I agree with many who've stated they didn't think she was labeled as having borderline personality disorder; the only thing we were told is that her medication (Zyprexa) is used to treat psychosis related to psychological disorders such as schizophrenia and I'm not sure if they also said bipolar disorder (which IS in fact accurate). And I think the average moviegoer, many who have never seen Single White Female, will never make the leap to think Rebecca has borderline personality disorder, since that diagnosis is not mentioned in the movie.
I really didn't take offense to the reference to Rebecca's illness, and I have mental illness in my family. Why? Because not all people with mental illness have psychosis. I work in the field and have done tons of research, and only in acute depression, schizophrenia, or acute mania do people exhibit psychosis. Psychosis is not a feature of borderline personality disorder.
And of course, not all people who are psychotic are evil, or criminal. As a matter of fact, violence is not common in persons with mental disorder, but some who are, can be extremely violent, just as we see in the entire human population as a whole. I don't think most people are ignorant enough to believe that just because a person has a mental disorder, they will do such horribly evil things as Rebecca does. Just like, when we watched Shine or The Soloist, we will not assume that most people with a mental disorder are all musical prodigies.
People with a mental illness are no different than ANYONE else with any other sort of illness, be it cancer, diabetes, or heart disease.....they can be good or bad, smart or not so smart, kind or evil, pacifists or pathologically violent. I think most people will understand that Rebecca, regardless of her illness and not because of it, is incredibly pathological.
Rather than perpetuating negative stereotypes, I think the movie actually does something positive as far as highlighting that Rebecca is prescibed medication. This tends to give the idea that psychosis is treatable, which it often is. It leads the audience to hold out the hope that WERE she on her prescribed meds, she might have a shot at behaving as a well adjusted young woman. It implies that her condition IS in fact treatable.
I also think that simply stating when a character in a movie has ANY sort mental disorder, and giving it a name, that this is progressive and is anti-stigmatizing, regardless of how that person is portrayed. Because mental illnesses have traditionally been so "hidden" and misunderstood, it is important to combat this by kind of being "out of the closet" about them, and naming them. By your stating "I have borderline personality disorder" and by my stating "In my family there is bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, and clinical depression", we are bringing mental illness to light, which is a very very good thing. It also invites conversations such as this very one, where information is exchanged by people like us who actually live with the illnesses in one form or another can help shed some light on this subject by actually discussing the facts and not perpetuating so many myths. These conversations help dispel those myths.
And yes, absolutely, I do wish there were more movies that portray people that have mental illness would be more realistic and show those who lead pretty ok, well adjusted lives...however, such characters are not usually the ones that most people would enjoy seeing. Maybe one day they can produce more movies insired by real life stories of someone like Catherine Zeta-Jones, who lives with bipolar disorder and so far has not killed kittens, puppies, or humans!
I do absolutely see your point, Monica, however, that The Roommate portrays the mentally ill person in a bad light, and in that sense it IS reinforcing the stereotype that mental illness = messed up psychotic evil person. But I think the difference for how you and I feel about this issue is found in your statement:
If you saw this movie and were an idiot and then met someone with borderline personality, you wouldn't understand that there are degrees of it ....
I don't think most people are idiots, and won't make the wrong assumptions, simply because Rebecca's behavior is so extreme, people will understand that this is one REALLY sick individual and not representative of a typical person with a mental illness (even those that become psychotic!). However, if even ONE person out there at some point has had any kind of combination of delusional/obsessive/psychotic behavior, maybe out of simple (and simple-minded) fear of not acting as the character in this movie did, and they take their meds or seek some sort of help, even as simplistic as such reasoning might be, then at least something good will come out of this movie.
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