Ordinary People: A Representation of Disorders in Cinema Alex Charles Weaver Spokane Falls Community College The year 1976 marked the creation of the novel Ordinary People, in which Judith Guest conceptualizes the psychological struggles of the Jarret family after the death of the eldest son, Buck (Guest, 1976). Some years later in 1980, Robert Redford would use her work to debut his directorial career with the cinematic depiction of this novel, and in doing so, he brings the significance of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder to the attention of the mass public (Redford, 1980). Impressively, the symptoms of the protagonist, Conrad, follow the diagnostic criteria of PTSD stipulated in the DSM-5 meticulously. Although no …show more content…
Conrad was sufficiently distressed by the event to have chosen the former. His attempted suicide disturbed his father, Calvin, prompting him to encourage Conrad to visit Dr. Berger for treatment, seemingly out of desperation, as Calvin also admitted to his lack of confidence in psychiatry. On the contrary, Conrad’s mother, Beth, seems rather disinterested in Conrad seeking treatment altogether. This is odd, as one might assume a mother would be greatly concerned with the harmful behavior of their son, as self-harm doesn’t exceed far past suicide in …show more content…
Viewers are shown the events of the sailing accident through persistent flashbacks, memories, and nightmares, detailing Conrad’s experience watching his brother succumb to death. His reaction to the flashbacks, memories and nightmares cause avoidant behavior towards triggers for the trauma, including his friends and family, with the exception of a photo of Buck in his room, which is inconsistent with what would be expected. Furthermore, Conrad expresses a compelling belief that it is his fault Buck had died, which later is specified because Conrad refused to accept that Buck wasn’t as strong as him, contradicting Conrad’s view of Buck as a pillar of strength, per se. Conrad lacked confidence within himself to exist on his own merits, leading him to attempt and nearly succeed at