Hollywood has created the belief that OCD is just double-checking, hand washing or a strong dislike of germs. While this was likely done as a way to fit more narrative into the story and infuse dialogue into the show, the fallout is an inaccurate portrayal of how OCD is truly managed. The world is full of demons and they do not always look like the evil mythical creatures you see in Hollywood movies. And part of the reason is because people don’t understand its severity, don’t comprehend its heartbreak, and don’t recognize that people with OCD are ten times more likely to commit suicide than those in the general population. media, movies. OCD is certainly not alone in its shoddy portrayal (like they say, “Misinformation loves company”). In short, portraying the compulsions (the what) without portraying the obsessions (the why) leaves a piece of the puzzle in the box, ultimately resulting in an incomplete picture. The movie beautifully captures the challenges John faced throughout his life, including paranoia and delusions that altered his promising career and deeply affected his life. Thus, it’s less likely that she has OCD and far more likely that she is a perfectionist who enjoys tidiness (perfectionism is present in OCD but it’s present in the general population as well with about 1 in 3 or 4 people describing themselves as “perfectionistic”). For instance, at one point Khloe says, “I’m willing to talk to a therapist because I’m polite but I just don’t think I have a problem.” The vast majority of people with OCD recognize they have a problem, know they’re acting irrational, and want to regain their lives (those with OCPD, on the other hand, usually don’t recognize that they have a problem and don’t believe they need to change nor do they have any desire to change). To be fair, we can’t throw Hollywood under the tour bus entirely because it’s not always off the mark in its portrayal of OCD. Now, it’s possible that someone somewhere with OCD does indeed enjoy cleaning but, in this case, their enjoyment likely reflects their natural personality and has nothing to do with their OCD. Any type of insinuation that OCD goes away with a quick fix is an insinuation not based in reality. Here are seven movies with OCD characters. I feel like I’ve got it together. This isn’t completely unrealistic as times of stress and trauma can certainly worsen the disorder. But it’s a tired ploy in Hollywood regarding mental illness: There always has to be a reason why, according to the movies. Scarface was written by Oliver Stone, who revealed in recent ye… Shira is a young woman who has OCD and takes issue with the way the disorder is represented in the media and our culture. Sure, the drug used on Monk (Dioxynyl) is fictional so it theoretically can affect people however the writers want. Here are 10 of the best films about mental health ever made. Playing on fears ranging from mass hysteria, germophobia, contamination OCD, vaccine fear, social phobia, anxiety disorder, and more, Contagion is an experimental yet emotionally enveloping horror story that will have you washing your hands repeatedly for days afterwards. You see how … Since it’s being promoted as if it is, that, in itself, is problematic. Perhaps the portrayal is so accurate because the film, unlike most films, is about a real person and real life circumstances. Hollywood constantly oversimplifies a complex disease, painting OCD into a corner of the room when it deserves the entire building. Hollywood does move past from their standard operating procedure at times as demonstrated by movies like Ron Howard’s A Beautiful Mind. The above seven mental health movies are available on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other streaming services , and provide carefully considered viewpoints of a wide variety of mental illnesses. But it paints Melvin as an ass as well – rigid, entitled, rude, and, at times, downright mean. January 20, 2021 Movies and TV Top 10 Underrated Acting Performances Of The Last Decade January 20, 2021 Music Top 10 Strange Original Versions of Famous Songs January 19, 2021 Gaming Top 10 Wild Pokemon Controversies January 19, 2021 Weird Stuff Top 10 Utterly Bizarre Things Banned In China January 18, 2021 Movies and TV One of the most pressing issues with Monk is the way the series portrays therapy. After all, movies are mostly fiction and if they had no space for make believe, there would be no Upside Down in Stranger Things and no Baby Yoda in The Mandalorian. Hollywood’s general portrayal and perspective of OCD is limited. On the other hand, the Keeping up with the Kardashians episode that discussed Khloe’s OCD aired in late 2019, well after she received plenty of backlash from the OCD community for her tone deafness and insensitivity regarding the seriousness of the disorder. You see how the illness has negatively and positively has affected his life. Monk, per usual in Hollywood, has the stereotypical OCD: He’s consumed with organization, order, and a fear of germs. Dory is the obvious case, suffering from short-term memory loss, which certainly isn't played just for laughs, and later in the film, the fish Nemo … OCD is quite common between men and women. On another bright side, Monk did seem to have some positive influence over how people perceive mental illness in others. The character is shown trying to cope with his illness and overcome it as much as possible. The film is far from alone in its failure to demonstrate what OCD isn’t. OCD is about much more than just having a room clean, or keeping your pens straight. The incidence of violence among the mentally ill is so low that experts agree that mental illness isn’t really a factor when it comes to crime. Otherwise, someone with OCD who barges into their therapist’s office is far more likely to spend hours obsessing about having offended their therapist than they are to simply excuse their behavior dismissively (that is, if they even barged in in the first place). Behind the glitz and glamour, Golden Age Tinseltown was a seething mass of wailing drunks, drug-addicted loonies, overwhelming egomaniacs, and straight-up nutjobs. This shows that people with OCD should not be alienated from society and can more often than not live normal, productive lives as it is a silent illness. Hollywood’s portrayal of OCD tends to minimize a disorder that majorly affects the lives of sufferers. Even though not everyone has the same symptoms of OCD that Nicholson’s character has, it is one of the best (in my opinion) portrayals of OCD in film and television and is how OCD should be portrayed-in a way that shows the character coping and the effects of the illness, not as a storyline that can be used for some laughs, or used as a plot device just to be dropped and forgotten. Jack Nicholson’s Melvin Udall was a neurotic wolverine trapped in a man’s body. Schizophrenics portrayed as violent is one of the best examples of this, as it’s a common theme. Rena32. Representation for OCD and mental illness is no different but that representation must be accurate. I really related to 'As good as it gets' with Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt. In fact, people with OCD are not rigid, pushy, or inflexible unless they’re trying to perform a ritual (people with Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD), however, may be extremely inflexible). A bookworm becomes the librarian. Monk is a TV show that I can vividly remember watching growing up. There is an episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians where Khloe goes to an OCD therapist and acknowledges that she feels anxiety if she doesn’t clean (which is along the lines of OCD). OCD is notoriously well known for not being something that involves any kind of quick fix (via medicine or therapy). Goldberg is known for his films Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, … But none of that is as entertaining as someone spiraling into a dark depression because they witnessed a dramatic event complete with plenty of special effects and an ominous soundtrack. I’m better, I let it ride a little more.”. severity, and reflected a condition that takes different forms for different people. Because those with OCD are perpetuated so dramatically as being “germaphobes” or “neat freaks,” those who suffer from less traditional flavors don’t always recognize that they have a mental illness. The obsessions are the entire reason compulsions exist at all. Writers. In the end, representation matters. Reply. Through the magic of film, viewers can live John’s hallucinations with him, which feel as real to the audience as they did to him. An industry dedicated to storytelling only tells half of OCD’s. To demonstrate, let’s look at the TV show Monk, a crime series about a detective with OCD that was widely-acclaimed by seemingly everyone except those with OCD. In The Fisher King, for example, Robin William’s character develops mental illness after witnessing his wife’s murder. Of course, this lack of realism isn’t limited to OCD. Friends similarly plays on misconceptions as the behavior of Monica Gellar, the resident neat freak, has led many people to believe she has OCD. For example, the movie,​ ‘As Good As It Gets’​, accurately portrays the main character, Melvin, played by Jack Nicholson, with OCD. In it, she offers tips and tricks buoyed by her love for home organizing. True love conquers all: Movies tend to have happy endings (well, not you, Old Yeller). When stars come out and admit that they suffer from mental illness and talk about the effects of OCD , it can help reduce stigma and encourage others to get the help they need. He is also afraid of some not-so-stereotypical things (like frogs and milk) but the former is what dictates his disorder. Here are 50 famous sufferers of OCD who've managed to control their condition and find success in Hollywood, science, music, and other fields. It’s hard to imagine any actual OCD sufferers describing OCD as anything other than torture. Camila Cabello has pulled back the curtain on her real-life in a hard-hitting new essay, revealing there are no pictures of herself dealing with obsessive-compulsive disorder dramas. throughout the years did so with characters suffering through varying degrees of O.C.D. In Season 3, in an episode titled, “Mr. Though being clean and organized are archetypal OCD behaviors in Hollywood movies, many sufferers aren’t overly-concerned with cleanliness. You see how the illness has negatively and positively has affected his life. In the podcast series, The OCD Stories, founder Stuart Ralph discusses how the media often gets Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) wrong with Hollywood writer, producer, and OCD sufferer, Harris Goldberg. For example, at one part in the film, Melvin barges into his therapist’s office unannounced and uninvited. Location: South West UK. Monica Geller from Friends, for example, was characterized as a compulsive cleaner, an "OCD neat freak," and her compulsions were always played for laughs. That means 70%-75% of sufferers, the vast majority, experience OCD that does not involve handwashing, scrubbing the walls, or cleaning the kitchen. Even in Pure O, sufferers tend to engage in invisible compulsions (such as mentally praying, counting, or thinking of “good’ words to counter the “bad” ones). 18 April 2010 - 19:43. In fact, though many people have some sense of what OCD can look like from movies and TV, the disorder is far more complex and can be more debilitating than Hollywood usually suggests. The more people get to understand the illness, the more people with OCD will be able to continue to play an active role in society. But, even so, only about 25%-30% of people with OCD have this flavor. Having OCD can oftentimes feel very lonely, especially when people downplay the illness. 218 Comments . Monk is shown engaging in talk therapy, a type that does not treat OCD (you can’t talk it away, no matter how hard you try and instead must engage in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Exposure and Response Prevention). When people feel lonely they often turn to movies, TV shows, celebrities, etc., and having them not respect and inaccurately portray OCD doesn’t help. There are a few issues here. Leonardo DiCaprio stars in this film based on the life of Howard Hughes. Anyone know of any good movies about OCD? Thanks: 2. That's sure not how it felt at the time. For instance, someone might have Relationship OCD and constantly fear that their spouse will leave them. But a few diamonds in the rough aside, Hollywood routinely gets several things wrong about mental illness, including: It’s always borne out of tragedy: From Jason getting picked on, chased, and tossed into Crystal Lake to drown in Friday the 13th to Freddy Krueger getting bullied as a child in Nightmare on Elm Street to Hannibal Lector’s family getting murdered by the Nazis, trauma appears to be the main catalyst for mental illness when it comes to cinema. And herein lies a very important deviation: She, herself, admits that she enjoys sorting, cleaning, and organizing (just like Monica on Friends). OCD is not marked by personal preference and, instead, is driven by fear, plain and simple. But there is no chicken or egg argument with OCD: The obsessions come before the compulsions. DiCaprio in the lead role certainly doesn’t hurt. The Aviator. The first portrayal I will tackle is arguably the most standout of all the examples I will list in terms of popularity. But it’s also dangerous as it minimizes the disorder while compounding the misinformation already epidemic in society. OCD, in particular, is not usually trauma-based (in terms of causation). This is present more subtly too, even when the movie doesn’t focus on a deranged killer. It perpetuates shame, secrecy, and ultimately sways people away from getting help. Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, Contamination: We’ve Seen This One Already, How Mental Illness on the Whole is Portrayed in Hollywood, 25%-30% of people with OCD have this flavor, OCD are ten times more likely to commit suicide, 5.7% of females are diagnosed compared to 3.3% of men, Scouring his hands so hard and for so long that they bleed, Refusing to touch objects that other people have touched (such as glasses), Consuming milk only after performing a complicated and specific ritual, Engaging in complicated routines in order to complete everyday tasks, Becoming so afraid of germs that he cannot leave his home, Growing worse until he’s entirely reclusive, A tailor made course of treatment for your exact type of OCD, 60+ personalised audio sessions of therapy using CBT, ERP & more, 100+ meditations for relaxation, mindfulness & more. Another way Hollywood misses the mark is that it shows OCD as always (or nearly always) involving cleanliness, germs, or organization. First of all, the idea that an OCD drug would work overnight is highly unlikely as most take several weeks before they kick in at all (antidepressants, the drugs most often used in OCD, can take up to four weeks before their effects are felt). After all, movies are mostly fiction and if they had no space for make believe, there would be no Upside Down in Stranger Things and no Baby Yoda in The Mandalorian. Movies that recognize O.C.D. Deep down inside, we know this isn’t realistic and it’s not intended to be. Mental illness is largely ignored by mainstream media until something tragic happens (most often a mass shooting). Nevertheless, Monica doesn’t appear to be driven by anxiety or intrusive thoughts, which is why people with OCD have OCD in the first place. In fairness, the show never says this (or addresses it in any way), so people are jumping to the conclusion on their own. Movies about neurosis and infatuation have always been popular, dating all the way back to the early '60s, when the novel Lolita became a major motion picture. All of these titles are available for rent and purchase on major streaming services like iTunes, VUDU, Hulu and Amazon. This lack of awareness can have tragic consequences for OCD sufferers who don’t yet know they’re OCD sufferers. Someone with Pedophilia OCD may erroneously assume that they’re a child molester. OCD, more often than not, is shown inaccurately by Hollywood. 30. He has the Hollywood variety of obsessive-compulsive disorder, or perhaps obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. In this film, the screenwriter went so far to put Russel Crowe’s character on medication when the real life John Nash wasn’t taking anything. Khloe went as far to market a video series as “Khloe-C-D” (something else it’s hard to imagine anyone with OCD doing). Of course, this lack of realism isn’t limited to OCD. Montana, played by Al Pacino, snorts cocaine throughout the entire movie, including at the end just moments before the infamous drug kingpin is gunned down. The film is an interesting piece of work. Whether it comes in the form of race or religion or sexuality, people need and deserve to see others who they can relate to, who walk in their shoes, who remind them that they’re not alone, and who grant them the most fundamental human right: To know that they matter. An example would be Sheldon from ​‘The Big Bang Theory’; although it is a comedy show, the writers tend to play into what society thinks OCD is and write Sheldon’s OCD tendencies in an inappropriate way. DiCaprio plays Hughes, a billionaire and an aviator mogul who lives with OCD. Forum User. 21 Amazing Movies That Actually Understand Mental Illness; ... to distort reality and his obsession with controlling his story and environment hint towards schizophrenia or obsessive compulsive disorder. Although people with OCD can have a harder time with everyday tasks due to their illness, this doesn’t make them not “normal” or a punchline to a joke; they are much more than the majority of films and television series tend to tell their audiences. Jism is an erotic thriller film which is based on the 1981 Hollywood film Body Heat in which a woman convinces her lover, a small-town lawyer, to murder her rich husband. 1. The failure to look at OCD outside of its stereotypical lens perpetuates the misconceptions about OCD by suggesting that it always involves contamination or tidiness and that sufferers are always stocking up on Lysol or loofahs. "Old Hollywood" is a synonym for class, sophistication, and images of matinee idols chastely stealing kisses on the silver screen. 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