Do movies like Smile (2022) further stigmatize mental health?

Submitted by Alternative-Cold-290 t3_z7tn4y in movies

Recently I came across the movie, and there was considerable level of intrigue due to the fact that brilliantly marketed it was across the world. In fact it was one of the brilliant campaign with out of the box modus being used. The movie on the other hand had its moments and was being creative with the usage of the jump scares, but the way it ended left a lot to be desired.

The starting point was that how it was an educated and intelligent women that was going through that ordeal, and she was not only a healthcare professional, but a mental healthcare expert. Of all the people to believe that crackpot theories, she is supposed to be the least susceptible when it comes to believing that crap. It also press forth the point that how mental health is like something of a "curse" that cannot be broken, and if one of the person in your family is suffering from the issue, then you are bound to be affected by it and you cannot do much about it.

Being a mental healthcare expert, her first reaction would have been to make "sense" of some of the things that are happening in her surroundings. Instead she starts to investigate the curse and how people in the past are affected by it. In some ways, it tends to do a disservice to the mental health issues. There is already stigmatization and with the movies like this, it is not really helping the cause.

On a side note, has anyone noticed that most of the movies in which protagonist is going insane and is affected by it, 90 % if the cases are showed to be women. Is there is casual sexism in it that how these curses only tend to affect women due to being a weaker sex that can be easily manipulated.

0

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

cptSleepyFox t1_iy81rxw wrote

Spoilers

I struggle with my mental health. That said I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, its subtext and ideas right until the end. No matter what she did, how she tried to heal or what she put behind her, the curse still took her and in effect the curse was passed on to someone she cared for, essentially creating new trauma in someone else. The movie basically says you can't escape your trauma and it will have negative effects on those around you and that just left a sour taste. Otherwise it was great.

9

Try_Another_Please t1_iy8uv5z wrote

I think its important to remember the genre too and not read too much into the wrong things.

She couldn't break out. The film says nothing about this being true for all. Not everything is a direct metaphor.

It's a horror film. Ideally you will not experience the life of someone in a horror movie

1

cptSleepyFox t1_iy8ytw2 wrote

Absolutely. The ending was perfect for its genre. The existential horror of no escape was very effective. Plus the way it ate her....wow

1

Alternative-Cold-290 OP t1_iycfbcx wrote

Hahahaha, yeah it was one of the grotesque creatures with her teeth and all, But I enjoyed the fact that how it was all in the mind of the person. It kind a cheapened the whole thing for me.

1

Alternative-Cold-290 OP t1_iycf93o wrote

I guess the movie could have elevated itself if it would not have followed the milking route and ended on a different note. I mean her getting rid of her traumas might have given it a different twist. The ending has really undermined the movie.

0

Alternative-Cold-290 OP t1_iy83dbs wrote

I guess its the last thing that you need to hear is that how mental health ailments are proverbial cells through which one cannot break. The false ending would have been much better where it was showed that how she was able to beat that trauma. That would have given a better message.

−6

midnightmoose t1_iy87nof wrote

Sometimes movies aren’t about crafting a message you agree with; but about crafting a film that entertains you.

10

cptSleepyFox t1_iy83wbw wrote

Yeah I agree. I mean, don't get me wrong I understand that, at its heart it is a horror movie and therefor the ending is actually effective, but I suppose everyone brings to a film their own context and mine just left me siting there a little exasperated.

1

Both-Block6687 t1_iy8i65e wrote

Then… don’t watch it again? No offence but it’s a movie, not everything in life can be bubble wrapped to protect your feelings, that’s the harsh truth but the truth all the same.

−6

cptSleepyFox t1_iy8mgz8 wrote

Definitely didn't ask it to be. If you read my actual comments I said I enjoyed it, and liked 99% of it. The OP was asking for opinions so I gave my own personal unique take on it. I'd also recommend the film. I go out of my way to watch and play things that challenge the aforementioned context I have. Thays why film and media is great, it gives us an opportunity to see and discuss different perspectives. Harsh truths are the best truths

3

MartinScorsese t1_iy835lv wrote

> Do movies like Smile (2022) further stigmatize mental health?

No.

> On a side note, has anyone noticed that most of the movies in which protagonist is going insane and is affected by it, 90 % if the cases are showed to be women.

I don't think this is the case at all, for two reasons.

  1. It is fairly common to see films about men struggling with mental health. The Banshees of Inisherin, The Fabelmans, The Good Nurse, Close, and Spiderhead are good recent examples.

  2. In many films where the female protagonist "goes insane," she is actually completely rational and in an extraordinary or supernatural situation. This is not "casual sexism," but often a comment on the nature of gaslighting (2020's The Invisible Man is a great example of this).

9

Alternative-Cold-290 OP t1_iy83p5t wrote

Thank you, I would like to hear your reasoning for saying no. At the same time, I am not talking about the mental health issues, its about how they lose sight of things that are happening in their surrounding. I have watched Turkish and Indian movies and the trend tends to repeat itself.

−7

MartinScorsese t1_iy84133 wrote

> Thank you, I would like to hear your reasoning for saying no.

For as long as horror films have been around, they have used scary characters and situations as metaphors, exploring our most primal anxieties and fears. One of the most common fears is losing our minds, or sense of self. If anything, Smile empathizes with mental health struggles.

1

Cranestoique t1_iy8mgca wrote

Well....

1-the movie deals with trauma, not mental health in general, and trauma doesn't never really go away, it becomes part of who you are. So I don't nsee this movie as being stigmatizing.

2-I don't see how 90% of movies show women dealing with mental issues, I think it's way less than that, for the fact that most of the bad guys or antaginists in movie are men and they usualy suffer from a mental issue. So I don't know about sexism...

2

Alternative-Cold-290 OP t1_iycfli9 wrote

Well but the case is that one should not allow that trauma to completely rule your life. It would have been a positive reinforcement that how she is able to beat her demons. Especially being a mental health expert and all. By the other statement I mean women are somehow more suspectible to fall prey to these creatures and be cursed.

0

tafor83 t1_iy8dyt2 wrote

No.

Movies don't stigmatize anything - people do.

It's a horror movie. It's meant to take some reality and mix it with some scary for entertainment purposes.

1

jehedjchrie t1_iy8w90o wrote

Movies can absolutely create a stigma around something? Imagine Hollywood depicted people with mental health issues like schizophrenia, bipolar, BPD, etc. as all crazy people who need to be locked in an asylum. Don’t you think it might create a stigma around people with mental health issues? Cause what I just described already happened in the 20th century. Idk the more i read your comment the less it makes any sense

2

Alternative-Cold-290 OP t1_iycfhq1 wrote

Well the premise of the movie is that how mental health and traumas are proverbial cells and there is no escape from it once you are going through it. So in some ways it was an opportunity wasted. The other thing that stood out was that she was one of the least suspectible person to fall into that trap.

1

DRUGEND1 t1_iy9b95x wrote

Movies (and any art really) can completely stigmatise issues and have done, I just don’t agree with this particular example.

2

BRDIE999 t1_iy8oa5l wrote

I'm going to take a guess that it is normally a women protagonist in horror movies because of the "final girl" trope.

1

DRUGEND1 t1_iy9b1hj wrote

The ‘character being haunted by visions/ghosts/demons etc and nobody believes them/thinks they’re losing it’ is a horror trope as old as time. I’m 100% sympathetic to mental health issues and those with them, but I honestly think this film was just a strong horror in the tradition of this sub-genre.

She starts investigating it quickly because she immediately starts getting the visions herself. I think you’d have a good case if it turned out she was imagining things all along, but the fact we as viewers know explicitly before the opening credits this is real sort of dis-credits that.

1

Alternative-Cold-290 OP t1_iycfo5p wrote

That is my point, till the end, the case can be made that it was not one of the run of the mill horror movies. A psychologist, an educated person who is willing to help other people with her issues is the one that is least likely to fall prey to such situations. For me it is a wasted oppurtunity.

1

Pleasant_Series_8044 t1_iy8fjiv wrote

I think Smile was more an attempt to depict the aftereffect of one of these weird supernatural killing sprees. The Final Girl doesn't just run off and live a peaceful life. Police are going to want answers and "a demon did it" won't really suffice.

0

Antic_Opus t1_iy81orw wrote

>On a side note, has anyone noticed that most of the movies in which protagonist is going insane and is affected by it, 90 % if the cases are showed to be women. Is there is casual sexism in it that how these curses only tend to affect women due to being a weaker sex that can be easily manipulated.

Now that you mention it yeah. It probably is rooted in the patriarchal culture of women being perceived as vulnerable.

−6

The_Lone_Apple t1_iy837d2 wrote

Also because women are better sympathetic characters than men. Women empathize with them and men want to protect them. It's the basest connection they can create without having to say anything.

1

Antic_Opus t1_iy83b3c wrote

>Also because women are better sympathetic characters than men.

Yes but that sympathy is rooted in that culture "Oh man and it's just a woman dealing with all this"

0

The_Lone_Apple t1_iy8qigd wrote

Right. And that culture is where the story is being told by an artist in a business that's goal is making money. It's the shortcut. When culture changes, that'll change along with it. So far, it works.

2

Alternative-Cold-290 OP t1_iy83fq5 wrote

Yeah, I tend to think the same, the other horror movie troupe is at times a dumb blonde in one of such movies that gets killed of early on.

−3