Film: Tarnation

[rashandreflex]

has anyone seen this? it's a documentary made by a guy whose mother was in and out of mental hospitals as he was growing up. it is spliced together footage that he has taken over the years with subtitles narrating a more cohesive story. apparently it won some relatively pretigious documentary award. anyway i saw it in class today, and i was pretty surprised. it is billed as a documentary, and it is accurate in that everything in it did happen, but it is selectively accurate...like the guy picks out all of the most dramatic and shocking stuff...i mean, i know that is what makes a good story, but i feel like a naive person watching this movie would get a skewed representation of mental illess (eg, the guy sort of implies that his homosexuality is related to his mother's mental illness.)

 

[QuestionEverything]

I loved this movie. (on a side note I think I remember there already being a thread about it but I may be wrong)

The guy may have picked out some dramatic and shocking stuff - but let's be honest - a lot of the shit that happened in his mother's life WAS dramatic and shocking.

I didn't get the implication that he blamed his mother's illness for his sexuality. What was it that made you think that? It's been awhile since I've seen it last so it may just be something that I don't remember.

I have it saved on DVR, it's probably in my top 5 favorite movies. I think I may watch it again.

 

[alasdairm]

rate this movie

alasdair

 

[rashandreflex]

I loved this movie. (on a side note I think I remember there already being a thread about it but I may be wrong)

The guy may have picked out some dramatic and shocking stuff - but let's be honest - a lot of the shit that happened in his mother's life WAS dramatic and shocking.

I didn't get the implication that he blamed his mother's illness for his sexuality. What was it that made you think that? It's been awhile since I've seen it last so it may just be something that I don't remember.

I have it saved on DVR, it's probably in my top 5 favorite movies. I think I may watch it again.

i liked it a lot, too. my concern was just that for someone who isn't exposed to mental illness except through media portrayals, the juxtaposition of his homoesexuality with his mother's mental illness could imply that his homosexuality was the product of his mother's mental illness...i know this wasn't his intent at all (he wasn't blaming his mother, and i don't think he needed anyone to blame since it didn't seem to be an issue for him.) i saw evidence of this as we walked out of class and some girl said 'so do you think he came out gay because of his mother's problems or because his father was out of the picture?'8(

then again, i think it was the same girl who compared other countries' feelings toward america to the envy and worship everyone has for the cool kids down the street8( 8( so maybe i am extrapolating from one ridiculous girl.

anyway i did think the movie was really interesting, particularly his claim that there was nothing wrong with his mother initially. i would be curious to find out what her doctors' opinion on this was.

 

[QuestionEverything]

Yes, I think maybe it was just that girl's own thinking that drew her to that conclusion.

I think there was mention (again - it's been awhile since I've seen the movie) towards the end that she had seen several doctors that reviewed her medical files from beginning to end and came to the conclusion that there was absolutely nothing wrong with her until she underwent the electroshock therapy - wasn't the frequency like twice a week or some ungodly amount?

The only people with psychological problems in that family were her parents.

Anyway, like I said I am going to rewatch this movie soon. If I have anything more to add after that I will.

I remember the day I first watched it, I was glued to the TV, literally. I have to say it's one of the most unique films I've ever seen.

 

[rashandreflex]

i don't think it said that doctors reviewed her files. i think it was either his/his mother's opinion that nothing was wrong with her initially....that's not to say that isn't right...it definitely sounds suspicious to give your daughter so many ECT sessions just bc you think her paralysis is pyschosomatic. thank god they didn't lobotomize her. i would just be curious what the doctors at the time thought.

if there was really nothing wrong with her to begin with, i think that is part of a pattern in psychiatry...i have known a few people who have gone in for treatment of a fairly minor problem...insomnia, mild depression/anixety, etc and ended up on lots of meds with serious diagnoses....it's possible that the initial mild symptoms were just the beginning of deterioration for them, i guess, but it just seemed that they got worse with treatment.

 

[QuestionEverything]

I am watching the film again, I'm only into the beginning but it is there that it says, "Records now indicate .... that there was nothing initially wrong with her (psychologically)"

It was a neighbor friend of the family that recommended them to take her for shock treatments when they began to think that her paralysis was "all in her head". They were given twice a week for two years straight. No wonder it messed her up so badly. They then signed consent when she was 25 after a 'psychotic break' for more ECT, after which it said, "There was little sign of ... her original personality..."

The son (Jonathan) was mainly raised by his grandparents and a few years in foster care. He always clearly said at age 11 that he had always been gay even before being molested. (I don't think there are ever detail given as to when and who molested him)

After watching it again, I also found it to have a nice balance IMO of normal, mundane footage and off the wall, horrendous footage. I loved how it went from the turmoil and grief that was his mother to his school play, his first boyfriend, footage of him acting goofy, etc. I also didn't find it to be exaggerated in any way, I thought it was pretty honest in it's portrayal of her and her illness, which in my opinion was totally caused by the ECT and the traumatic events that happened to her following those treatments. (she was raped, overdosed on lithium, etc.)

I think after watching again I gained even more appreciation for this film.

A bit off topic, but I'm curious, what class are you taking that they showed this film?

 

[rashandreflex]

i watched it in psychiatric anthropology which is my soon-to-be concentration (switching from psychology.) basically my impression from the film is the same as yours (that there was nothing wrong with her originally, that ect fucked her up....def that the lithium overdose messed her up a lot later in life) but my teacher pointed out that bc it was a film he made, it was biased by his interpretation (this is like a big 'thing' in anthropology...how does the author's, or filmmaker in this case, worldview affect the point he/she is trying to make?) and that it would be interesting to hear the viewpoints of some of the other people involved.

i loved a lot of the footage from his childhood...i can't believe his emotional maturity at such a young age and i thought those films he made were really precocious. definitely watching it made me feel like he would be a cool guy to meet.

it looks like we are the only two people who have watched this movie, ha.

 

[QuestionEverything]

Yeah, I think we are the only two. More people should though.