Drawing Conclusions on Joan Crawford’s Cognitive and Personality Disorders
1. Define each of these disorders from our book. Research the Internet for a bit more detail about how someone might contract some of these disorders.
Obsessive compulsive disorder, (or OCD,) is a mental illness that deals with a person’s obsession with orderliness, perfection, and control. One might develop this disorder due to a chemical imbalance in the brain. Other causes can include environmental, neurobiological, cognitive, behavioral, and genetic factors. (Rathus, pg. 2010, pg. 525 & 526).
Borderline disorder deals with instabilities evolving in relationships. People with this illness tend to have chaotic bonds with others as well as a disturbed sense of self-image. …show more content…
For example, the part of the movie where Joan catches Christina playing in her room and mimicking her in the mirror after Joan found out she’s got a major role in the movie she tried out for is a representation of bipolar disorder, borderline disorder, and narcissism. Bipolar disorder is present when Joan’s mood shifts suddenly when she sees Christina pretending to be her. It transitions too easily from joviality into acrimony. She feels that Christina,- who was dressed up in her clothes and done up in her hair gel and make-up,- is laughing at her. She thinks Christina is trying to humiliate her when, in reality, her daughter is innocently imitating her mother’s successful behavior. This here, is an example of her self-absorbed narcissistic traits. Instead of understanding that her daughter is attempting to show her admiration, Joan let’s her ego and madness take over. She harshly brushes the product from Christina’s hair, trying and snarl away the false taunt. When that doesn’t get rid of it, she uses her scissors to cut away the illusions. In the end, as they’re both staring teary-eyed into the mirror, Joan’s relationship with her eldest daughter is reflected. From this scene, we can clearly see that their bond is doomed to become chaotic and destructive,- has become stained by Joan’s inability to stay sane. (Koontz, O’Neil, & Yablans, 1981).
3. After watching the film, act as Joan or even Christina’s …show more content…
Crawford also commented on her parental situation. She’s explained that she had no father, and that her mother, quote, -“chased after husbands faster than she changed bed sheets.” From her accusations, I can conclude that her mother was more worried about going after “the boys,” rather than caring for her own daughter. Ms. Crawford may have had to grow up in a “survival mode.” This means that she had no one to rely on but herself, and depended on her own abilities to get her through life to where she ended up presently. Her mother’s absence and her father’s non-existence could be causes of Ms. Crawford’s Borderline disorder. It could also explain her Narcissistic traits, due to having in her past only been able to count on herself. (***Note: These environmental factors could very well be the cause of Ms. Crawford’s amenities, but certain chemical imbalances and abnormalities of the brain could also be factored in.) (Koontz, O’Neil, & Yablans,