(no subject)

[rhivolution]

I remembered today (O HAI BAD SHORT TERM MEMORY THAT IS NOT ADD) that I had meant to write some stuff about neurodiversity in that post I made yesterday. Oops.

But then something else came up: trouble's search for fiction books dealing with disability, as seen at FWD (go help out!), reminded me of something else I had thought about posting on, then didn't. This was due to the whole OCD failishness on Glee. (By the way, we're not going there with the RHPS thing...Roz Kaveney had an interesting take on it, but I don't know if I'm entirely with her on her reading--as in, I don't give the showrunners as much credit as she does. She does make the important point that TRHS/RHPS has always been a commercialized market vision of transness and queerness, which I had not considered before.)

So, I'm ISO fictional representations of OCD. In discussions about this with people like raanve and revena at WisCon, we postulated that there aren't many, just as there aren't many of clinical depression, because it's not 'dynamic' enough to merit a plot, for most people. Except for compulsively cleaning and fear of germs, god fucking forbid.

So here's what I know of:

Melvin Udall, As Good As It Gets: Could be worse, really. I think the film does a fair job of portraying the inability to interact with one's environment and the inherent frustration causing one to be...socially difficult. It's kind of irritating that the whole Love Of A Good Woman thing comes into play, also. I have a great story about being told how FUNNY Melvin's actions were and nearly losing my shit.

Howard Hughes, The Aviator: Obviously based on real events. Someone I know who has OCD saw it and said it was possibly triggery but an excellent portrayal. I've not seen it personally, because at the time I was a bit low on spoons and I tend to keep forgetting about it. (see: poor memory. I'll probably remember I want to see it again for about a day, then forget.)

Adrian Monk, Monk: We do not speak of Monk and we do not discuss the ever so clever tagline 'The Defective Detective'. Also, Monk's case of OCD is highly atypical, particularly the whole productive attention to detail thing.

Han Qing-Jao, Xenocide: I have massive issues with Orson Scott Card due to his EVERYTHING FAIL (and that includes ableism both here and in other ways), but the depictions of OCD behaviour as performed by the godspoken of Path are one thing that he does accurately, at least in my personal experience. It's a very difficult thing to capture and I have no idea how he managed to do it, seeing how much of an arse he is.

Roy Waller, Matchstick Men: I haven't seen this film, and apparently it's one of many comorbid conditions Roy has. Anyone who can speak more, let me know. I've heard the film's worth watching, though I don't know if it's a good portrayal of OCD.

Emma Pillsbury, Glee: Much as I appreciate that Jayma Mays doesn't want to hurt anybody, I'm still not best pleased with what I hear, or what I read in this article...it's just part of her personality? Then it's OCPD, which is not the same at all--OCD is ego dystonic, meaning that performing ritual runs contrary to a person's self-image. Not that this is that big a thing, but still, the little cuts, my friends.

Tell me more! If there are any, that is.

ETA: I'm so glad that there's a term for the inherent frustration and disparity between the person with OCD's condition and self-understanding--ego dystonic. WIN. I just found this out yesterday.

Comments

[revena]

On TV, Michael J. Fox played a character on Scrubs (I can't remember if it was more than one episode?), Dr. Kevin Casey, a surgeon who has OCD. I thought it was a really interesting and nuanced portrayal, but IDK how it would strike someone who actually has OCD.

In movies, Phoebe in Wonderland is about a little girl who has comorbid conditions including OCD and Tourette syndrome. It is one of the most amazing movies I've ever seen, hands down. There is an element of her getting carried away by her fantasy life that I think isn't clearly delineated as not actually related to her illnesses, which I find unfortunate. As far as warnings go, it deals with the way her family copes (or not) with her emerging condition, her own panic, etc. It made me cry. It might be very upsetting for someone else. But I really loved that it's a portrayal of mental illness that has those difficult parts in it, and also has an optimistic ending, even though it's clear that Phoebe isn't going to "get better."

[rhivolution]

Wicked, thanks for this! I feel like I've heard about Phoebe in Wonderland somewhere, so I'll have to track it down.

[sasha_feather]

Oooh, you should post a link to this in access_fandom!!

[rhivolution]

I'll do that, once my brain is in gear...stupid sinus headache!

[fox1013]

I've read a bunch of YA lit about OCD, but sadly, none of it falls into the category of SUCCESSFUL. :/


I'm not sure if I read Jayma Mays's comment in the same way you did, although I may be giving too much credit; I saw it as a clumsy way to say "Emma's always going to be a little bit of a neat freak, but the excessive parts we're working on." I still am very conflicted on Emma's OCD, though. Mostly bad-conflicted. :(

[rhivolution]

Heh, how could I guess that there was YA lit out there...someone mentioned some on LJ, but I don't know how I feel about it.

I just...neat freak is so the classic OCD definition, you know? And it's so very not true, usually the stuff we organize isn't relevant to that! You know what I mean.

[fox1013]

Ugh, tell me about it, If I had a quarter for every time someone told me that I CAN'T have OCD, because I'm so messy, I would not be so concerned about rising health insurance prices.


I- er, unsurprisingly- read all of the OCD-related children's and YA I can find that seem at least a tiny bit unproblematic. Usually their seeming that way is a vicious lie. :( The worst, hands-down, are the picture books. They make me want to run screaming from what is in my brain, because that shit is TERRIFYING.

[0jack]

I really appreciate reading this kind of discussion. I'm a writer and editor; I don't have any characters with OCD at the moment, but it's always something to keep in mind. Heaven knows the things I've seen mangled when I get something to edit.

When I had my last psych eval, I had zero OCD, and I've done group therapy with people who have OCD. I find that so much of what is portrayed as OCD looks like anxiety disorder. My GAD looks more like "Emma"'s psuedo-OCD than what I've seen in other clients in therapy.

I have somewhat disruptive synaesthesia and chronic pain and those intersect with my anxiety. My anxiety is what dictates having a 'clean kit' for every bag I own (I am in a lot of pain most days and being sick on top of that is horrid) and not putting the wrong pens/colours/shirts together or they'll 'clash' (I say argue or shout, but no one understands what I mean--it's just loud and frustrating and I can't pay attention to 'real' things), and having things sorted right. Don't get me started on NOISE. I think a lot of people would look at me and say I had OCD and I just *don't*.

[royalarchivist]

+1 rec for The Aviator as being a really good movie about a really interesting person. Also: Leo DiCaprio. It definitely seems to do a better job of portraying OCD than As Good As It Gets (the only other movie from that list I've seen).

[rhivolution]

I liked As Good As It Gets, but I was 14 or so at the time. I'm not sure how I'd look at it now. I'll definitely have to hunt down The Aviator, though, as I seriously did mean to see it maybe six years ago and keep failing.

[silver_spotted]

here via access_fandom - Kissing Doorknobs is a YA novel about a girl who has OCD. I remember it fondly, but it's been years since I read it so I don't know how it stands up.

[chagrined]

I was going to add this one. I think reading that book in middle school was the first time I realized what to call my OCD.

Also to OP, another +1 rec for The Aviator but yeah, potentially triggery. I think it is one of the truest (to me) portrayals of OCD I've ever encountered (and yeah, DiCaprio is really good, and he also talks in some of the commentaries on the DVD's special features about his own OCD), but DEFINITELY could be triggery. This is why I have only watched it twice: once in theaters, then I bought the DVD, then rewatched it once to write a paper on it but after that, I haven't watched it again. ^__^ But ymmv, also depending on what specific things trigger you.

[rhivolution]

Awesome, thank you! I'm definitely going to have to approach it at a good time for me, I think, so that it doesn't...do things.

[rhivolution]

Thanks! I'm guessing it wasn't in my local library system, because I'd not heard of it before.

[(Anonymous)]

http://www.amazon.com/Wicked-Game-Jeri-Smith-Ready/dp/141655176X

vampires with OCD

[chagrined]

Oh, speaking of vampires with OCD, there's also the X-Files episode "Bad Blood." It has a few brief moments of playing vampire OCD for laughs in a stereotype-laden way.

[rhivolution]

Hmm, that doesn't look too terrible. Thanks.

[feanna]

If I remember this right, then a character in "A dog's breakfast" had OCD. I have no idea how well they did it, as I did not manage to sit through the movie. I only know about it, because David Hewlett made it and was in it and therefore it was known in SGA fandom. Lots of people seemed to like it though, so ymmv.

There was also that movie that was really popular that one year about an older couple falling in love and he had OCD and was played by a very famous actor, as was she.

[insomniac_tales]

I don't remember David Hewlett ever mentioning that the character had OCD, but the behavior would lead one to think so. It's hard to tell if what he was doing was ritualized or simply eccentric.

Another example I can think of (and a very recent one) is Charlie Kelly's mom in It's Always Sunny in Philidelphia. The show is offensive and bawdy comedy, so again, ymmv. In the episode Mac's Mom Burns Her House Down Charlie's mom turns the lights on and off in threes "so that Charlie won't die."

[rhivolution]

Oh dear. I hate IASIP (I find it depressing), so I...think I may not try that one. But thank you.

[feanna]

I actually do recall David saying that the character had OCD. In addition to some maybe not so sensitive comments about how hw took some ideas from how his wife (who was also involved in the movie, if I recall this right) behaved, but that his wife wasn't really OCD.

[rhivolution]

Hmm. I never was in SGA fandom, so that one went over my head. Thanks.

[jesse_the_k]

I borrowed this one from the library, and I think Patrick (central character played by Hewlett) is "certifiable." He needs things to be in a particular order — the best part is when he separates all the Froot Loops by into bowls by color. He is also quite worried that Bad Things Are Happening, and in the end bad things don't happen, and he's not cured.

This one walks the line between real life and fiction: Gray Gardens documents a mother-daughter pair whose need to hang on to each other and their thoroughly decaying house is both an art form and an ongoing self-harm. The mother-daughter play themselves, and it was a pioneer in "artistic documentary." A fictionalized version played on HBO in 2009.

[elf]

The article The Faces Of Madness: Gotham's Rogues suggests that the Riddler, Scarecrow & Joker all show signs of OCD, although only the Riddler's fits the standard cliched understanding. I'm not sure what diagnoses any of them have been given in canon.

[rhivolution]

Thanks, that's quite interesting! I feel like I've read a suggestion that the Riddler has OCD before, and I do see that as a potentiality, but I also have no idea about canon.

[elf]

I've got some of the Arkham-focused comics, and when I've got some spare time, I'll try to go through them & find out if he's got an official diagnosis.

Here via access_fandom

[laurashapiro]

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger has a character with OCD. I found the portrayal sympathetic and complex but ultimately still a bit problematic. I don't have OCD myself, though, so I may not be the best judge. Your mileage, of course, may vary.

The book itself is quite interesting, although IMO not as good as her first.

Re: Here via access_fandom

[rhivolution]

Thanks! I was meaning to read that but put it back down in light of something else at the library, not that long ago. I'll have to have a look. I didn't read The Time Traveler's Wife, so I'd be coming in fresh.

Re: Here via access_fandom

[laurashapiro]

The two books aren't related, so you should be able to plunge into this one without having read The Time Traveler's Wife.

Also here via access_fandom

[aris_tgd]

Nobody has mentioned the webcomic Questionable Content yet? Hannelore has OCD which she manages and uses to have a pretty groovy time with the other comic characters. As another person commenting who doesn't have OCD I don't want to say too much but there was a review on Deeply Problematic about her (and Faye, another main character), and RMJ has OCD and has several positive things to say about her portrayal.

Re: Also here via access_fandom

[rhivolution]

I'd forgotten that I'd read about Hannelore on Deeply Problematic, thank you for the reminder! I read QC through about four years ago and have been meaning to go back and do it again (I went to Smith, so the in-jokes amuse me).

[jessara40k]

Access-fandom referral, and Fractious from the Whateley Academy stories at http://www.crystalhall.org has OCD. She's referenced in the Lit-Chix stories and in Ayal and the Networks, but she's the viewpoint character in Stress Fractures, found here: http://www.crystalhall.org/FractiousFC.html

Sorry, I can't say how good a representation she is.

[rhivolution]

I've not heard of those, so thank you! I'll have to have a read.

[nenena]

Death's son in the anime/manga Soul Eater has severely debilitating OCD. (His name is Kid - don't laugh.) In this first leg of the series this is almost entirely played for laughs, but I still count Kid as a fabulous representation of OCD because:

1. The character himself is a FUCKING SUPER-POWERED ACTION HERO who doesn't have his superpowers derive from his disability in any way shape or form. I love the way that his character completely subverts the Supercrip trope because yes, he has a disability and yes, he has superpowers, but one has nothing to do with the other. He truly is a character with superpowers who happens to have a disability, as opposed to a character with superpowers because of his disability. And if you ask me, the former is the type of character that I would much rather see on TV, rather than the latter.

2. The portrayal of the character's OCD quirks, as cartoonishly exaggerated as they are, are also true to life in a so-funny-that-it-hurts kind of way. (Disclaimer: I have OCD and for most of my life my brain has been pulling the exact same shit on me that this character deals with, including an obsession with bodily symmetry that I rarely ever see portrayed in movies/books/TV that include OCD characters, so a lot of the OCD jokes in Soul Eater hit very, very close to home for me.)

3. In the rare moments when the series decides to get Srs Bzns about OCD, it does it astoundingly well. Granted, this doesn't happen often - after all, this is a children's anime/manga about kids with magical powers who fight werewolves and vampires and make friends with talking animals and giant robots and quirky zombies and wisdom-dispensing sage-like tentacle goo monsters - but when Soul Eater DOES seriously tackle the issue of disability, it's insightful and poignant and manages to challenge a bucketload of tired cliches about OCD in a few short, pointed scenes.

4. Did I mention the context? This is a silly shounen series, about superpowered kids fighting supernatural monsters, and pretty much the last place that I ever expected to find a main character with a serious disability. But Kid is a starring character, not a character who exists merely to teach some other character a Very Special Lesson about disability. Kid's disability is portrayed as a part of who he is, not as something that any other character is supposed to learn a Very Special Lesson from. It's as if the mangaka actually created a fantasy world where people with disabilities exist and can even take a starring role in a heroic action story, imagine that! Also, did I mention FUCKING SUPERPOWERED ACTION HERO? Not a detective, not an accountant, but a FUCKING ACTION HERO?!

Obviously I love this character and this portrayal of OCD, so I'm going to stop gushing now. But I should add the disclaimer that YMMV, and the early parts of the story do seriously overplay milking Kid's disability for laughs.

But I think that Soul Eater deserves +10,000 Disability Karma Points for one particular scene early on in the series that brilliantly, ruthlessly skewers the portrayal of OCD on Monk and does it in such a way that made me laugh so hard I cried. That fact that this scene involves a werewolf makes it all that much more surreal and utterly beautiful in its ridiculousness.