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Reply Prompt: Provide specific replies that interact with the thread and foster discussion (e.g., What was similar between your peer's review and your review? What was different between your peer's review and your review? Do you have any additional thoughts related to this experience?). Include a question or questions in your reply to engage your peer in more discussion. Ensure that you include academic support.

Classmate Jill

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    I watched the movie Benny and Joon, which is about an adult brother (Benny) taking care of his adult sister (Joon), who has a mental disorder that is never clearly defined. Continually looking for a housekeeper to stay with Joon while Benny is at work, the eccentric cousin (Sam) of Benny's friend catches Joon's eye and enjoys his company. He also is an excellent housekeeper. Through the course of the movie, Benny struggles with giving Joon autonomy with her own decisions-making and with her relationship with Sam.

      Based on the actions of the character of Joon, the psychological disorders represented in this movie are schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and autism spectrum disorder (Choi, 2014). Benny tells Sam that Joon is sick and sometimes hears voices (schizophrenia-audio hallucinations). Joon has disorganized speech (schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder) when she is trying to explain to her brother how Sam was cleaning with a duster and playing loud music. The loud music bothered Joon and she told Benny "he was doing the thing and it was really loud. It was really loud."  Joon's OCD is demonstrated when she freaks out when things in their home are "out of order" by the first housekeeper identified in the movie. The autism spectrum disorder appears when she struggles reading social cues during a poker game and as she requires a strict routine. The main psychotic episode happens on a bus when Joon and Sam run away and Joon cannot handle the impulsive decision she made and starts hearing voices. 

     The character Joon displayed the different mental illnesses well and properly. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), schizophrenia has a comorbidity with obessessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and autism spectrum disorder has a comorbidity with disorganized speech (part of schizophrenia). The few scenes of therapy with a psychiatrist were accurate with the doctor meeting with both the patient (Joon) and the caregiver (Benny). Schizophrenia was properly displayed with several traits, such as incoherent speech, auditory hallucinations and "inappropriate delivery of emotions and behaviors" (Choi, 2014, p. 211). OCD is properly displayed with Joon demanding their home be kept in a particular order, with each thing in their proper place (Choi, 2014). Autism spectrum disorder is displayed well with her inflexibility with her schedule (Choi, 2014).

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fifth edition. American Psychiatric Association.

Choi, J. (2014, May). Highly probable psychological disorders of the character Joon from the film Bennie and Joon directed by Jeremiah Chechik in 1993. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity. 4(3), pp. 210-213.

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Classmate Kelliana

What's Eating Gilbert Grape

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        What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, is a movie that is centered around a young man named Gilbert. He works at the local grocery store in a small town. His brother, Arnie, is mentally handicapped and the responsibility of Arnie is constantly on Gilbert, also in Gilbert’s family is his mom, who is obese, two sisters, and a father who passed away. Gilbert’s family is planning a big party for Arnie’s 18th birthday. Gilbert is trying to figure out his own life, and for the first part of the movie is hooking up with a married housewife in town, until he meets a young girl who moves into town that catches his eye. The relationship with the older women is a weird imbalance of powers that comes to a head when Gilbert shows interest in this young girl, the older women says, “I could have had any guy, I chose you…” and goes on to say, “I knew you would never leave.” It shows Gilbert’s internal struggle between trying to be a family caretaker vs. pursuing his own happiness. The women, Ms. Carver, finds herself a widow within the next scene, as her husband shows up suddenly dead. As the movie progresses, Arnie finds himself on top of the town water tower again, gets arrested and taken to jail, and Gilbert’s mom leaves the house for the first time in a very long time. The movie ends with Ms. Carver moving away, Burger Barn opening in town, and his love interest helping with the distress in Gilbert and Arnie’s relationship. Gilbert introduces his mom to Becky at the very end, despite his mother’s resistance, they have a moment of connection, and Becky leaves. 

         Gilbert’s mother is portrayed as obese, and although obesity is not a mental disorder, due to her portrayal it appears she is suffering from Binge Eating Disorder. She never leaves her spot on the couch, she is so large the house frame is breaking from her weight, she is constantly shown in front of a table of a large amount of food, and the movie includes moments showcasing her food cravings like when she discusses how bacon should be fried, or with her chip bag at the couch. 

       I think the movie did a really good job of showcasing binge eating disorder that has not been treated and has entered the stage where the physical consequences are rampant. According to Kring et. al., (2018) these physical consequences include obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular problems. Although not the focus of the plot in this movie, all of these issues seemed in alignment with Gilbert’s moms struggles. Additionally, the death of her husband aligns with the characteristic of binge eating disorder being highly associated with stress and negative emotions (Kring et. al., 2018). Additionally, Binge Eating Disorder is associated with many other physical and mental conditions, which was subtly portrayed in the movie through the mom’s relationship with her children as well as her inability to leave the house, such as poor psychological and physical well-being, higher associations with major depressive and other psychiatric disorders, as well as relationship and social impairment and distress (Brownley et. al., 2016). 

References:  Brownley, K. A., Berkman, N. D., Peat, C. M., Lohr, K. N., Cullen, K. E., Bann, C. M., & Bulik,  C. M. (2016). Binge-eating disorder in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.  Annals of Internal Medicine, 165(6), 409-420. doi:10.7326/M15-2455 Kring, A. M., Johnson, S. L., Davison, G., & Neale, J. (2018). Abnormal psychology: The  science and treatment of psychological disorders (14th ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.  ISBN: 9781119456230.

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