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Spider: Realistic depiction of mental illness? Or just another horror movie? ******************************************************* |
Along Came A Spider Renowned horror movie director David Cronenberg’s Spider is the bleak, depressing tale of “a schizophrenic” stuck in the twilight world between fantasy and reality. It matter-of-factly infers that the lives of such people take place outside of the real, tangible, physical world, thereby invalidating their existence and denying them any hope for normalcy or self-sufficiency. Cronenberg opens his movie with giallo visuals of the Rorshach test plates, which vacillate between vague outlines of the human brain and peeling paint chips that camouflage hidden faces - indicative of something or someone gradually falling apart. And in a commendable attempt to circumvent stereotypical portrayals of schizophrenia, Cronenberg avoids the use of inflammatory and volatile labels such as “schizophrenic” or “mental patient,” which are standard elements in movies of this type. In fact, if the viewer had no prior knowledge of the movie’s premise, he or she would not know that Ralph Fiennes is portraying “a schizophrenic.” Apparently Cronenberg was confident that the audience would know, by Spider’s behavior, that he was “schizophrenic.” From the opening scene Spider (Ralph Fiennes) shuffles onto the screen disheveled, disoriented and paranoid. He exhibits a lack of emotions and his expressions are flat, which are textbook symptoms of schizophrenia. And true to the trademark tradition of Cronenberg’s obsession with insects, Dennis (Spider), like “the Fly on the wall” is “the Spider on the wall” observing his younger self while vicariously slipping in and out of reality in a dismal attempt to unravel his past. Did returning to “the scene of the crime” trigger Spider’s memory of past events? If so, then the events unfolding for Spider are in fact flashbacks (however vivid or distorted) and not hallucinations, and the younger Spider - who believed that his father had murdered his mother and had replaced her with a prostitute - is the one who was delusional, not the older Spider, who was merely recalling the events. People who suffer from PTSD have vivid flashbacks, but are not “schizophrenic.”
There are frequent allusions to the younger Spider having an oedipal complex, such as his annoyed reaction when he sees his father embracing his mother through an open window, and his fleeing when she asks him if he thinks his father will like her new undergarment. Then there is the scene where the father is involved in an intimate embrace with the prostitute (who is also the mother) and when he turns around, he has become the older Spider, who was initially observing the event, not involved in it. Was the real culprit therefore an oedipal fixation - or was Spider born “schizophrenic” and doomed to a hopeless life of schizophrenia as the movie implies? If so, this would conflict with the current literature which suggests that, “the first signs of schizophrenia typically emerge in the teenage years or twenties” (NAMI Schizophrenia Fact Sheet). There are also indications that Spider may have suffered from OCD, evident by his obsessive and meticulous note-taking which is eerily hieroglyphic and unintelligible to the viewer, legible only to himself. It almost appears as though a hodgepodge of diagnostic criteria were thrown together to create the illusion of a “schizophrenic” personality. While Spider is not overtly stigmatizing, like the 1977 movie Schizo, whose promotional poster dared to shout “Schizophrenia: when the left hand doesn’t know who the right hand is killing,” it is covertly stigmatizing in that it subtly equates schizophrenia as synonymous with the notion of a split-personality. This is evidenced by the fact that whenever the young Spider appears on the screen, the older Spider is right around the bend or right alongside him watching his every move. Yet, contrary to popular opinion, this common misconception is based on stereotypes about schizophrenia. Even the NAMI “Schizophrenia Fact Sheet” states that, “a person with schizophrenia does not have a split personality.” A recent box-office hit which solidified this misconception was the slapstick comedy “Me, Myself & Irene,” starring comedian Jim Carrey. Mike Ward, an online film critic from PopMatters.com notes that: “Me, Myself & Irene is premised on Carrey pretending to have a mental problem with an incredibly straightforward dynamic… although the movie casually refers to his disease as “schizophrenia,” it probably goes without saying that split personality and schizophrenia actually have nothing to do with each other.” The poster for this movie shows the face of Jim Carrey being split down the middle with a caption that reads, From Gentle to Mental, obviously reflecting his split personality. Ironically, the pressbook of a 1972 movie titled "Schizoid," on it's Exploitation Page offers the following suggestion: "Split Personality Display - Have one half of a poster or lobby paper shot in negative and re-fixed to its position on the display as an added accent to the split-personality theme suggested by the title. Another similar effect can be created to spark up your display by tearing a poster in half and re-pasting it on a dark background board so that the tear is easily visible."
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Excerpts from the Night Runner, Twisted Nerve, House of Crazies and Schizoid Pressbooks
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| Twisted Nerve |
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| New York Times |
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| the Night Runner |
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| Schizoid |
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| House of Crazies |
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Thumbnail images: click-on image to read details ***************************************************** Critics have praised what they call Cronenberg’s truthful approach to Spider and allege that this is a far more realistic depiction of schizophrenia than Ron Howard’s “feel-good” movie “A Beautiful Mind.” But while “A Beautiful Mind” certainly took more creative liberties than Spider did in its obvious attempt to entertain the audience, it was no more, nor less realistic than Spider pretends to be. What clearly distinguishes Spider from “A Beautiful Mind,” is that where Ron Howard offered hope and validated the worth of his main character, David Cronenberg offers no hope, and sets the stage for a frightening reversion to the days of Bedlam - as it is apparent to the viewer that the patient (Spider) has been prematurely released from the asylum. This is a standard plot which recalls the 1957 movie “The Night Runner” - which is also about a prematurely released “schizophrenic,” who ends up murdering the father of the woman he falls in love with. The poster for this movie reads: “Are Mental Patients Turned Loose Too Soon?” And excerpts from “The Night Runner” pre-release promotional pressbook actually offered the following suggestions: “Contact all law enforcement agencies, Federal, State, County and Municipal, and ask them to furnish you with all the “wanted” posters they have in which the criminal being sought has a history of mental illness... After you get them, mount them on as big a square of campo board as is necessary to carry them, print some heading over them, such as Why Are They at Large?, and put this striking confirmation of the thesis of The Night Runner in a prominent place in your lobby.”
A final movie which deserves to be mentioned here is John Cadigan’s “People Say I'm Crazy” which is “the real-life story of an artist’s struggle with schizophrenia.” In the vein of Ron Howard’s “A Beautiful Mind,” - and not Spider’s doom and gloom forecast - “People Say I’m Crazy” is a documentary of hope and courage. It is the real-life story of an individual who, not because of his illness but in spite of his illness, created genuine artistic masterpieces worthy of critical acclaim that any “normal” person would be proud of. Spider conveys no meaningful message or promise of hope. One would be wise to take into consideration the advice offered on the video sleeve for David Cronenberg’s Naked Lunch: “Exterminate All Rational Thought.” Viewers who are really interested in the facts about schizophrenia and not the fiction would be well-advised to watch “People Say I’m Crazy." David @ mentalhealthstigma.com
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To view more excerpts from the Night Runner pressbook and other pressbooks click-on to the "images of PsychoMedia" page.
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Stigma: the #1 Barrier to Recovery SAN FRANCISCO, May 19th / PRNewswire / A survey released today by the National Mental Health Association (NMHA) identifies three core barriers to improving quality of life for people with schizophrenia and their family and friends who act as caregivers. Stigma ranks as the number one barrier to recovery, followed by inadequate insurance coverage and lack of access to appropriate treatments and services. At a press briefing today at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) annual meeting, NMHA released the results of the Barriers to Recovery survey, outlined its implications and offered a roadmap for breaking down these barriers. The Barriers to Recovery survey demonstrates how misperceptions continue to form the basis of the public's knowledge of schizophrenia, contributing largely to the stigma regarding the illness. The survey reveals that the general public has little faith that people with schizophrenia can hold jobs, raise families and contribute to society. This survey shows a dramatic disparity between the attitudes of people with schizophrenia and caregivers, compared with those of the general public, said Chuck Ingoglia, senior vice president, policy and services, NMHA. In reality, people with schizophrenia and the people closest to them have the most accurate picture of the illness. The inaccurate public perception is the root of stigma, by far the largest barrier to improving quality of life for people with schizophrenia and their caregivers. The survey shows 58 percent of people with schizophrenia and 47 percent of caregivers believe successful treatment exists for schizophrenia, compared with only 27 percent of the general public. Approximately one-half of the general public believes people with depression can hold jobs (50%) and raise families (49%), while only 14 percent of the general public thinks that people with schizophrenia can do either of these. Stigma seems to make it acceptable for people to treat me differently explained Bill Compton, a panelist at the briefing. I don't think I'd have to fight that same level of discrimination if I had a physical illness or even a different mental illness. (click here for complete article) |
******************************************************* "People Say I'm Crazy" by John Cadigan |
The Real-Life Story of an Artist's Struggle with Schizophrenia During his senior year in college, artist John Cadigan had a psychotic break. He dropped out of school and cycled through a number of drugs and doctors, then decided to film his agonizing battle with schizophrenia. People Say I'm Crazy is the first documentary ever photographed and directed by someone with schizophrenia. John invites viewers to tour the inside of his mind, a chaotic and creative universe, where he struggles to know what is real and what is not. In the vein of A Beautiful Mind, People Say I'm Crazy is a documentary of hope and courage which tears down stereotypes about the violent and deranged schizophrenic, challenges the current doom-and-gloom forecast of people diagnosed with schizophrenia, and forces the audience to question their own beliefs about mental illness. "Holding a video camera, John Cadigan approaches his mother and asks her to tell him how she felt when he was diagnosed with schizophrenia..." SFGate.com
***************************************************** Fear Strikes Out by Michael Fox Sooner or later, every documentary maker runs into a prickly, unhelpful subject. For Palo Alto artist and novice filmmaker John Cadigan, a diagnosed schizophrenic who set out to chronicle his illness on camera, that uncooperative interviewee was himself. "When I'm feeling awful, I can't film," he admits in People Say I'm Crazy. Just as disturbing are the sequences in which he expresses a distrust of his sister, Katie, who produced the doc with him. "We included those scenes," Katie says, "because they were some of the most clearly articulated paranoias he had in the course of filming." Wisely, the siblings figured out long ago how to skate through rough patches. "If the paranoia erupts, we have a regular system of checking in," Katie says. An alumna of Stanford's graduate doc program who profiled John in her 1994 thesis film, Out of My Mind, Katie reports that shooting People was much easier for her brother - since he controlled what got recorded - than editing. "Looking back at the darker moments could trigger minor meltdowns for him," she explains. "But by the time we were to fine cut, he was able to watch the whole thing through comfortably." And when People had its world premiere six weeks ago at the USA Film Festival in Dallas, John signed autographs for the folks who lined up. "Through the process of making this film and going so public with his intimate story, John has become quite comfortable with public audiences," Katie says. The Cadigans are collaborating on another documentary, about the hysterical and misleading portrayals of schizophrenia in popular culture. As its title (Wacko) suggests, it's intended to be funny as well as scathing. John and Katie Cadigan will be on hand when People Say I'm Crazy premieres locally on June 7 at 8 p.m. at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts as part of HBO's documentary showcase, "Frame by Frame." ***************************************************** Upcoming movie: See Grace Fly/Award-winning movie about schizophrenia partly based on actual events: "Driven by the courage of love and the agony of mental illness, See Grace Fly slams heart first into faith, death, sex and family, offering a gripping look at the precarious balance between belief and reality."
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