Shine Movie Analysis

Shine was only a window into a man’s life. It is hard to come to any serious conclusions about someone’s life from a movie. There is no real way to know if this movie is a true, accurate representation of Helfgott’s life. Movies span two minutes, so there is no real way to collect all pieces of an entire life into a movie. It is interesting to consider what may be happening in someone’s life, but it is unfair to say that we know exactly what is happening in the real world. David has an interesting life, full of many events that definitely had some influence on who he became. Even though there were events in David’s life that may have set him up for a challenging life, and he did have difficult moments, in the end he seemed to make it out with

Many people suggest that David may have Schizoaffective Disorder, but David does not fit all of the criteria for either schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. David does not show any signs of hallucinations or delusions or any signs of depression. Surely, he shows some eccentric behavior leading up to his big performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, but nothing that would say David should be diagnosed with a mental illness. If anything, David felt he needed to live up to the expectations and ideals held by his father – which is why he took on such a challenging piece (Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3) for his show at Royal College of Music. David showed incredible fixation to master a piece of music that his father loved; this put an inconceivable amount of pressure on him to succeed and impress his estranged father. After spending so much time learning and mastering this piece, getting to perform it, and perform it perfectly, was enough to lead to a break down. The real mistake may have been the electroconvulsive therapy – electroconvulsive therapy is normally used as a last resort treatment for major depression and mania. While there is not a definitive timeline in the movie, it does not seem like ECT was used as a last resort treatment. Electroconvulsive Therapy has also changed over the years – the treatment has been fine

I do not think that giving David a diagnosis was necessary. It was clear that he did not meet all necessary criteria to receive the diagnosis, so even speculating about a diagnosis could be harmful. Carrying around a serious diagnosis like schizoaffective disorder is bound to come with negative attitudes and judgements. Individuals like David may seem eccentric, but a negative diagnosis is not necessary. As an outsider, it seems like David made it out okay. He enjoys music and it still passionate about it, he is married, and is still touring at 70. It seems like even though he had a rough upbringing, he is doing