Women the world over have cited her as a role model and one of the most prominent feminist icons of all time. Mental conditions. Yet I still cant wrap my head around how her actions could be justified. One-note characters will always fail to come to life on the page. So, in Disney's reimagining of the fairy tale, Belle is a beautiful, independent and headstrong bookworm who is unfairly ostracized by the other inhabitants of her little French village simply for being "odd." He gets entrusted to his younger brother Charlie (Tom Cruise) after the death of their father and has no idea that Charlie is an opportunistusing Raymondto get at their father's fortune. Not gonna lie, he was arguably the best-looking male love interest in the show. Heattempts to control his condition for a chance ata relationship with a waitress at his favorite diner, but he's rude, arrogant, and entitled. We're guessing not even Disney would dispute that one. OK, she's just a kid. Christian tells her he's not a "flowers and hearts" kind of guy because of his past and is only into BDSM, and yet she's so desperate for him to love her that she submits to him. We can show our inner selves without fear of being hurt or having personal information misused. Sorry for the late responseI had responded when this came up, but I think the Internet must have eaten it. (Looking at you, Don Draper, Anakin Skywalker, and Cersei Lannister.). Here are some of the best responses. 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. The strongest, most compelling characters are those who are authentic, true-to-life. No copyright infringement is intended. A key symptom includes, "Avoiding work, social, or school activities for fear of criticism or rejection. "He'll be back. 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. Finding inspiration, offering, and encouraging it through creative, and healing practices, ancient wisdom, and modern techniques, to fuel your writing, art, and life. These theories create a base for a framework of the growth milestones children will experience from birth and into early adulthood. Steve forms an unlikely friendship with Ayers, and together they bring awareness to not just mental illness, but society's response to it. Nash emerged victorious over the paranoid delusions brought on by his schizophrenia by acknowledging that though they were there, they would not rule his life. With Nicolas Cage in the role of Roy, a con artist with obsessive-compulsive disorder,audiences might expect him to bring some of his grandiose showboating to Matchstick Men. As soon as the "Wicked" Witch of the West begins mourning her dead sister, Glinda immediately starts taunting her. Now watch Scarlett collapse into a puddle of melodrama when she is rejected by a man: It's worth watching just to see him give her a handful of soil in the middle of her crying fit. The Diagnosis: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), What Is ADHD? According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Schizophrenia "is a serious mental illness that interferes with a person's ability to think clearly, manage emotions, make decisions, and relate to others." Symptoms include hallucinations and delusions. forum to moderate!". Though we're sympathetic with everyone who leaves her, because if we knew someone like Scarlett in reality, it would be hard after a while to pretend to give a damn. He was a sex-obsessed womaniser who treated women like objects, tricking and misleading them into sleeping with him. Ellen discovers ways to confront her deep-seated anxieties and embrace self-acceptance. It isnt necessarily a negativesometimes, we crave it. So if Love and Belonging drives us, it must motivate our characters as well (especially in Romances!). The courts recognized the actas an episode of bipolar mania, not as a crime of passion, and his long road to recovery begins. Not cool. A derivative work is protected as part of the . Craig encounters patients in the facility with everything from autism to manic depression and beyond, and they're depicted in ways that aren't exaggerated, hypertrophied, or over-the-top. Belle is pursued throughout the film by Gaston, who wants to marry her, and while her staunch refusal to entertain any of his advances only because he is handsome seems admirable, she is more likely exemplifying the quintessential behavior of someone who has no interest in sex at all. RELATED: 10 Forgotten Keanu Reeves Roles You Need To Go Back & Watch. 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. He's often overlooked but his behaviour is both abusive and problematic. Many characters have vulnerability issues, and if yours is one of them, you might findVulnerability In Fiction: Teaching Jaded Characters How To Trust helpful to [], [] library like no other, andWRITERS HELPING WRITERS, with her guest post:Vulnerability In Fiction: Teaching Jaded Characters How To Trust. She needs the constant affirmation from her mirror. Characters Who Didn't Live Happily Ever After, Cartoon Characters You Never Realized Suffer From Mental Disorders. And sure enough, we find out that Glinda knows from the start how to send Dorothy home, but instead she makes up a ridiculous quest to the wizard with no tangible gain. She slept with Dean when he was still married to Lindsay and had a long-term affair with Logan when they were both in separate relationships. She also struggles with extreme guilt for the lack of control over her powers. America's favorite literary rebel, The Catcher in the Rye's Holden Caulfield, has a special place in the hearts of readers. 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. Handing your character success on a silver platter is a sure-fire way to cheapen their development. Fictional characters with BPD are also often villainized instead of presented as people learning to exist with their illness. Which begs the question: what was the point, really? Perhaps a secret of theirs becomes known. Some of you have already heard of this, but for the benefit of those who havent: Janis is the real villain, not Regina George. The Good Witch is so dead set on demeaning the Wicked Witch in front of a crowd that, in a weird magic pissing contest, Glinda calls the Wicked Witch's power into question and throws out the threat that someone might drop a house on her, too. Copyright 2023 Inspire Portal. A Beautiful Mind gave viewers a look at schizophrenia and Rain Man was one of the first films to explore autism. At one point, she even asks out loud, "Have I gone mad?" Silver Linings Playbookreally kicks off uponhis release, when he loses his wife and access to his child and moves back in with his parents. After spending her teenage years being herded through multiple recovery programs for her eating disorder, Ellen (Lily Collins) doesn't see much point in trying to escape her anorexia, especially since every time she begins a new therapy she ends up weighing less than she did before she started. It's unlikely that the writers who created these characters consciously decided they would give them an undiagnosed mental disorder as one of their traits. He or she may also be restless and almost constantly active.". You can read more from Chris at raddystuition.com or Twitter. Oo yes, completely agree, Kathy. He must act. bastard.". So, you know, hes that insufferable. You cant have love without vulnerability. Because while we know our characters have this deep need to belong, we also know they are deeply damaged. Have your character confide some of these fears or worries through dialogue, and rather than it leading to being rejected, made fun of, or having ones concerns brushed aside, the other person shows support. Also she is blatantly using Dorothy as a human shield. The short story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" also deals with the suicidal thoughts of a man trying to live a normal life after traumatic events, and the story "For Esme" parallels his own traumatic experiences in the military (it was published only five years after Salinger was hospitalized in Germany for his nervous breakdown). We're supposed to think he's a hero and deserves a happy ending after a lifetime of shitty behaviour because for five seconds he says sorry after sending Emily's entire family, including her SON, to literal hell?! At the end of the day, I still believe in possible character development and redemption, no matter how long overdue. The loneliness, negative thoughts, and perpetual isolation will be immediately recognizable for anyone with a mental illness, as will the words, "The worst part of having a mental illness is that people expect you to behave as if you don't. Among the problematic fictional characters weve listed so far, this dude is basically the epitome of white male privilege. After all, everyone was 17 once, and likely tried really hard to articulate all the things they felt about stuff. Remember that time when she got mad at Charlotte for not lending her rent money? They show no guilt or remorse for their behavior.". You can find more from Amanda at gizmachronicles.blogspot.com. RELATED:10 Jamie Foxx Characters Ranked From Heroic To Most Villainous. Following World War II, Salinger was diagnosed with "battle fatigue," which sounds much milder than PTSD (and in fact sounds like it could be cleared up with a quick nap). These characters show the realities of living with them in sensitive and illuminating portrayals. Julian's project serves as a reminder that even the most famous and powerful fictional characters have to deal with everyday issues and tasks just like the rest of us. The worst example is Frank Kennedy, her sister's fiance, whom she tricks into marriage only because she needs him to pay the taxes on her plantation. Somehow, gum made out of tree bark is still softer than Bazooka. His family's support has always kept him able to go through life without ever facing his mental illness, but after a severe manic episode hospitalizes him, he's forced to have a wake-up call. The public was gripped by the life of the Nobel Prize winner, who suddenly came to the horrific realization that many of the locations, events, and people that characterized his life never actually existed. To obtain this type of protection, a creator must prove that the characters are sufficiently unique and distinctive to merit this protection. Note the radically different facial expressions. Above all, someone suffering from the disorder will avoid human relationships, especially any that might result in sexual encounters. The strongest, most compelling characters are those who are authentic, true-to-life. Frank, callous, insensitive, brusque. Now, lets move on to Disney characters who totally gave the wrong message to many young children. Discover unique things to do, places to eat, and sights to see in the best destinations around the world with Bring Me! Oh, and the fact that she would move heaven and earth (and ruin lives) for someone as unremarkable as Fitz? Her low self-esteem is also evident in her song, "Let It Go," where she expresses the need to put up a facade: "Dont let them in, dont let them see, be the good girl you always have to be! I know he has issues, but it doesn't justify him being the shittiest person, emotionally cruel and manipulative at all times. Granted, nobody in the show was actually a good person and despite their impeccable taste and style they all had more issues than Vogue. When we trust someone, we want to open ourselves to them because doing so signifies a high level of self-acceptance. Yep, the 00s were clearly the heyday of the cold and brooding bro kinda fictional characters. Love is not supposed to be a prison with your partner the fucking guard, isolating you from everyone else in the world. So maybe Glinda won the title of "good" by default, simply because anyone left who would question her goodness ends up fertilizing those bitchy apple trees who throw things at tourists. Also read: 7 Airbnbs That Were Featured in Movies & TV Shows. Instead he concentrates on the visual of seeing the blood and teeth everywhere, or the look on James' face. Even more important, many will feel compelled to act, either to intervene, to support, or to commiserate. Though BPD is portrayed using humor in the movie, it accurately works to falsify the burgeoning myth that people with her condition are doomed to be self-destructive and self-involved. Vulnerability is what allows people to connect on a deep, meaningful level. 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. People are used to seeing mental disorders on TV. And Ariel's compulsion does interfere with her normal life -- she lets down her father by hunting for trash instead of going to a concert she promised to attend. content enquiries. Either way, it creates a shared moment where the shield is lowered and the two connect through trust and a willingness to be vulnerable. Check out cartoon characters who you never realized had mental disorders below and vote up the most accurate diagnoses. From there, things just get worse. Is she going to eat them? Lets be real IRL, this wouldve been an absolute disaster. The assailant couldnt steal her good mood. She said homophobic things to Emily then ended up kissing her while she was grieving the death of Maya, and even tried to drown her. If CLICK TO SEE MORE ARTICLES BY Marcy Miniano. She was not some girl we pity for being bullied she literally destroyed the lives of everyone around her. This can come in many different forms, but some of the most common categories are: Prejudice. You character will probably never be able to trust others, even when people get close to her. And the fact that she did this after reading private entries from her moms diary and never bothered giving anyone a heads up! 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. Do you possess expert skills in image creation and manipulation? Theres a famous line from the 2008 film The Dark Knight 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. I just hate him. We want to expose ourselves, for our deepest core to be seen. They have suffered pain, emotional wounds that leave them paralyzed when it comes to trust. Interesting word, though: trust. 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. Carrie Mathison (Homeland) Carrie Mathison lives with bipolar disorder while being a top notch agent for the CIA. Bigot - One who is strongly partial to one's own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ. Perhaps 70 years from now, experts will have a name for the ability to slow down time and punch people in slow motion. Both suffering from severe depression and anxiety, they are forced to look at how their mental illnesses have shaped the course of their lives and affected the loved ones around them. Glinda then takes the dead woman's slippers -- the only keepsake by which the Wicked Witch might remember her sister -- and forces Dorothy to wear them. You may be surprised that thiscomic charactersuffers from APD. Sheimagines adrink that makes you shrink in size. Yikes, that doesnt sound good does it? He plays Melvin Udall, a best-selling author diagnosed with OCD, who performs obsessive rituals to combat his intrusively anxious thoughts. Maggie is married to a loving husband but is unhappy, and Milo has always wondered if his first love is the one who got away. Through therapy and reassessment, she's able to take her mental health seriously. Not only is she messy with both her love life (who in their right mind chooses Big over Aidan?) My POV character is a 15-year-old Latino high school sophomore living in 1974 Massachusetts, a whiz at foreign languages, and a burgeoning track star with Olympic Games potential. No? The Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is the quintessential example of NPD. Phoenix accurately and painfully shows the indignities suffered by Arthur for daring to exist with his conditions in aworld that refuses to accommodate them. Whether it's because she keeps it so well hidden from the other merpeople or because some problems are just too big for a crab and a fish to tackle, no one in the film ever addresses the fact that Ariel is a pathological hoarder. Are there any other problematic fictional characters that you believe should be on this list? Kids obsess over weird things: that's not unusual. He was self-centred and constantly hurting people who were close to him. 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. Believe it or not, lots of thebest cartoon characters on TVsuffer from mental illnesses. To put it simply, a character flaw is a personality trait that either makes a character's life more difficult or negatively impacts their relationships with other characters. . The fact that Glinda is the one who helps Dorothy get home in the end is almost sickening, given the mortal danger she put the girl through (not to mention the two deaths that are now on Dorothy's hands as a result). OK, cool.". Now keep that in mind when you watch the vague, detached, smirking expression on Glinda's face throughout the string of tragedies that open the film. Unfortunately, she never grew out of this bratty mindset even in season 6, when she impulsively skipped a Broadway performance for an audition in Los Angeles. And, sure enough, one of the main side effects of disposophobia is obsessing over the collection at the expense of daily obligations. In fact, many teenagers who watched it would say that he and Aria Montgomery were such an adorable couple. Depending on our attachment style we can find attaching to others very challenging or relatively easy. The North would probably have run for their lives if she showed up like this. Even when he and Robin were together he lied to her under the guise of good intentions and romantic gestures. One of the chief signs of antisocial personality disorder is the inability to understand the motivations and feelings of other people. Lists about your favorite characters that were drawn by hand or generated by computer. Characters with a hard exterior may try to act tough, but when they see someone going through a situation that triggers emotional memories of their own past wounds, they cant help but empathise. Yes, poor Alice, you have. And this is it gets tricky. To be honest, we skimmed this bit back in high school. In reality, Belle would have probably preferred he stay a beast and all his servants stay candlesticks and clocks, though she'd never admit it. And these are just the tip of the iceberg that is, her failing to see how insignificant her problems are in the grand scheme of things. While some of these symptoms could just as easily stem from depression, it's important to also point out that J.D. Put the character struggling with trust in a vulnerable situation. Many movies about mental illness focus on the problematic lifestyle of the character afflicted, with them adapting to a neurotypical worldview, rather than the people around them adapting to their neurodivergent perspective. 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. Check out, The Greatest Talking Animals in TV History, The Greatest Fictional Pets You Wish You Could Actually Own, This Artist Turns Disney Characters Into Pokemon Evolutions, A Ranking of Disney Villains, Based on How Stupid Their Plans Are, The Greatest Cartoon Characters In TV History, The Most Attractive Cartoon Characters Of All Time, The Best To Worst Kingdom Hearts Characters, The Greatest Cats in Cartoons & Comics, Ranked by Fans, 13 Villains Who Went Evil Because Of A Wounded Ego. This need for domination, coupled with Scar's APD, led to the brutal killing of Mufasa. Holden has had to deal with both a brother dying of leukemia and seeing a classmate commit suicide while wearing his borrowed sweater. Everyone says Big was a bad character, but seriously they both sucked so much they deserved each other. Want to be featured in similar posts? As we have pointed out before, her actions in The Wizard of Oz involve dropping a house on her rival, blaming it on a teenage child and then encouraging that teenager to assassinate the dead woman's last living relative. Ever wonder why Lucy kept pulling that football away fromCharlie Brown? Alice from Alice in Wonderland clearly suffers from schizophrenia. Plus, she was portrayed as a strong and independent woman, but literally ruined people's lives just because she's infatuated with Fitz. Give important characters a backstory. are the property of their respective owners. And most telling is that Holmes' talents are coupled with an inability to interact socially with anyone but Watson. I'm sure of it. It may feel as if you are frequently unwelcome in social situations, even when that is not the case. When Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper in one of his best roles) nearly beats his wife's lover to death he's institutionalized, not thrown in jail. 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. When Joy and Sadness get pulled to the furthest reaches of Riley's subconscious, Anger, Fear, and Disgust assume control. At the end of the day, I still believe in possible character development and redemption, no matter how long overdue. This dude is as misogynistic as they come, and while Robin Scherbatsky was far from the best character, she certainly deserved better. It's a compulsion. 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. So a trustworthy person we can be open with regarding our deepest beliefs, fears, and feelings. He also carries the constant fear of being rejected. Hermione Granger from Harry Potter Series. Content Warning: The following article contains discussions of mental health conditions, violence, and suicide. Maybe they simply need help and cant bring themselves to ask. schoolworkhelper If Catcher had been written today, Holden would be nursing a Pabst in this picture. Don't even get me started on how badly she treated Aidan when he forgave her again and again. 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. Your email address will not be published. Come on, anyone who says its easy to tell them apart is lying. Because of course we have to trust some people, dont we? According to the American Psychiatric Association, major depression "negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act." In Sweden, they send you a thank-you text when they use your blood. Grow Reader Empathy By Showing A Protagonists Vulnerable Side, Vulnerability: The Key To Compelling Romantic Relationships, The Path To Vulnerability Leads To Deeper Relationships. Not only was Edward a creepy stalker (pre-dating Bella), but he was also clingy with zero boundaries (once they were together). No wonder were so guarded with our feelings, careful about our personal information, and choosy about who we trust. / Conceal, dont feel, dont let them know.. 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. Angela Ackerman is a writing coach, international speaker, and co-author of several bestselling resources including, The Emotion Thesaurus, The Positive Trait Thesaurus and The Negative Trait Thesaurus. People have common worries and fears. For now though,heres 8 more waysto find stillness in a [], Your email address will not be published. She seemed oblivious to the fact that he only wanted her as a submissive despite him telling her countless times. Remember when she outed Damien to Cady literally a few seconds after introducing themselves? Fictional Characters Help Us Understand Others. 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. No list of fiction's toxic families would be complete without the Wormwoods. No solutions to the Grapes' problems are easy or applicable, and the movie handles the stigma about mental illness and obesity with raw integrity by acknowledging the necessity of strong familial bonds. Schizoid personality disorder's trademark symptom is self-imposed social isolation. Personally, Im a fan of both the musical and the movie adaptation. Build in several smaller moments that lead up to bigger ones and the willingness to enter a vulnerable state to trust will seem authentic to readers. It's true that the disorder wouldn't be recognized until 70 years after Doyle invented the character. You can create an infograpic and you could be on the front page of Cracked.com tomorrow! Confused? Craig still has his problems, but after five days of bonding, he realizes that they aren't so bad. Editorial | Contribute your travel stories or submit Learn how your comment data is processed. "I wouldn't have believed that the slippers were the key home! Vulnerability is really all about laying ourselves bare. Honestly, it was quite disappointing to watch her make one questionable decision after another on the Netflix spin-off; from acting all entitled with her dream job, to having an affair with her engaged ex-boyfriend.