But okay, where do we even begin with this particular Disney princess? Empathy is powerful and works incredibly well to soften jaded characters. She was incredibly entitled and self-centred. "Not when we've put so much effort into prying them off her cold dead feet!". This war talk's spoiling all the fun at every party this spring. WithInside Out,Pixar created a surprisingly sensitive and deft portrayal of a child suffering from anxiety and depression that was accessible to both children and adults. Cartoons have always included characters suffering from psychological problems, like how Winnie the Pooh represents mental illnesses. He must act. Aside from the usual cognitive behavioral therapy, they examine the romantic relationships in their lives to try to find areas of their unhappiness that they can alter. He was a sex-obsessed womaniser who treated women like objects, tricking and misleading them into sleeping with him. Through therapy and reassessment, she's able to take her mental health seriously. Oh boo hoo, you're terrible at baseball. While PTSD is generally associated with people who've experienced horrific events like war, any traumatic incident can cause it. Wikipedia "You're just tired, J.D. The Diagnosis: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), What Is ADHD? that goes, You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. The same could apply to some fictional characters who were supposed to be the good guys, but actually might not be. Janis, on the other hand, is the fake-woke type who would talk about social justice and then slut-shame someone in the same breath. Slowly but surely, fiction is putting ye olde stereotypical image of mentally ill characters as totally deranged psychopaths wrapped in straight jackets to rest. This is why we bond with family members, form friendships, and search for that special someone. Sometimes it can be a powerful way to find out what the characters are really feeling, and in turn how to move the story forward, building from that place. 20 Movie Characters Who Accurately Portray Mental Illness - ScreenRant Reading fiction books helps us get better at working out other people's thoughts and feelings, because we get the . While they get closer handling the family business, Roy has to understand that the methods he used to control his mental illness have to be adjusted to accommodate his new fatherly role. I felt like jumping out the window."). Throughout The Wizard of Oz, Glinda never gives any reason for murdering the witches other than that they're ugly and different and therefore -- according to good ole-fashioned Dust Bowl logic -- completely evil. Mental illnesses can manifest in a variety of ways. my all-time favourite fiction writing book series. They dont want to make mistakes, they worry about decisions, they fear what they cant control. Theories like Erik Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development and Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development, center on a variety of aspects of development including social, emotional and moral growth. She loses interest in all the games and activities she did with her sister, refusing to leave her room. 20 Problematic Fictional Characters from Famous Movies & TV Shows He is preoccupied entirely by his own short-comings in life. So it's not until we see her full empire of secret garbage that we know she has a serious problem. And most telling is that Holmes' talents are coupled with an inability to interact socially with anyone but Watson. COPYRIGHT 2005-2023 Cracked is published by Literally media Ltd., Glinda the Good Witch -- Sadistic Personality Disorder, Scarlett O'Hara -- Antisocial and Histrionic Personality Disorder, Molly Shannon Got Hired on Saturday Night Live and Mugged on the Same Day, Conan O'Brien Runs Down Every Hideous Mutation of His Hideous Body, 15 Bits Of Trivia So Powerful, They Would Have Instantly Vaporized Our Ancestors, Kevin Bacon Was in a Band Called Footloose When He Was 15, 12 Healthcare Innovations That The US Needs To Adopt ASAP, 6 BELOVED CHARACTERS THAT HAD UNDIAGNOSED MENTAL ILLNESSES, is characterized by a long-standing pattern of detachment from social relationships, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, puddle of melodrama when she is rejected by a man, 9 Beloved Characters Made Horrifying by Japan, 6 Famous Characters You Didn't Know Were Shameless Rip-Offs, 5 Employees Who Spectacularly Told Their Bosses to Take This Job and Shove It, How The Big Lebowski Turned the White Russian into a Milk of the Gods, 12 Behind-the-Scenes Photos That Ruin Iconic Scenes (And Actually Improve The Bad Ones), 5 Boring Things That Movies and TV Have Managed to Make Scary as Hell, 15 Trivia Tidbits About The Lonely Island, Five Times Michael Shannon Showed Up and Made Everything Better. He's a bully and an irresponsible portrayal of the "perfect" guy. He keeps trying to kick that football! The opening scene in the film depicts Ariel raiding a sunken boat for useless bullshit. Who invites three men (none of whom she has ever met) to her wedding, just because one of them could be her biological dad? You know, just in case this piece has got you jaded or something. Then, when she discovers that her step-daughter, Snow White, has become "the fairest of them all," extreme jealousy and envy sends her into a murderous rage. As early as season one, she has always been the worst kind of a young diva who felt entitled to the spotlight. A key symptom includes, "Avoiding work, social, or school activities for fear of criticism or rejection. Holden is intensely contemptuous of the insincerity of the world and people around him (the "phonies"), yet still strives to find his place in a society he ultimately despises. After all, there are people that would give anything to be him for just a day, despite his problems. Love and Belonging is one of the categories of basic human needs (as defined by Maslows Hierarchy of Human Needs) that drive all people to act. The seclusion of the castle along with the nonhuman inhabitants and a relationship with a beast who isn't a sexual threat is like a dream for anyone with schizoid personality disorder. The strongest, most compelling characters are those who are authentic, true-to-life. "Well, this is totally better than anorexia!". I get so bored, I could scream." One-note characters will always fail to come to life on the page. Want to burn your workplace down, beer in hand? He's the most-portrayed fictional character in the world, running the gamut from Basil Rathbone playing a jolly English gentleman who fights Nazis to Robert Downey Jr.'s Victorian Rain Man/MMA fighter. Above all, someone suffering from the disorder will avoid human relationships, especially any that might result in sexual encounters. "I don't know what this is, but my teenage rebellion sense is tingling!". Far from a simpledescent into madness, it is an accurate representation of an obsessive fugue state that is difficult to extricate from. No wonder were so guarded with our feelings, careful about our personal information, and choosy about who we trust. We can show our inner selves without fear of being hurt or having personal information misused. All the characters are problematic as hell, but she's on another level. These theories create a base for a framework of the growth milestones children will experience from birth and into early adulthood. To be honest, we skimmed this bit back in high school. Or to put it simply, he has to grow the fuck up. She's the most selfish character in the series. From giving up her voice just to be with someone she hasnt met, to trying to trick him so theyd live happily ever after; these are just the tip of the iceberg. US residents can opt out of "sales" of personal data. Representation is as important in fiction as it is in nonfiction, and it's good to see complex issues like depression, anxiety, and trauma increasingly being treated not only with . I appreciated that the characters, while based on fictional characters, were still familiar. Yet I still cant wrap my head around how her actions could be justified. And of these outcomes forges a moment of shared trust with vulnerability being the vehicle that causes it to happen. Now, lets move on to Disney characters who totally gave the wrong message to many young children. As the turn of the century neared, the White Russian was just another bad, outdated cocktail from the 1970s. Ever wonder why Lucy kept pulling that football away fromCharlie Brown? She gad no regard for her staff's feelings, was willing to screw them over to benefit herself and even used her friends' past trauma against them. Eowyn from the Lord of the Rings Series. She's never open-minded enough to consider other people's view points and the show tries to spin it to make her look like the victim. happy writing, and thanks Jo for welcoming me here! Oh, and remember how he tried to restrict her friend group, just because he didnt get along with or approve of them? Application of Developmental Theories to Fictional Character - UKEssays.com content enquiries. Has anyone ever seen the playful tiger sit still for more than two seconds? Also read: 7 Airbnbs That Were Featured in Movies & TV Shows. Steve forms an unlikely friendship with Ayers, and together they bring awareness to not just mental illness, but society's response to it. From there, things just get worse. Not only was Edward a creepy stalker (pre-dating Bella), but he was also clingy with zero boundaries (once they were together). Characters Who Didn't Live Happily Ever After, Cartoon Characters You Never Realized Suffer From Mental Disorders. The worst example was him leading both Peyton and Brooke on, and making them both believe that he loved them. He never did his own homework despite knowing his so-called best mate was fighting the worst villain of all time, and always expected Harry and Hermione to carry him. However, he portrays the mental illness with understated intensity, especially when it comes to bear on hisvocation and his relationship with his teenage daughter, Angela (Alison Lohman). If CLICK TO SEE MORE ARTICLES BY Marcy Miniano. ", Elsa from Frozen is the sister with the magical powers. They show no guilt or remorse for their behavior.". Our only evidence that Glinda the Good Witch is "good" is that she bears that title, and even then we don't know who bestowed it. At the end of the day, I still believe in possible character development and redemption, no matter how long overdue. Alice has manic mood swings, and tumultuous relationships, which lead the people around her to view her as selfish. Instead he concentrates on the visual of seeing the blood and teeth everywhere, or the look on James' face. For starters, he lies to and tricks nearly every woman he meets just to get laid and even wrote an entire playbook on it! In the wake of a patriarch's absence, an entire family, the Grapes, begin to reveal signs of mental illness to varying degrees, exacerbated by poverty and declining circumstances. How to Develop Fictional Characters: 8 Tips for Character Development The Diagnosis: Antisocial personality disorder (APD), What Is APD? In It's Kind of a Funny Story,Craig is a depressed teenager whodevelops suicidal ideationand does the only thing he can think of in a particularly dark moment checks himself into a mental health clinic to get access to some medication. Vulnerability is really all about laying ourselves bare. As soon as the "Wicked" Witch of the West begins mourning her dead sister, Glinda immediately starts taunting her. Vulnerability is really all about laying ourselves bare. RELATED:Angelina Jolie's Best Movies Of The Decade (According To IMDB). Oh, and to top it all off, he straight up ghosted her after all that. Barney Stinson, How I Met Your Mother CBS He was a sex-obsessed womaniser who treated women like objects, tricking and misleading them into sleeping with. In fact, someone with the disorder is more likely to find stronger intimacy with animals than people, so it's little surprise that Belle develops a relationship with a beast instead of a man. bastard.". But while were all for character development, none of his misdeeds was ever really addressed. "So now that we've established a relationship based on mutual trust, can I go now? Depictions that are seen as genuine across myriadgenres, from drama to comedy, allow viewers to learn about mental illness through accurate portrayals,perhaps even further cementing the need for understanding in the face of stigmatized thinking andimproved mental health programs. Shuri from Black Panther. This need for domination, coupled with Scar's APD, led to the brutal killing of Mufasa. He and his military father often lock horns over trust issues. But there are some key characteristics in the original Arthur Conan Doyle version that tend to crop up again and again, and they all indicate a severe case of Asperger's. Maybe they share a time when they felt the same way, or tell the character that they did the best they could with the information they had. War does that to people.". No? Matilda by Roald Dahl. Protecting Fictional Characters Under U.S. Copyright Law | Nolo You can! Presumably, their concerts were strictly dance-free. It's true that the disorder wouldn't be recognized until 70 years after Doyle invented the character. He was jealous and possessive to the point where he destroyed his relationship with Rachel, and made her choose between him and a career he never supported in the end. The Diagnosis: Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), What Is NPD? Not cool. People are used to seeing mental disorders on TV. And if this were IRL, he would probably be locked up in prison for preying on teenagers, rather than actually marrying them later on. All the characters we used to love but now, we realise theyre kinda awful Be part of Asia's most authentic travel community. I think Ruth Harris said it best when she said: Rules killgood fiction. You may enjoy this offering from her blog by Anne R. Allen: 6 Reasons Show Dont Tell Can be Terrible Advice for New Writers I also love using dialogue as a way to initially create a scene. When it isn't either of those, its "madness" is the perfect fuel for horror films by misconceptions of aggressive psychosis. You guys, he literally threatened to kill himself if Allie doesnt go on a date with him. However, she has some downright unsavory characteristics as well. We must convince them that a willingness to being vulnerable by trusting another will lead to something deeper and more meaningful than they ever imagined. This necessary suspension of disbeliefof having to entertain the possibility of other realitiesmeans readers of fiction aren't merely learning to understand the world as it is, but, also, how to imagine a different one. Of course, how can I leave out the most divisive of fictional characters in recent TV history? The Evil Queen absolutely refuses to stand by and play second fiddle in the beauty department to anyone, which shows her extreme lack of self-esteem and obsessive thirst for admiration. But obviously the disorder existed long before there was a name for it, and Doyle didn't have to know what the disorder was called in order to have known somebody with those quirks, and written them into his fictional detective. You can create an infograpic and you could be on the front page of Cracked.com tomorrow! Sheimagines adrink that makes you shrink in size. Sorry for the late responseI had responded when this came up, but I think the Internet must have eaten it. This aspect of moral self-trust brings the role of empathy with fictional characters clearly into view. Self care and ideas to help you live a healthier, happier life. Vulnerability is what allows people to connect on a deep, meaningful level. It then makes you wonder how these crowd faves have gotten away with it for so long; but hey, lets chalk it up to not knowing any better back then. He or she may also be restless and almost constantly active.". Check out the most narcissistic superheroes. She needs the constant affirmation from her mirror. Lisa was a sociopath, characterized bya charismatic and manipulative nature she used to elicit close bonds from the patients around her. So if Love and Belonging drives us, it must motivate our characters as well (especially in Romances!) Bella Swan might have gotten a lot of flack for being utterly bland (hey, not her fault she was written that way), but at least she wasnt a centuries-old vampire who went for a literal 17-year-old. Personally, Im a fan of both the musical and the movie adaptation. Alice's delusions build a magical world that shows her schizophrenic perceptions. Somehow, gum made out of tree bark is still softer than Bazooka. Rose from Titanic. He is fun-loving, good-hearted, and a natural leader in his peer group, but cocky about his gifts. Maybe they were just borrowing behaviors of a "quirky" friend, or maybe the writers suffered from the disorder and wrote the characters to mimic their own life. His misanthropic personality, which seems exempt from social graces, is comprised of inappropriate emotional responses and forces him to avoid social situations, which is accuratelyindicative of a number of personality disorders, including narcissistic personality disorder. Benny (Aidan Quinn) and his sister Joon (Mary Stuart Masterson) live a fairly uneventful life until she stops taking her medication and her schizophrenia becomes unmanageable. Connecting With Fictional Characters: The Power of Books Vulnerability is a two sided coin that often lands on its edge. Insteresting cases pop up when television actors portray a character for a long time. It also encourages us to look at the world in a different way and to see the relatable side of things. The Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is the quintessential example of NPD. "Congratulations, Dorothy. 6 Things to Consider When Writing a Depressed Character Problematic fictional characters from popular TV shows 1.