Abstract

The topic of mental health in cinema has been a prevalent one, and with the discussion of this subject coming to the forefront of society today, it is important to analyze the portrayals of mental illness in film. With a lack of focus on the female gender and Borderline Personality Disorder, my research prioritizes examining female character leads diagnosed with this illness, with movies being selected from the 1940s to the 2010s. Focusing on themes of comedy, violence, pity, faking and indulgence, and sexualization, I integrated quantitative variable analysis to numerically identify both the most prevalent theme in this genre of film and any increasing or decreasing trends in any of the themes over time. After data collection and analysis, it was found that violence was the most prevalent theme out of the five, but there were no statistically observable increasing or decreasing trends for any of the five themes over time. This indicates a need for future filmmakers to decrease their use of these potentially offensive themes in cinema in order to enhance the international discussion of mental health.

Reflection

After a year-long research journey, I learned a large amount of new knowledge on the topic of Borderline Personality Disorder in film, as well as important foundational and academic skills. In regard to the content of my research, I learned that there has been no change in theme usage over time within my area of study, and I learned that the history of the portrayal of this illness goes much further back than I realized. The next steps I would take with this newfound information would be to study only the theme of violence in these types of films, focusing on the increasing frequency of violence toward the end of movies. This would deepen the understanding surrounding this particular theme and produce more observable results! 

As for the academic piece of this project, my writing skills were strengthened greatly. I improved in the areas of information synthesis, correct source citation, data collection, and visual aid. I will apply these academic skills to future projects and papers I have at the college level, and I will no doubt integrate smoothly into this higher level of study after fostering these skills in this class.

Finally, I ameliorated soft skills such as time management, self-advocation, and confidence in public speaking. By following weekly goals of completing one movie per week, my time management skills were improved. Furthermore, I became confident in both asking for help when needed and presenting in front of others. Similar to the academic skills I acquired, I will carry these foundational skills into college to be efficient and excel in my work.