Comparing Situations of Depression
Many movies throughout history have discussed the perplexing topic of depression. Two movies in particular that confront this state of mental health include “American Splendor” (2003) and “Girl Interrupted” (1999). The characters in these films face the issues of depression, but deal with them in completely different ways.
Harvey Pekar and Joyce Brabner are the main characters facing depression in “American Splendor”. Brabner, wife of Pekar, is self-diagnosed as clinically depressed. She refuses to get out of bed, leave the house, make friends, or get a job. Her personality and views on life are unusually pessimistic. She expects to become ill because everyone in her family has a degenerating illness. She views wherever she lives, as well as all American cities, to be depressing in the same way. The only things that she has found true joy in are taking care of Danielle, and traveling to Jerusalem to “do something that matters.”
In comparison, Harvey Pekar is portrayed as a character who is an all-around pessimist. Pekar plays down his success when people compliment him by mentioning that his wife recently left him, he is a file clerk, and he is unlucky. While Brabner has absolutely no routine and would rather do nothing, Pekar finds safety in the routine of his job as a file clerk. Feeling alone, Pekar says “I feel alone, like an amputee feels a phantom limb.” Pekar seems to be very dependent on the women in his life. When first interacting with Brabner through letters, Pekar says that he will be anyone that she wants him to be. When she returns from her trip to Jerusalem, he tells her that if she ever went away again that he would lose it because he was too lonely. A quote referenced several times by Pekar throughout the film is “misery loves company”. When he discovers that he has been diagnosed with cancer his depression worsens saying that he just wants to die. He said “between the lump and the loneliness, I feel like the world is closing in on me.” The only thing pulling pekar through was documenting his experiences in his comic “Our Cancer Year”.
While “American Splendor” portrays characters dealing with depression in an everyday setting, the backdrop of “Girl Interrupted” is set in Claymore Mental Hospital. The main character in this film experiencing depression is Susanna Kaysen. She was admitted to the hospital after taking a bottle of aspirin and chasing it with vodka. Kaysen was officially diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. When speaking with the doctor he asks her if she has been feeling depressed. She replies by saying “Well I haven’t exactly been a ball of joy.” Refusing to get out of bed, refusing to cooperate with the hospital staff, and her friendship with Lisa Rowe was not helping Kaysen’s situation to improve. After escaping from the hospital with Rowe and witnessing Daisy Randone (former hospital patient) kill herself; Kaysen has a break down and realizes she must go back to Claymore and face her problems. She admits “I know what it’s like to want to die. How it hurts to smile. How you try to fit in but you can’t. How you hurt yourself on the outside to try to kill the thing on the inside.” Through her journal keeping, confessions and admittances to the doctor, and her separation from Rowe, Kaysen eventually is released from the hospital to live a free life.
Other characters in this movie experience depression as well. Daisy Randone was sexually abused and refused to eat in front of others. She self mutilated and kept mostly to herself. Eventually she hung herself in the bathroom after a confrontation with Rowe. Lisa Rowe, another character living in Claymore, was a sociopath. She has no compassion for others and has attempted suicide.
While the characters in these films all experience depression, their situations are completely different. Some are forced into mental institutions to deal with issues, whereas others roam the street amongst the population. Some attempted suicide, and others just had a pessimistic outlook on life. These two films showed how each person copes with depression in a different way.
Filed under: American Splendor Reviews