Summary:
How the metally ill are seen in the way of other viewers. Discusses the movie As good as it Gets.
Mental Illness in the Media
As good as it Gets is one of the best movies out there that shows us how the mentally ill are treated and viewed as an individual. This movie starring Jack Nicholson shows how the mentally ill can be viewed both seriously and in a humorous manner. In "as good as it gets" the mentally insane are viewed more in a negative light, than a positive one. This is partly due to how Jack Nicholson's character treats the surrounding people. He says what he wants, tries to intimidate others and has no respect for anyone else but himself. In the "real world" you notice how the mentally ill try to avoid people every time they can. As seen in the movie, Jack Nicholson does everything possible to avoid dealing with people.
If the director were to have showed the mentally ill in a positive aspect, it would not have shown us the real side of the mentally ill. In the real world, they are looked at in a negative aspect because we don't know enough about them as we should. Mentally ill people scare us! This movie portraits mental illness in more of a sit-com theory than in how the mental ill are seen in the eyes of other humans. It is much easier for a person to witness it more humorously, than it is when it is portrayed to us as serious. I enjoyed how the director did not just try and make this movie a joke to the mentally ill, and put in some serious points in the movie. When producing or making a movie on this type of material the director must be very careful not to make light of the mentally ill. Also, with having some serious views on mentally ill people, it shows how it is REAL and not just PRETEND. This then gives the viewer a real perspective on how they are intended to be seen. Jack Nicholson did a wonderful job acting as a mentally ill person. He didn't try to degrade the mentally ill, or make them something they weren't. The more we interact with them the better we will soon be able to start understanding them better. The movie also shows how people react in public when they encounter a mentally ill or challenged person. Many will ignore them and look the other way. A few will try and help, while many others just laugh.
Many mentally challenged people have idiosyncrasies that are hard to understand and accept. In the movie, we see all of these views and it makes many of us uncomfortable. Mentally ill people face challenges their whole life, and many don't understand why people treat them with distain. "As good as it gets" has done a wonderful job of showing the mentally ill in a whole new light. They are just people, like you and me. Everyone has problems of some kind, some more serious than others, but do not condemn someone for something that is beyond their control! The movie has humour, drama, and many serious points on aspects of mental illness. Making use of the dog during many critical parts of the movie, I think was brilliant. To see how Nicholson reacted to and dealt with the dogs escapades was very humorous and touching. The writer did a brilliant job showing the audience that mentally ill people have feelings too. "AS GOOD AS IT GETS" is a wonderful movie that shows the mentally ill in a positive way. These people deserve a chance to be part of society like anyone else. They may do many things differently, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing! I give this movie a number 9 out of 11 for viewing mental illness in a positive light, and for giving the rest of us something to think about!!!
This is the complete article, containing 642 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page).
