Robin’s Wish 2020
In “Robin’s Wish,” a documentary about the last days of Robin. The comedian’s widow, Susan Schneider Williams, recalls one of the first times that she could tell something was seriously off. Robin called her from Vancouver, where he was shooting the third “Night at the Museum” film, and he couldn’t calm himself down. He was having a panic attack over the fact that he couldn’t remember his lines; at times, he was having trouble remembering even one line of dialogue. That wasn’t a problem he’d had before, and given that he was one of the most mentally nimble people who ever lived, you can see how disturbing this might have been. Shawn Levy, the “Night at the Museum” director, recalls Robin telling him, “I don’t know what’s going on. I’m not me anymore.” His mind, says Levy, “was not firing at the same speed. That spark was diminished.”
In August 2014, the world was shocked to find out that Robin Williams had died by suicide. For someone who brought so much humour to the world, it was a tragic, traumatic end. But no one knew how much more there was to the story. Left to speculate on Robin’s motives, the media circus spun out further and further, leaving the public in the dark about a complicated and obscured truth: Robin – bright, funny, quick witted – had lost a battle against an unknown enemy: the nearly impossible to diagnose brain disease Lewy body dementia. Knowing the truth can make all the difference. LBD is a disease that, while all too common, is unknown to most, and without a diagnosis causes heightened fear, paranoia and confusion. In the end, Robin may have lost his final battle with dementia, but he succeeded at his lifelong goal – To make people less afraid. This is Robin’s wish.
OCD: As Good As it Gets (1997) | You make me want to be a better man
wenty years ago, Jack Nicholson hopped through the streets of downtown Manhattan, trying to avoid the cracks in the sidewalk in “As Good as it Gets.” Playing the obsessive-compulsive novelist Melvin Udall in the James L. Brooks-directed comedy landed Nicholson his third Oscar in 1998. It was a difficult task, channeling a character that falls in love with a waitress as his local diner (Helen Hunt) and befriends his gay neighbor (Greg Kinnear), while staying true to his core as a grumpy brute. “You make me want to be a better man,” he says in an often-quoted line from the script.
Schizophrenia: A Beautiful Mind (2001) | I luv Russell Crowe’s raw display in this beautiful film
If you want to understand a loved one’s brain illness, this movie will show you what it is like. Of course it becomes confusing, because the movie portrays John Nash’s hallucinations as real as they were to him. Family & loved ones of anyone who experiences visual hallucinations or auditory hallucinations need to watch this true story. To actually understand someone with a brain/mental illness, you have to walk in their shoes. This movie does that for the viewer.
Bipolar disorder: Silver Linings Playbook (2012) || Starring Bradley Cooper… Yes the hot dude who sang alongside LAdy Gaga in a Star is born…
After spending time in a mental health hospital, Pat Solatano | is forced to move back in with his parents. The symptoms of living with bipolar disorder have caused him to lose both his wife and his job. He is determined to get his wife back and meets someone, Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), who offers to help him in exchange for being her ballroom dance partner. Silver Linings Playbook represents the range of emotion that often occurs within someone who lives with bipolar disorder in a way that is both real and riveting.
General Mental Health: Inside Out (2015) || Suitable for all ages… even kids… unless they vehemently refuse then thats another story | I would tell them its either this or Disney’s Mulan *tongue firmly in cheek* We all know which they chose lol
Since its release last month, Inside Out has been applauded by critics, adored by audiences, and has become the likely front-runner for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
But perhaps its greatest achievement has been this: It has moved viewers young and old to take a look inside their own minds. As you likely know by now, much of the film takes place in the head of an 11-year-old girl named Riley, with five emotions—Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust—embodied by characters who help Riley navigate her world. The film has some deep things to say about the nature of our emotions—which is no coincidence, as the GGSC’s founding faculty director, Dacher Keltner, served as a consultant on the film, helping to make sure that, despite some obvious creative liberties, the film’s fundamental messages about emotion are consistent with scientific research.
Those messages are smartly embedded within Inside Out‘s inventive storytelling and mind-blowing animation; they enrich the film without weighing it down. But they are conveyed strongly enough to provide a foundation for discussion among kids and adults alike. Some of the most memorable scenes in the film double as teachable moments for the classroom or dinner table.
