any way. Ultimately, the truth is revealed to the leading character, Sara, when Rebecca’s mother asks if she has been taking her medication. Moreover, things become significantly clearer when Sara and her love interest, Stephen, find a full bottle of Zyprexa pills in her room, implying that she has not been taking her medication. Thereupon, they find out that it is used to treat bipolar disorder. Dysfunction portrayed As the duration of the movie progresses, Rebecca’s true colors come out when ... ...e but that she is also sad and very lonely. Nevertheless, the scene at the end of the movie, showing Rebecca’s death, was inevitable that left me feeling empty, and empathetic towards Rebecca. However, from a clinical view, I am a bit insulted in how the media depicted her disorder as being inhumane and monstrous. On the same note, it disappointed me to see that many viewers would get a misguided impression of the people who suffer from bipolar disorder. References Crowe, M. (2011). Feeling out of control: A qualitative analysis of the impact of bipolar disorder. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 19, 294-302. Karriem, Vernada. (2011). Understanding Bipolar Disorder. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/ss/slideshow-bipolar-disorder-overview