The Obligation to be "Normal": Mental Disability, Stigma and Shame in Cassavetes’ A Woman Under the Influence

Abstract

In this article, I discuss the concept of “normality” in relation to mental disability. By means of a hermeneutical analysis of John Cassavetes’ film, A Woman Under the Influence, I examine the stigma surrounding psychiatric conditions such as bipolar disorder and the way in which this stigma affects people with such conditions.

Many films and TV series depict psychiatric conditions in a highly stigmatising way, encouraging stereotypes and prejudices about what is supposed to be normal and what is considered abnormal. Cassavetes’ film offers a far more realistic and interesting portrait of a person with a psychiatric disorder. The protagonist, a housewife and mother of three children, is a neurodivergent person who behaves “differently.” The main source of her problems, however, is not her neurodivergence per se, but rather the way those around her, especially her husband and family, try to force her to be “normal.” The film shows the violence (both verbal and physical) that people with psychiatric disorders can face when their environment cannot cope with what they perceive as their abnormality.

The purpose of this article is to argue that a hermeneutical analysis of Cassavetes’ film can give us greater insight into the subjective dimension of psychiatric disorders such as bipolarity, as well as the stigma attached to them. By investigating normality and mental disability using a cinematic representation, I aim to demonstrate how a “health humanities” approach can contribute to a better understanding of the subjective and existential dimensions of psychiatric conditions.