Schizophrenia In Donnie Darko

In Donnie Darko, the titular character is a person with paranoid schizophrenia. Donnie exhibits signs of hallucinations, and has an imaginary friend, whom is a tall man in a rabbit costume named Frank. Donnie has delusions where he believes Frank is telling him to commit crimes, and eventually, that Frank is going to kill someone. Donnie also is a person with an emotional disability (cdc.gov, Communicating With and About People with Disabilities), and he is distance from people, often feels angry and wants to argue with people and even ends up committing a sort of suicide at the end of the film. It is unknown how Donnie became schizophrenic, however he is shown smoking a cigarette in high school, and smoking nicotine is linked to schizophrenia (nimh.nih.gov, schizophrenia), and when Donnie is talking with his therapist, he tells her that when he was eight, his dog died and hide alone somewhere to die alone, and he confesses he doesn’t want to be alone, loneliness and negative thoughts are related to schizophrenia (Beck AT 2004). Schizophrenia was first identified as a mental illness in 1887, and has traces back to Egyptian times when pharaohs ruled. They were believed to be physical illness related to the heart.Eugen Bleuler finally coined the term schizophrenia in 1911, and separated it into positive or negative, the word tracing to the Latin words for “split” and “mind”. Today, schizophrenia is divided into five types in the DSM-III, and the evidence that it is a biological brain disease is gathering more popularity and support, and the future looks good, because it seems as cures may be possible. (schizophrenia.com/history)

In the film, Donnie isn’t treated any differently by anyone else due to being a person with schizophren...

... middle of paper ...

...ge them to be more visible, which would lead to a positive attitude towards their disability, and a positive attitude felt by those around them. (Christiaan Kier, Chapter 7 powerpoint). For example, there is the Americans with Disabilities act that was passed in 1990, and that was made to change how society and employers thought of towards people with disabilities. (Jason Andrew, Rehabilitation Services). Since then, many acts and laws have been added to give power and recognition to people with disabilities, so they could integrate with society as part of that society and feel positive about their disability rather than just an outcast. Portrayal of people with disabilities is needed to inform everyone that these people have the same rights as anyone else and that they instead of thinking of them as having limitations, they should focus on what they can accomplish.