Hollywood Going “Backwards” On Representation As “Films About Women Having Nervous Breakdowns” Come Back Into Fashion
Posted by mlg1981
Hollywood Going “Backwards” On Representation As “Films About Women Having Nervous Breakdowns” Come Back Into Fashion
Posted by mlg1981
28 Comments
In the same movies men also have nervous breakdown but for some reason we don’t call it that
“We need to stop stigmatizing mental health.”
“Please remove scenes from films that normalize mental health.”
Hmmm, I’m on the fence about this. Hollick seems to be referencing a single show (The Day of the Jackal), but I haven’t been able to find this idea reflected more broadly.
At the same time, there’s a long-standing archetype in late 19th- and early 20th-century literature: the “madwoman in the attic.” Feminist scholars have interpreted this as a literary device through which female authors expressed suppressed anger toward patriarchal constraints. Characters like Bertha Mason in *Jane Eyre* are confined to an attic screaming, literally embodying that repression.
You see similar ideas in *The Yellow Wallpaper* and *The Bell Jar*, where the “breakdown” isn’t about women being inherently unstable, but about what happens when they’re trapped, dismissed, or controlled particularly in the context of confining societal standards. Joan Didion’s *Play It As It Lays* (1970) follows the nihilistic and self-destructive breakdown of an actress in 1960s Hollywood, contending with the industry’s harmful vanity amid the glamor and issues with a changing society’s conservative norms on institutionalization and illegal abortion. I’d highly recommend the literary criticism by Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar on this topic.
So when modern films use similar themes, it really comes down to execution, are they reinforcing the stereotype, or actually critiquing the conditions that produce it?
In my view, this can be a legitimate and meaningful form of representation. At the same time, I understand the concern that it risks reinforcing harmful stereotypes. Media has historically leaned on these tropes in reductive ways, so some caution is fair, but calling it “going backwards” feels like an oversimplification of a much longer and more nuanced narrative tradition.
Theres a lot of things to have a mental breakdown about right now, so…is that not representation?
I can’t speak to movie trends, but I am part of a massive women-majority book group, and I can say that the women LOVE a book about a girlie going absolutely insane. Like the world feels wild, having a breakdown seems like the most reasonable thing?
I might be too optimistic but I can’t help but feel the conversation around such moments different considering the awareness we have of mental health illness compared to before, where the trope was for the woman to lash out and everyone else be like “she’s crazy!” There is still trauma porn and the likes but I feel the conversation has shifted from blame on her to more empathy.
I think that postpartum depression was a major theme in the past year. It’s not just the breakdowns happening in a vacuum. it’s the discussions of the pressures women are under that lead to it and so in that context I’m okay with it.
Nah. When it comes to female, queer, and Black representation, proper representation in media shouldn’t mean every portrayal has to be heroic, poignant, or morally good. As someone who is both queer and of mixed African heritage, I’m tired of seeing my communities placed under constant pressure to be depicted as admirable or inspirational.
If representation is going to be meaningful, it has to include the freedom for minority and oppressed groups to be portrayed as flawed, chaotic, immoral, or morally grey, just as straight white male characters have been allowed to be for decades.
Of course, audiences may interpret or distort those portrayals through their own prejudices, but that risk shouldn’t limit what artists are allowed to explore. People of all identities should be able to embody moral ambiguity, mental struggles, decay, and outright evilness on screen.
One of my favourite recent films is Castration Movie, directed by a trans woman and centred largely on the trans experience. Almost every character in it is a piece of shit. What makes it so compelling is not just its quality as a film, but the fact that it refuses to sanitise its characters. If we want to truly normalise marginalised groups within a predominantly Western, heteronormative, white male framework, then those groups need to be represented in their full complexity, across the entire spectrum of human behaviour.
(By the way, I know the “woman in mental crisis” trope is an old stereotype, but I think there’s a difference between reductive tropes clearly meant to push an agenda and allowing women to be portrayed as unstable, messy, or complex like their mailed counterparts (ala. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Promising Young Woman, I Care A Lot, To Leslie)
Movies where women go crazy are great. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is a wonderful film for and about women
I love films about nervous breakdowns. They seem relatable lol
Brb, changing my last name to “Le Hot” like the one lady
it’s more annoying that it’s always alleged that the woman was made uncomfortable or went method or did something that contributed to the pain she depicts, rather than people just appreciating that she’s a good actor
There’s this tweet going round alleging that Maggie Gyllenhaal was so uncomfortable during scene with Heath Ledger during the Dark Knight that she kept looking at Christopher Nolan to get him to cut, even though this claim is completely unsubstantiated. People were talking about it saying things like “She was scared and Heath knew it 🙂↕️”. People are so *tantalised* by the idea of a situation where a woman is placed in genuine distress by men and it being justified
If we’re gonna keep doing Woman-Nervous-Breakdown movies, we need to prioritise safer and healthier working environments for women actors and we need to stop with this narrative that a woman’s pain is meritorious or necessary to the creation of good art.
We need to treat these women as capable of just being *good actors*, which they are, and give them the recognition and praise they warrant by delivering a good performance the same as their male counterparts — not constantly undercutting their performances by implying there *has* to be a degree of personal honesty in them
We deserve stories where women are complex, not just collapsing under pressure.
Two things can be true: the ‘woman nervous breakdown’ genre is making a comeback, and there are less movies/shows being led by women, either in directing or as the focus. It does feel like studios are trying to appease cis-het men, others be damned.
How is that going backwards. I have breakdowns because of the sheer mental load that is bestowed unto me, simply because I’m the wife and mother. On top of that I’m still expected to work full time and pay my half of the bills. I think it’s great that we talk about it. Portraying women who are never breaking under pressure is doing more harm than the opposite.
The two films that stand out from last year about women breaking down are Die My Love, which was directed, produced, co-written and based on a book by women and which shows an accurate depiction of severe post-partum depression; and the other is If I had Legs I’d Kick You, which was written and directed by a woman about her experiences of taking care of her chronically ill child.
The article talks about AI incorporating old gender stereotypes into roles. Maybe they should ban AI?
having nervous breakdowns has also come back into fashion
As a woman currently trying to fight off a nervous breakdown I appreciate the representation lol. I don’t have kids yet still related so hard with Rose Byrnes character in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. It feels good (cathartic I guess?) to see someone go absolute apeshit in a way I’m trying not to
Well. We are fucking stressed, after all.
Should we be making art that pretends everything is fine?
Or can we continue to work on how nuanced and authentic the art feels to our real experiences?
Tbf, given the current state of the world, there is nothing more relatable than a breakdown
In fairness, the current cultural and political climate is pretty gd ripe for pushing people — especially women — into nervous breakdowns.
I’m a woman with a lot of privilege in a progressive state but, fuck me, there’s a lot of incredibly disturbing writing on the wall and my female friends and colleagues are *acutely* aware as well.
I understand that art often reflects the era but I don’t want to pay to see that in theaters. I have “existential crisis” at home, thanks (also, in this economy?!).
I mean, we do be having a lot of breakdowns rn tbh
….I actually don’t mind this trend. I love the idea of women getting to Emote and get messy.
Oh that’s just a sign of the times, signed female who is constantly on the verge of a breakdown
The genre of “female rage” films tends to be my favourite tbh, and almost all of them contain a scene of a breakdown at some point. As long as the intent isn’t to “make all women seem crazy” (so the plot isn’t influenced by misogyny in any way, unless its to make a point about how misogyny affects us) then I don’t see an issue if the actresses themselves don’t.
i’m close to a nervous breakdown every day so real recognises real
I’m sorry but as a woman who has had nervous breakdowns, I’m happy for the representation finally 💅
I’d prefer more female-led superhero flicks in which the only flaws the protagonist has is not yet realizing that they’ve been perfect from the start.