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Cotard’s Syndrome and Representation in Hannibal

Samarth Menon

The character of Hannibal Lecter has been a cultural landmark in bringing psychiatric and mental illnesses into everyday conversation. The 2013 television show centered around the character, Hannibal, was instrumental in introducing all kinds of psychiatric conditions to its audience. One of the more significant episodes in the first season, Buffet Froid, stands out for its portrayal of a rare psychological disorder called Cotard’s Syndrome and how it connected to the larger issue of how rarer illnesses are handled by mental health professionals. However, where the show succeeds in bringing out these points, it also falls short by associating this rare condition with violent behavior.

In the show, Georgia Madchen believes she is dead, and decaying, which is the central delusional belief in Cotard’s Syndrome. Along with Cotard’s Syndrome, she also suffers from prosopagnosia, which makes it impossible for her to recognize faces. This causes her to be paranoid and react in violent ways – leading her to murder a friend of hers. Throughout the episode, she is described as having violent behavior, and is thus referred to as ‘deranged.’ For a condition which is rarely portrayed in mainstream media, the association of Cotard’s Syndrome with violence is then immediately imprinted in the mind of the audience. The main character, Will Graham, tries to empathize with her condition, but Hannibal states her mental illness makes her incapable of trusting anyone. With this connection, the show does to Cotard’s Syndrome what the movie Psycho did for Dissociative Identity Disorder – which is to portray them as dangerous individuals who shouldn’t be trusted.

Keeping these concerns aside, the show does accurately attempt to capture the clinical symptoms of the condition. Georgia suffers from seizures, hallucinations, and psychotic depression, which several case studies of the disorder show to be consistent symptoms. She is shown to be in woeful physical condition. Three separate case studies reveal that appetite becomes dangerously low for people who have Cotard’s Syndrome, due to their belief that they’re already dead. Georgia too ends up almost starving herself, and almost dies to due loss of vital fluids. Finally, when Georgia does agree to get help, she is stated to undergo electroconvulsive therapy, which according to research is the most effective method of treatment for Cotard’s Syndrome.

The show does try to approach the condition from a sympathetic standpoint, as it shows the emotional state of Georgia when she’s undergoing these delusions. Her prosopagnosia, for example, is highlighted towards the end of the episode when she looks at a face and isn’t able to process it at all. This representation from her point of view helps the audience visualize how this condition operates and how difficult it can be to live with it.

Another scene of significance is when Georgia’s mother is questioned about her. Describing her symptoms and her life, she laments about the condition of the mental health industry, and how it treats patients. She describes how medication and treatments consistently failed, and how difficult it was to get concrete answers. She points out how little is known about mental illnesses, and how it is not geared towards finding solutions, but rather managing expectations. This concern is one that is shared by many researchers as well. 70% people who suffer from mental illnesses don’t receive support from healthcare professionals, and one of the reasons cited is lack of knowledge around mental illnesses. Even this lack of knowledge leads to the general population finding it difficult to empathize with sufferers of mental illnesses and reduce stigma around treatment.

The reason why Georgia finally seeks help is because Will empathizes and understands what her mental illness makes her go through. With this, the shows emphasizes the importance of attempting to reach out and not completely ostracize or treat people with mental illnesses and makes the case for bridging the gap between people who don’t suffer from mental health concerns and those who do. So while the association with violence remains problematic, the show does do a good job in bringing rare illnesses into common conversation and portray them in a somewhat sympathetic light. 

References

Fuller, B. (Writer). (n.d.). Buffet Froid [Television series episode]. In Hannibal.

Ruminjo, A., & Mekinulov, B. (2008). A Case Report of Cotard's Syndrome. Psychiatry (Edgmont (Pa. : Township)), 5(6), 28-9.

Grover, S., Aneja, J., Mahajan, S., & Varma, S. (2014). Cotard's syndrome: Two case reports and a brief review of literature. Journal of neurosciences in rural practice, 5(Suppl 1), S59-62.

Henderson, C., Evans-Lacko, S., & Thornicroft, G. (2013). Mental illness stigma, help seeking, and public health programs. American journal of public health, 103(5), 777-80.

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