I’ve been watching a lot of films and TV series about mental illness lately. At the same time I’ve realised that in recent years, films and TV shows have become more and more interested in choosing mental illness as a topic.
One of my favourite Netflix shows is called monster, which details the parental abuse that brothers Lyle and Erik suffered growing up, particularly from their controlling father, José, and their distant mother, Kitty. This prolonged abuse led to a deep-seated fear, anger, and trauma response in the brothers, who then plotted to kill their parents. The episode uses this to reveal how an abusive home environment can deepen the psychological damage and drive the two brothers to extreme behaviour.
What I like about the show is that it makes the viewer feel complex emotions about ”the evil of human nature“.
Through the in-depth portrayal of psychological trauma, the episode leads the audience to reflect on the motives behind the crimes, making it possible to see not only the crimes of the two brothers, but also to understand the painful experiences behind them. This method of presentation allows the audience to move beyond mere condemnation of the crime to compassion and understanding of their psychological pain. This emotional shift leads to the realisation that sometimes the so-called ‘evil’ stems from deep-seated psychological trauma, which further leads to a deeper understanding of mental illness.
At the same time, through the detailed portrayal of Lyle and Erik’s psychological state and traumatic experiences, not only does it make people aware of the impact of mental illness on human behaviour, but also helps the audience understand why the human nature and vulnerability can be seen in the perpetrators as well. This deep exploration of mental illness and display of complex human nature allows the audience to condemn crime while at the same time being able to have compassion and understanding for the humanity behind mental illness and trauma.
Link to Bipolar
For ordinary people, there is also ‘evil’ in bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is characterised by repeated fluctuations between extreme highs (mania) and lows (depression), and sufferers may display aggressive, impulsive and even destructive behaviour when their moods are extreme, and these behaviours may be interpreted by outsiders as ‘irresponsible’, “unpredictable” or “uncontrollably bad”.
However, such perceptions often stem from misunderstandings and prejudices about the disease. It is often overlooked that these behaviours are involuntary responses due to the disease, rather than intentional. I thought I could start with some real-life stories of patients, so that viewers could see the struggle behind the mood swings, helping them to see the vulnerability and helplessness of the patients, rather than simply labelling them as ‘evil’.
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