Silver Linings Playbook Mental Health

Hollywood’s portrayal of debilitating conditions of mental health has been historically and overwhelmingly inaccurate, increasing stigmas and stereotypes. The majority of mental health awareness seems to come from movies and media. It has been argued that television and movies are the most powerful medium for framing public consciousness (Rose, 1998). The film, Silver Linings Playbook, has attempted to be honest and stigma reducing but it ultimately ends up being a clichéd romantic comedy about a man with bipolar disorder and a woman suffering from her own mental health issues. While it is effective in giving a brief glimpse of mental health issues, it ultimately simplifies the real effects and ends with the message that true love will solve

the world’s problems.
The movie opens with Pat, who suffers from Bipolar disorder, being released from a psychiatric hospital by his mother, against the advisement of his doctor. We learn he has been institutionalized for eight months after violently attacking the man his wife was having an affair with. Throughout the movie, Pat’s moods are unstable and he takes his medication sporadically, thinking instead that his obsessive workout routines will work better as he doesn’t feel “good” when he is on his medication. Pat is consumed with thoughts of reconnecting with his estranged wife Nikki, who has a restraining order against him. He wants her to know that he is doing better and is constantly worried about what he is doing and whether or not she will find out. Pat suggests many times throughout the movie that his father has obsessive compulsive tendencies with regards to superstitious rituals before and during football games. Pat’s father also has a history of violent outbursts.
Pat soon connects with Tiffany, who is struggling with her own unnamed mental health issues, seemingly brought on by her husband’s death. Tiffany has lost her job due to her depression and inappropriate sexual behaviour and moved into an addition built in the back yard of her parents’ house and goes to “a lot of therapy.” Pat and Tiffany build a relationship throughout the movie after they have exchanged favours -Pat needs a letter delivered to Nikki, and Tiffany needs a partner to enter a dance competition with. The two become closer as they train for the dance competition and ultimately end up falling in love. With the support of Pat’s family, the efforts of his psychiatrist, and true love, he ultimately achieves a happy ending.
The depiction of violent outbursts in this movie is worrisome as it seems like the creators are making a connection to mental health and violent behaviours. Extreme violence at the hands of characters suffering from a mental health concern seems to be the norm portrayed by the film industry, allowing the common assumption that people assumed to be suffering from a mental health condition are unsafe, dangerous and violent (Edney, 2004). According to Arboleda- Flórez there is no reliable evidence to support that mental health concerns are a cause for violence and these stereotypes seem to have been made based on statements of philosophy and social values rather than empirical data and theory (Arboleda-Flórez, 1998). In fact, according to the Canadian Mental Health Association, people with mental health concerns are more likely to be victims of violence than the perpetrators (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2014). Pat violently beat the person that Nikki was having an affair with, had a violent altercation with his mother and father, and then there is a brawl at the football game in which Pat and his brother partake. This would lead one to believe that Pat’s violent behaviour’s must come from that fact that he is bipolar; however, when looking deeper it is also possible that Pat’s violent outbursts are learned behaviours as we see that his father does not hesitate to repeatedly hit Pat in one scene and we also learn that Pat’s father has been banned from the football stadium for violent behaviour.
Another stereotype that you can see reflected in Pat and Tiffany is that they are unemployed; both having been fired from their jobs as a result of their mental health concerns, and they have both lost their homes and are now living with their parents. This creates the impression that most people with mental illness are dependent on others and maintains the idea that individuals with debilitating mental health concerns are incapable of being productive members of society and are a drain on community resources (Edney, 2004). While this stereotype of being a burden can be backed up by financial costs to the Canadian government in health care costs and lost employment productivity, I still feel this is a negative attitude to have and should not be further exemplified in films (Davis, 2014).
A scene in the movie that is also troublesome is at the end of the movie when Pat and Tiffany perform their dance at the dance competition.

Tiffany and Pat have been working on their routine for months and both see their practice as a form of therapy. Pat believes that the dance competition and structured practices are giving him a sense of purpose, discipline and focus. Pat’s father has turned their dance into part of a bet where they must score at least a five in the competition but when they arrive at the dance competition they see that the other dancers they are competing against are professional dancers who are scoring points of seven. Pat and Tiffany perform their eccentric, off beat dance which seems to be meant to prompt laughter and awkwardness. The choreographer for this dance, Mandy Moore, said, "The dance wasn't supposed to be a polished piece. It's supposed to look a little funky and crazy the way that they are” (People, 2012). Pat and Tiffany are painfully serious about their performance even when they don’t completely get their final lift right and we have an awkward moment where we are supposed to be laughing at the characters and their mental health concerns. Pat and Tiffany continue to get laughs from the crowd as their scores are announced, but they manage to get an average score of five and Pat’s father has won the bet. Their awkward dance and low score seems to supports the idea that those with mental health concerns will not be successful. I feel this scene further enforces that it is acceptable to find hilarity in those with mental health concerns and their lack of developed social

skills.
Richard Brody writes in The New Yorker that this story challenges the medical establishment and the efficacy of medical science in bringing about results (Brody, 2012). From my learning in class with regards to the anti-psychiatry model, it could even be said that this movie is created with that in mind. Anti-psychiatry, from my understanding rejects the idea of medication and institutionalization. Pat is not interested in taking his medication from the beginning of the movie where he is spits them out after pretending to take them in front of a nurse. During one scene, he and Tiffany have, what I believe to be, a de-stigmatizing conversation about medications over the dinner table. They both discuss several medications they have been told to take and their negative side effects. Most anti-psychotic medications have terrible side effects and this is a discussion I have heard from people I know who take those kinds of medications. It was a realistic and light conversation and I felt like it was an important scene. It seems as though a personal and family centered approach was more effective for Pat then the medications and therapies. It becomes unclear towards the end of the movie whether or not Pat is still taking his medication and if he has improved solely because of his family support and his new love interest. This can be a dangerous idea to present to the public as medications do have their place and falling in love will not cure a bipolar disorder. Pat’s mother releases him from the mental hospital after eight months, against recommendations from doctors because she does not want him to become used to the routine and life there, believing instead that he is better off at home with his family. This idea that family care is better than institutionalized care is also supported by the anti-psychiatry approach.
Another interesting prejudice that can be seen in this movie is the inaccurate portrayal of the therapist and the general negative attitude towards therapy. Pat does not want to go to therapy, and it is his mother that drives him to the appointment, explaining that it is part of the deal with regards to him being released from the mental institution. His therapist gives him mostly generic unhelpful advice like, “you have to have a strategy,” and “you have to do it, there is no choice,” rather than helping Pat develop these strategies and skills and being empathetic to his situation. Pat’s friend becomes concerned when he finds out he is spending time with Tiffany because she “goes to a lot of therapy,” making it seem like that is a negative thing and that Pat shouldn’t be seeing someone who needs therapy even though he needs therapy himself. This presents unflattering stereotypes of the psychiatric profession that misinform the public and undermines the credibility of mental health care practitioners (Edney, 2004). Pat’s therapist is also portrayed as unable to maintain professional boundaries as he becomes involved in the fight at the football game and returns with Pat to his family’s living room, shirtless and drunk. This kind of portrayal may make people who are already hesitant to seek help, even more unlikely to do so as the help Pat is receiving is seemingly ineffective and the therapist is shown to have poor professional boundaries (Edney, 2004).
With regards to how bipolar disorder is presented in this movie, it seems there that the only symptoms Pat presents are those of mania. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, these manic episodes are classified by extreme irritability, talking very fast with racing thoughts, easily distracted, overly restless and needing little sleep, unrealistic beliefs in abilities, and behaving impulsively, all of which Pat exhibits (National Institutes of Health , 2014). In one scene we see Pat finish a novel by Hemmingway and becomes very irritated by the ending and he breaks his bedroom window by throwing the book. From personal experience, people who are suffering from a mental health concerns do get overly angered by trivial things such as the ending to a book, and I believe this scene could be relatable for others with mental health concerns. Michael Blumenfield, MD, has said in his interview with Deborah Brauser, that some people who have bipolar disorder do not have depressive episodes; however, he goes on to say that Pat is not the typical bipolar patient (Brauser, 2012). Although Pat’s mental health concern is depicted in a sensitive way, it is still concerning that it could be harming the public’s education of bipolar disorder.
When looking at the movie as a whole it seems that Pat, Tiffany and Pat’s father’s mental health concerns do not define their characters. It seems like the movie, Silver Linings Playbook, was trying to portray a story of love, with everyday people in ordinary social settings, who also happen to suffer from mental health concerns. The message overall, is that mental illness can affect anyone and that mental health concerns do not need to define ones identity; however, the message became somewhat diluted by the romantic, clichéd ending, giving the impression that mental health concerns can easily be overcome.