“Take me as I am, whoever I am”, is the third episode of the series Modern Love. This episode navigates through the life of Lexi (Anne Hathway), who portrays a woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder as a teenager. The episode explores Lexi’s life as a brilliant entertainment lawyer who had been hiding her diagnosis from her friends and family until she finally loses her job due to her being “unreliable”. Hathaway's character looks nothing far from ‘perfect’. She appears to lead a financially independent life and excelling at her job as an entertainment lawyer. Lexi first felt the effects of this disorder in high school when she went days without getting out of her bed, but her academic and professional achievements made it extremely complex to detect this disorder. In this blogpost, I aim to analyze the portrayal of this disorder through Lexi and highlight the accuracies and inaccuracies within this depiction.
Lexi’s mood is depicted through two ‘phases’. Her manic/euphoric episode followed by her depressive episodes. Bipolar disorders according to the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-5, are a “group of brain disorders that cause extreme fluctuations in a person’s mood, energy, and ability to function”. There are different forms of bipolar disorder: Bipolar I and II. Bipolar I disorder involves periods of severe mania and severe depression alternating rapidly or intermixed. Bipolar II disorder involves less severe manic episodes although depressive episodes can be extremely intense (Butcher 2017).
According to a study conducted by Solomon. Et. al (2010), the length of manic and depressive episodes vary, but usually, most people experience one of two cycles annually with episodes lasting about 13 weeks. In Lexi’s case, one can observe a rapid switching between a euphoric mania to depression within a 24-hour cycle. This is one of the misrepresentations of the disorder in the show. In a report, Kukopulos and his colleagues reported an average duration of 24 weeks for depression and 30 weeks for mania among patients with bipolar disorder. Lexi has episodes where her moods change on a dime, sometimes even within hours.
The depiction of manic and depressive episodes show a very realistic side of the illness. In the beginning, Lexi is shown during her manic phase through her galavanting across the streets of New York City in sequined bright colored dresses, constantly smiling, accompanied by an upbeat narration, rapid speech and singing and dancing. A scene very similar to La La Land. She encounters a man in the grocery store (Jeff), whom she is instantly drawn to. The two then plan to go on a dinner date. For their date, Jeff sees Lexi during her depressive episode. Her hair undone, dark and plain colored clothes, extremely exhausted. This drastic change in Lexi can also be observed in qualitative research studies on this disorder.
According to Barnett and Smoller, an individual during a manic phase exhibit behaviors such as: heightened energy, feeling of euphoria, and a feeling of invincibility among other behavioral tendencies. Furthermore, these individuals feel to make impulsive decisions and have delusional ideas. Lexi was shown making an impulsive decision when she approached Jeff (a total stranger) and decided to go on a date with him. Though I found the approach to depicting Lexi’s mania accurate, I do not agree with how it was portrayed as purely positive or a joyful experience. According to literature, mania can feel like extreme agitation, irritability or hostility that can ruin friendships and relationships.
Lexi’s depressive phase also accurately depicts what a depressive episode looks like in reality. Persistent feelings of sadness and guilt, frequent bouts of crying, inability to move, loss of interest, sleeping too much. During her depressive episodes, she is unable to function. This is evident during her date with Jeff. She acts completely uninterested and uninvolved when she was in fact the person who asked Jeff out in the first place. Towards the end of the episode, Lexi is seen again in her manic phase. She calls Jeff and makes plans for another date the same day. This could possibly be her trying to avoid another low from ruining her night with Jeff. This time, one can see her being extremely confident as she cleans up her apartment, cooks dinner, and prepares herself for the date. She feels alive. Until she falls back again. Lexi crumbles, she falls to the ground crying inconsolably, plummeting into another hole of hopelessness and despair. She is seen trying to get back on her feet but is unable to.
The complexity of mania and depression has been portrayed in a very interesting and accurate manner. Lexi’s manic episodes in the form of a happy musical, with singing and dancing to her downward spiral to acute depression. However, Lexi seems to have very brief mood episodes that switch back and forth from mania to depression within short periods of time. To flip back and forth within a day or two is not the norm and therefore is a form of misrepresentation of the illness. To conclude, there is no singular or perfect way to depict a mental illness on a show but it is pleasant to see a show that does not romanticize/over exaggerate a mental illness.
Works Cited
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
Butcher, James N. Abnormal Psychology (2017).
Coryell W, Endicott J, Keller MAm J Psychiatry. 1990
Barnett JH, Smoller JW (November 2009). "The genetics of bipolar disorder". Neuroscience. 164 (1): 331–43.
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