I dare say
I personally did not enjoy the movie. Firstly, I agree with what some peers
said about the topic not being adequately approached. Not only did they not
show the ones I think are the most common signs of the main character´s illness,
but also the other psychiatric diseases were not shown in a serious way. The
topic that was chosen was not simple; there are many which are difficult to
portrait ( such as illnesses or sexual harassment and rape ), and one has to be
very careful in the way they approach them as the viewers are more prone to
misunderstand the original focus or idea, and get a different perspective to
the one you may have wanted to give to the movie.
Social
wise, neither do I believe relationships are correctly represented. I know
there may be exceptions, but I totally disagree with the stereotype of the kid
being pressurized by his father to pursue a good future. Nowadays things have
changed; teenagers fought to win the power to choose their own future. What´s
more, the passion with which he explains that he wants to go to summer school
to get a scholarship to a good university and therefore be as successful as to
become the president, shows that he is the one who wants to go beyond the
limits, and fight to become the best version of himself. Furthermore, I have
the impression that changing one´s mind in one second is utterly unrealistic; I
do not believe one can go from being stressed about getting into university to
become the president to forgetting what he had always wanted in less than five
days.
Lucía
I believe the movie "It´s kind of a funny story" was well executed and the whole cast were particulary funny. What I liked the most about it was the fact that all mental disorders were shown and I think that is essential because we should know more about each one of them than instead assuming that, for example, depression is the same as being sad. Besides, mental disorders such as depression, anxiety are so common that we tend to forget it.
ReplyDeleteI realized that most of my classmates think that the movie was kind of unrealistic and I get their point. For example, being able to get better in a couple of days it´s quite impossible. It consist much more work than that but I think the movie was trying to give another impression.
Hope to see another movie in these classes in order to expand our minds and ideas.
Maia Mascaro
My personal opinion is that “It’s kind of a funny story” examines sensitive issues such as depression or suicide in a silly way. The issues are not addressed in a mature way and that makes me believe that the movie is not so good. It is unrealistic that Craig gets better from depression in only 5 days. I believe the movie director had the idea but he wasn’t able to carry it out correctly as for instance, in a part of the movie the explain that depression is a serious illness but at the end they make us believe that you can get cured from it in less than a week.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I value the fact that the director was able to show a naturalized but also sad thing as school pressure is. Although in our country it’s not so common, in the US competition and struggle between partners it’s a normal thing. Grades, tests and recognition are paramount. Not having a perfect GPA (grade point average) will make you believe that you are stupid and that you are not going to succeed at all. The part in which Craig is talking with the psychiatrist and she asks why he tried to commit suicide is key to understand the pressure teenagers suffer in the US. Craig didn’t got a perfect score in the SAT and his grades aren’t the best so he thinks he wouldn’t be able to attend to a prestigious summer school and more other things that make him believe he has failed in life.
All in all, I liked the movie albeit I didn’t enjoy the way in which some things were addressed.
As a fact I wanted to share that the author of the book on which the film is based, Ned Vizzini, committed suicide at 32 years after a long struggle against depression.
Keila juyero
To be honest, It would be rather silly not admit that the film analyzed a wide list of factors that usually affect most of us. Depression, death, love, friendship, family, and many more. In my particular case, I was not unpleased with this movie. However, I do admit that not only was the portrayal of depression kind of poor, but also basic. I firmly believe that this disease includes much more than what it is shown. Nonetheless, as I said in class, it is impossible to show depression as it truly is. Due to this, I fully understand that the movie does not appeal to show the audience a more realistic side of this disease. On the other hand, it was interesting to see characters’ evolution throughout the film. At first, the main character was rather antisocial and unwilling to open up, but when reaching the end, he had managed to help himself and also contribute in many of the other patient’s treatments. In my personal point of view, the film transmitted me two messages. The first one is that you need to be sane and happy with yourself in order to help others, and the other one is based in the idea of appreciating what we have. Maybe we consider that one situation is devastating and that it is impossible to move on with our lives, when it is actually pretty silly compared to everything we have to live for.
ReplyDeletePilar Ubertalli
Seldom did I ever thought that a movie could resonate on me so much. Leaving its not so accurate portrayal of mental illnesses aside, the movie conveys a feeling that I dare say teenagers in generally are quite familiar with: depression. It was not the main character nor the characters in the mental hospital who shocked me, it was actually the best friend of the main character. When he approaches Craig and tells him that sometimes he also get ¨that depression stuff¨ i was taken aback, because for me, that line really hit home. It is no secret that us, teens, sometimes believe that bottling up our feelings is the most beneficial way to cope with sadness since that way we pay no attention to them thus not bother anyone. Nonetheless, when we are not able to voice our concerns and we reach our limit, those angsty feelings we once had turn into something more severe, depression per se. I often rely on myself to deal with my problems instead of reaching out for someone who is more qualified to help me. Although there is a plethora of doctors or friends who can help us we often choose to deal with matters on our own and that is utterly detrimental for our mental health. Craig´s action of asking the doctor to be an impatient is a really brave decision, which i personally admire. People need people, choosing to be alone and to deal with issues by ourselves can be the bane of our lives. The movie might have not been the best when it came to giving an insight of the mind of a depressed person, but it were those lines and little details that made me realize that we often tend to want to be alone and that even when we are surrounded by people we are lonely.
ReplyDeleteRarely would I see a type of movie like this one because I don’t relate much with the comedy films. “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” seems like a rare title for this movie which talks about complex topics, such as depression and suicide. Nonetheless, I dare say that I found this film quite interesting. Sometimes, laughter may be as an original and stimulating idea to approach some problems current teens are facing.
ReplyDeleteOn the one hand, I understand that mental illness is not something to dismiss; it is life threatening and it must be treated very carefully. Also, I consider that the exhibition of many sickness are modest and weak.
But, on the other hand, I could realize that this movie displays the diseases in such an amazing way which needs to be shown more widely in everyday life. Furthermore, I believe this is an alternative method to show that family and friends should be more supportive of the changes that many individuals are suffering from serious mental disorders.
Finally, I really did find appealing the advice Craig provides at the end of the movie regarding the things or activities you may do in order to feel great and value your life. As with Craig, while being internalized, some people learn the importance of why life is worth living.
Delfina Rama
"It's kind of a funny story" is an attempt to make despression an understandable and easy-going mental illness -IT'S NOT. I would like to highlight the use of the "hand held camera" technique: it is when the camera gives the appearence of being hand held; it is meant to give a feeling of instability and nervousness, and too much of it can make spectators distracted and even dizzy (which is how I felt). I consider that the usage of this was wise, taking into account that it allows for viewers to feel more immersed in the story, yet I found it excessive.
ReplyDeleteMy personal view is that the movie was boring, and miserable. "It's kind of a funny story" is extremely unrealistic; at the very beginning of the movie, the doctors and nurses Craig talks to show little to no interest in his situation when he says he wishes to commit suicide, when in the US this is a seriously cared for issue, and there are a variety of resources and tools that people can access to.
I also dare say that Craig's relationship with the character Bobby is too far-fetched. It's like after having a number of awkward conversations they develop a completely unfundamented bond.
What annoys me most about the film is that it's a parody of mental illnesses, and institutions for them. The whole of it is "told" with a sarcastic tone. Both of them are poorly represented because of the following. Depression is not portrayed in the film as something you struggle with, but as a trait of your personality. Craig doesn't show any feeling other than indifference and light sadness. He doesn't hit rock bottom in order to get better; opposite to that, he gets an easy solution. So, what? You are cured from depression in 5 days? You turn your life around and start doing all those activities he describes at the end? I don't mean to say that a person coming out of depression can't do that; my point is that there was no transition from Craig's depression to his happiness. With the same traits from his depression, he becomes a "happy" person; without getting rid of the intangible things that effectively made him depressed, only the material, like the school aspirations.
I personally did enjoy this satirical movie, contrary to most of my peers, apparently.
ReplyDeleteOne of some controversial topics that were mentioned in class was mental health and how it was addressed and portrayed by the film. Some said that its focus on this matter was incorrect, since the picture took a more humouristic and light approach towards mental illnesses and psychiatry, not describing the severity of having a mental disorder to the viewers. One cannot deny that the production did not delve thoroughly into the hardships of the illnesses it represented, such as schizophrenia, anxiety, and depression (among other), but, to be fair, it is nearly impossible to do so, as there are so many symptoms and experiences one goes through when suffering from a mental disorder that also may vary from person to person. An hour-and-forty-one-minutes long film certainly doesn't have the time to do that. Additionally, I don't believe that was the point of the movie, either.
As the plot follows Craig's stay in the hospital, we get to see how subtle depression can be and the ways it manifests, especially in a teenager. For example, for Craig, depression is constantly being preoccupied about the future and feeling disoriented, but for Bob, it consists in feeling worthless or "like a loser" and, thus, being frustrated with his life. Moreover, we don't see Craig or Bob getting over their conditions completely at the end of their stay in the psychiatric floor, however, Craig tells us he knows that all his problems didn't magically solve themselves, but it is a beginning, and with mental illnesses you have to take responsibility of your life and start making decisions that will make it better, not just limit yourself to take medicines.
I am conscious that mental health is a delicate issue and that we must raise awareness about this topic. Nevertheless, I don't think that it should only be addressed in a serious manner because the people with these conditions are still people: kids, teenagers and adults who still do have a sense of humour and, to my mind, wouldn't like to be represented in the media only as hospitalized, depressing beings who cannot actively change their way of living.
Titled "It's kind of a funny story" this movie tries to portray some mental illnesses and topics like the life of a teenagers who's going through a hard moment where he tries to find his place in his family, gruop of friends and in romantic relationships. Personally speaking, I did enjoy the movie, nonetheless I would't watch it again. We have to admit that it does not excel on describing the effect and emotional issues these diseases have. Likewise, it makes some humour on them which can be taken as an offense.Also, we should underscore the title which does not help the case and the critic this movie had. In my case I did not bother by the lack of description because to my mind this is a movie and I was expecting more the love moment and the way Craig (the protagonist) overcome this obstacle life presented. In addition, I reckon the last reflection Craig made was intresting and I would have it mind.
ReplyDeleteContrary to many of my classmates rekon, I dare say this movie is quite entretainig and pretty real aswell. Firstly, as it's a movie and not a documentary, some topics, in this case "drepession" and "suicide" are taken calmly. Besides that, by any means I think Craig's ilness is romanticed, mental disorders are highly subjective to the one that suffers from it. It's an american movie, you cant expect them to show you every thing as it is, they will definitely add humour, romance and some drama.
ReplyDeleteMy peers that did't like the plot, criticized the fact that not only was Creig supposedly suddnely cured and needed no therapy but also that other mental disorders are portrayed in a exaggeretaed fashion.
In my opinion, the talks he has with Dr. Eden and the way he gets to relax by drawing are a really succesful kind of therapy. Furthermore, in order to show something thats meant to be shoking, as entering the psychiatric floor in a hospital, in the movie you need to exagerate it a little bit.
Hadn't “It’s kind of a funny story” treated such sensitive topics (such as depression, self harm and mental illnesses) so carelessly, I would have had enjoyed it. I believe there should have been at least a disclaimer warning the audience that these topics were going to be mentioned and talked about. Especially since theres a scene in which the main female character, Noelle, pulls down on her sleeve to hide her self harm scars, which can be triggering to people dealing with these issues.
ReplyDeleteAs for the technicality of the movie itself, I consider there was little to no character development. For example, Bobby and Craig met five minutes after he got to the psychiatry floor and after a couple of dialogs they are magically best friends? I wish friendships worked like that in real life. This can also be seen with Noelle’s friends; the first time Craig sees her at lunch she’s sat surrounded by two of her “friends” which are never seen with her again throughout the movie.
I also dare say that Craig’s longing to get admitted is way too implausible. No one would ever want to put themselves through a psychiatric hospitalization unless it would be of last resource. Now by that i don’t mean he didn’t want to get better, but he could have been better off with outpatient treatments.
I did enjoy the film “It’s kind of a funny story” despite the fact that I rarely watch movies related to the genre. In contrast, some of my peers condemned it for its incorrect portrayal of the wide-range of mental illnesses that were shown in the film. However, I reckon the directors decided on glossing over the importance of some (if not all) of the mental disorders depicted, in the view of the fact that the length of 101 minutes wouldn’t be enough to tell the whole story from the source material and still cover every single disorder correctly. It came home to me that both of the producers chose to picture the mental illnesses as they did (often using them as a gag) for the sake of the viewer because, honestly, most of the people who went to the cinema to watch this movie would have been, in all likelihood, bored to death if the directors had opted for the correct way of showing the different mental disorders.
ReplyDeleteFive minutes into the movie, we can see our main character, Craig (Keir Gilchrist), being hospitalized (on purpose) so he receives mental treatment for his depression, though he wanted to abandon the psychiatric as soon as he entered the facilities using different excuses without to no effect.. Throughout the movie we can observe how this mental issue affects each host differently. For instance, on one hand we have Bob (Zach Galifianakis) who haunts himself by being frustrated with everything he does, as well as, thinking he’s not worth a dime all the time. On the other hand, we have Craig, who, as far as I’m concerned, is bamboozled and persistently being painfully aware about his future in life. Though it may seem, I don’t believe the movie is trying to make light of the seriousness of a mental disorder such as depression. The best thing of this movie is the message it gives to the audience, though undermining some of the importance of certain disorders.
To conclude, I believe the message of the film is that anyone who feels or believes he is suffering, or actually they do suffer, from depression should seek help as Craig did in the movie and not wait to their problems to be solved magically by a genie or Cinderella’s fairy godmother. Scarcely do people, especially teenagers nowadays, talk about their issues, resulting in many falling into depression and consequently killing themselves as the only and final solution to their problems. Depression is a topic that actually hits home in today’s society as it is one of the leading mental issues people, mainly teenagers (pardon the repetition). In addition, that depression is one of the top, if not the top, leading causes for suicide.