Dialogues with Madwomen (1994) User Reviews

Review of Dialogues With Madwomen

[label001 · 9/10 · 19 November 2013]

Picture this: the shadow of a woman, oscillating slow and steady on a rocking chair. Her long, disorderly hair unraveled down the back of the seat. Your first thought? She must be a little crazy. As much as it goes against the idealistic "don't judge a book by its cover" attitude, I have to admit that was my first thought when the brief scene appeared in Dialogues With Madwomen, a film produced by Allie Light. Dialogues With Madwomen is a documentary that features segments of interviews with seven different women. The women have all been diagnosed with varying forms of mental illnesses and speak openly about their life experiences. Dialogues With Madwomen is not simply just a documentary confronting mental illness but it is a tactical approach to unpacking the complexity of the lives people with such illnesses for a society that needs to expand their knowledge of this subculture. Allie Light's Dialogues With Madmen was produced in 1994 and featured seven women that were interviewed individually and let the viewer into their personal lives, which were more times than not, dark and traumatic. The film was a compilation of the interviewees speaking and footage of homemade videos, images, and re-enactments of various scenes that were discussed in the dialogs. A notable trend throughout the women was that each one had experiences in their childhoods that stayed with them for life. Whether it was mean nuns and Catholic school where girls thought self-mutilation and dying were good, abusive parents that didn't show any interest in wanting their children or that lacked the abilities to create a healthy environment for a child, isolation due to race, or simply not being able to have the innocence you deserve as a child. All of the women reacted to these experiences and others with varying methods. The film illustrates what the lives of those who have Manic depression, schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, and multiple personalities disorder entail. Each woman spoke with raw honesty that allowed a new perspective to be seen but also served as an excellent gateway into the understanding of mental illnesses. At first, their bluntness came as a shock but it becomes easier to delve into and process. Some of the traumas they have gone through seem so difficult that it is hard to not distance one's self instead of connecting to them. Statements along the lines of "You have to forget in order to survive as a child" and "Innocence wasn't existent. That's one of the worst things you can do to a kid" struck a heart-string and allowed there to be a personal reflection about the life I have led. These types of connections are important to make, especially in a setting such as a psychology class. It is the small relations that an individual makes that can have an overpowering effect on their thought processes. It is only then that the individual can make a difference in other's lives and lead the way to a new understanding of something that may be unfamiliar to the masses and that is where change originates.

The way in which Dialogues With Madmen was shot diminished any struggle there originally was to see the women as a part of this functioning society. Society often has a negative reaction to those who do not fit the "normal," "healthy," "functioning" expectation. Being able to see this group of strong, intelligent, powerful women sit in front of a camera and eloquently and articulately express their deepest emotional trials and tribulations serves as a breaking of a barrier between "us" and "them." They tell us about their darkest fears, the most horrid memories, and the ways in which they learned to handle them. Their ability to analyze their experiences speaks to the notion that there is more to mental illness than we often think and in a society where these people are disregarded and dismissed there must be communication and a transcending of boundaries. In order to understand and have the ability to step into their world, they must be viewed as the resilient human beings they are, not as an obscure subculture.

The films purpose was not to intimidate the viewer or expose mental illnesses and trauma but it was to intertwine the worlds that "madwomen" live in with the world that the rest of us live in. The realization is that these completely different experiences are happening in the same environment as those that are going along with their lives and their nine to five jobs. The seven women in the film are reacting to the same world that we live in but they have unfortunately been exposed to more ugliness than one can imagine and often from a very young age. The film should not discourage the viewer and should not serve as another way to differentiate themselves from these women. It's purpose should be to demonstrate how some people can go through so much, can suffer so much, and yet still find ways to survive. That is what the main takeaway was. That there are different paths that we all take, some with more bumps in the road than others, but for these women it has proved their strength and power that they are still here, still living, and still finding ways to enjoy life. Whether it is rocking in a rocking chair as an escape from reality or dancing in a field, singing in an echoing staircase, they are intelligently facing all that life throws at them. The fact that they can still smile, still laugh, still dance and sing, still find meaning in life is truly admirable.

It is important for people to watch this film, especially in a setting where the concepts can be unpacked and discussed further. For some it may have been a struggle to get through the film but it is a learning experience that opens up a new perspective that can ignite change.

Mad, or Marginalized?

[muibahazeez2011 · 8/10 · 19 November 2013]

"If this is what I can expect of my species, I need another reason to stay here". In the documentary, Dialogues with Madwomen, this was the one line that I will not soon forget. The woman exclaimed that this is what went through her mind after she was raped for the first time. The film as a whole gave us an in-depth look into the lives of various women who have been diagnosed with a mental illness. It features illnesses such as depression, personality disorder, and schizophrenia. After critically analyzing the contents of the documentary and taking into account the truly difficult life histories of the featured women, I ask myself the question - how does the marginalization of women contribute to the onset of mental disorders amongst women? I feel that a lot of difficulties women face, even today, puts them at a greater risk for becoming mentally ill. The film, Dialogues with Madwomen, explores mental illnesses among women in a way that goes beyond a general list of symptoms.

All of these stories have a common thread in the sense that all of these women experienced abuse in one way or another. I have reason to believe this triggered many of their mental illnesses, thus, making them even more marginalized. One of the women featured in the film speaks about how rough she was treated when being transporting to mental hospitals. She implies that the people transporting her figured that because she was "crazy", she didn't have any feelings or sense of mistreatment. The common thread amongst all the stories was that they all wanted to gain control - whether this was by cutting or creating multiple personalities. Knowing how little power and freedom women are given, this most likely contributed to their mental illnesses. I believe anyone taking a Psychology of Women course would greatly benefit from watching this film. Students taking this course will see real life applications on many of the concepts discussed in lecture. They will also gain insight on why it's so important to educate oneself about the psychology of women. If sexual violence lead to some of the truly painful lives some of the women in the film have to endure, then it's more important than ever to become an advocate for change. This film does an exceptional job at displaying the themes studied in a psychology of women course in a way that's both raw and thought-provoking.

One of the main things I noticed while watching the documentary was the ways in which the women presented themselves. One time I performed a monologue in which I played a woman who had been circumcised at the age of 12 and as a result could not bear children. The director wanted my character to come off as sincere so she instructed me to speak in a way that was more "this is what happened" rather than "woe, it's me", as if I had long since come to terms with my situation. The women presented in Dialogues with Madwomen started off speaking in the "this is what happened" tone and I found it to be a refreshing change from watching a television drama or movie portrayal. However, as the interviews went on, we see a gradual shift in many of the women. Their emotions and fears and true beliefs on themes such as suicide come out and the audience suddenly feels their pain. I know from experience that is the true structure of an interview. Participants usually start out reserved and simple – but after talking for a while they reach some sort of peak in which we see the raw emotion that cannot be duplicated with any other medium. We spent a lot of time in class reading about women who have been through turmoil, but there's something about watching an interview and feeling that emotion that makes the messages so much clearer, and so much more relate-able. Any woman who's suffered from mental illness could watch this movie and suddenly feel understood. That's the effect of direct interviewing.

In the realm of the psychology of women and the method of direct interviewing, this film exceeded in giving the audience an in-depth look at what it means to be a woman in America diagnosed with a mental illness. Watching this film really affected me in the sense that I now feel it's so much more prevalent to be a woman and be depressed. It also made me think deeper about physical abuse and how it's never just physical, it's mental as well. Bruises heal, but sometimes the mind never fully recovers. By going beyond the general list of symptoms associated with the illnesses presented, this documentary has a very powerful delivery that can speak to women everywhere. The marginalization of women must stop – for it acts as a direct highway to mental illness.

Interviews with women with psychological disorders

[ka_t27 · 8/10 · 19 November 2013]

Often those who deal with sexual assault at a young age will later on lead a life full of psychological disorders. They will often feel silenced by the child abuse, especially when the survivors are women, who are already a silenced majority. The film Dialogues with Mad Women represents the silence that many women must deal with in their lives, and how that silence bubbles up in the form of psychological disorders. The women portrayed in this film haven't all dealt with sexual assault, but all have dealt with some form of oppression in their life, which lead them to deal with issues such as schizophrenia, multiple personalities, and manic depression. This film allows these women to break their silence, and thus provides a powerful narrative of the issues that all women face in their lifetime.

This film is composed of interviews with different women, all of whom have dealt with some form of psychological distress and/or disorder. They all open up about their lives and reveal some very disturbing details of their childhood. Many grew up having to deal with sexual assault and incest, racism, and overall oppression. These stories are emphasized with reenactments, many which include the women themselves. They explain not only their situations, but also their feelings at the time and later on in life. They discuss how their disorders developed, and what they did to seek treatment. In some cases stereotypical treatment did not help them. One woman, Deedee, described her therapist molesting her and then drugging her into silence. Most of these women describe people taking advantage of their situations and silence, which only exacerbate the issues that they face. Sometimes these women were harmed by the people around them, those who were close to them, which feed their silence. One woman describes how her father would beat her and rape her, and how her mother only became jealous of their "sexual relationship." This happened at such a young age that this woman had trouble developing healthy sexual relationships for the rest of her life. These horrific issues are only followed by more silence and more oppression. This film allows the women to explain their situations from their point of view, and explain how they have begun to heal themselves from these disorders.

This film is powerful overall, though some instances could have used more evidence. There were two women who talked about racism, which I believe is a very important and prevalent topic. I believe that this topic could have had more depth. In addition, this film could have touched on a larger range of issues, possibly including more information about homophobia, everyday sexism, or gender identity. The film also could have provided more closure on the women, since the viewers only find out the fate of one, Karen, who was tragically murdered in her home. Information on where the women are presently in their lives would have given the audience an understanding of how women can rise above the issues in their lives to become more self-aware, even if that entails them being institutionalized. Overall, though, the topics that were discussed are issues that are still present today and dealt with by many women.

This film is based on real events and real emotions, which I believe make it a very powerful and important film. These interviews, along with the dramatizations, allow the viewer to understand what these women were going through. Most of the issues that were discussed are issues that many women face today, including sexual assault, racism, and overall oppression. The issues that these women face are issues that every woman has dealt with, in most cases on a far less traumatic scale, in their lifetime. Most of the power that stems from this film is due to the relatable issues that these women present. For example, two women in particular discussed issues of race. Karen discussed how she was the only Asian student in her class, and how she was ostracized for it. Her peers did not acknowledge her and when they did it was to call her a "commie." Her hard-hitting testimony provides an insight into the issues of inter-racial relations that women face. Not only are these issues, including racism, still very prevalent in our society, they also represent the overall silencing of women. This documentary stands out not only because it interviews women only, but also because it gives voice to the "madwomen" of the world, who are silenced even more. Instead of showing these women as "crazy" or "hysterical," this film shows them all as being an important part of society.

Overall, this film provides a powerful testament to the oppression of women in society. These women explain their real-life issues, and how they developed and dealt with the psychological distress that resulted. Watching this film provides the audience with various issues to relate to, and how these issues have lasting impressions on the individuals that are being affected. The audience gets to see how these women developed psychological disorders, and how they have begun to live with their disorders and how they can still find themselves and their voices. This is an important film for any woman to see as these issues are so true, even to this day, and that these "madwomen" still have voices and should be heard.

Haunting, harrowing documentary

[aaron-71 · 1 March 2000]

The material for this film focuses not only the conditions for women in mental institutions, but the societal situations that drive them to near insanity because of the the mistreatment and manipulation from the male patriarchy. It's often not an easy film to watch. It successfully intercuts the fascinating and often moving interviews with interesting stock footage that visually makes its' points and is often accompanied by a haunting, melancholy score. Look for it on PBS. Tragically, I don't think it's on video.

Very good film

[grose1221 · 6/10 · 18 November 2013]

"Dialogues with Madwomen" is a very emotional and educational movie because it is based on the experiences of real people. They share their struggles with being women and growing up in abusive homes. Students should be required to watch this film in order to learn that sometimes life isn't easy or the same for everyone. These women experienced things that we can't even imagine because they happen behind closed doors, which we are unaware of. The general public would benefit a great deal by watching this movie because they would get a feel for what people with disorders are actually feeling, and they can visualize the horror happening in front of them. I believe this movie should be shown in psychology classes when the topic of disorders comes up because it is a great review of how people live with the disorders they have. Before watching this film, I was aware that people suffer from abuse and troubles, but I didn't know how extreme their cases could be. I felt like I was walking in every one of the women's shoes and I was able to take my mind and imagination to how they were feeling as they were experiencing these various horrors. We focus more on people who have mental illnesses, but not how they have to live their lives overcoming the horrors. Some of the people end up in mental institutions, which lead their disorders to worsen, or sometimes they take a turn and are able to complete their programs and function normally. The sad part of our society is that people classify others as crazy if they are in a mental institution. I feel this film has taught us that even being in a mental institution doesn't always help and sometimes can make the problems worse. The film did a great job leading us through all the women's lives and their backgrounds, and why they would be considered madwomen. One of the strengths of the film was that it was very straightforward and well organized. I was able to follow all the women's stories and I like that every scene was a different woman talking; making the film switch from different personalities. The women were allowed to tell any part of their story that they wanted to and they were given an opportunity for someone to listen to them without judging them. Another strength was that women seemed comfortable and the interviewer didn't push them too hard to answer questions. They let them go at their own pace until the women were ready to explain something that was harder for them. A weakness of the film were that the women only told parts of their stories and we, as the viewers, had to fill in the parts that were missing. I was confused with some of the stories because I felt that they went back and forth in time depending on who was speaking, and, for a viewer, that was very hard to follow. Another weakness was that the women themselves, or the interviewer, should have clarified what the women were suffering to give the audience an idea of where they were coming from. The only clear disorder I was able to discern was the women who suffered from Multiple Personalities Disorder, because she went into detail about the multiple people she had made up in her mind. I found her story very interesting but I thought she should have explained her childhood in detail focusing more on when she started feeling that there were different people appearing in her mind. The purpose of this film was to educate the public about disorders and that there are people suffering from them everyday and everywhere. The film was designed to inform people about what is happening with the mentally ill by having them tell their stories. The movie helps viewers realize that for people with disorders life is an on going struggle and not just a one-time thing. One of the things that people who are uneducated about disorders should learn is that disorders aren't something that just happens, they usually stem from childhood issues that cause the condition. I would recommend this movie to people who want to learn more about the lives that those with disorders are living, and who are interested in helping with the problems that they are struggling with deep down.

So captivating & powerful, it made me physically ill...

[ogrbattle1 · 10/10 · 4 June 2000]

This extraordinary documentary, sucked me in so completely and showed me in such DISTURBING detail the inner workings and outward manifestations, as well as the causes of mental illness. I was so into the horrendous stories that these women endured and shared that I became physically ill and had to leave the theater in order to get some air! I came back once I felt better, knowing that I would one day have this sledgehammer of a film in my collection and I could see what I had missed. I knew that I couldn't watch it all in one sitting, but at 15 minutes at a time this movie would be an invaluable tool for understanding the inner workings of the mind. For some inexplicable reason this Documentary Masterpiece is not available on video. WARNING this movie is NOT for the squeamish! Trust me I know!

Overall good

[giannademedio · 6/10 · 19 November 2013]

A woman is recounting the details of her self-injury – cutting and burning herself. Not only that, but she is explaining that the motivation for the self-injuring lies in her religion. This woman must be crazy, right? But did anyone give this woman a chance to share the rest of her story? Does anyone know what else may have lead to these circumstances? "Dialogues with Madwomen", directed by Allie Light, provides viewers with an inside, subjective look at stigmatized women with mental illness, their common struggles, and varied experiences. "Dialogues with Madwomen" was first released in January 1994 at the Sundance Film Festival. This documentary is true to its name by filming it in a way that makes the viewer feel as if they are sitting down with these women individually and having a conversation with them about their experiences; however, the term "madwomen" is debatable. As the viewer comes to realize through tales of horrifying mistreatment and neglect, these women are not as different as you or me. When someone calls another "mad" as a way to express this person's mental state, many people react with a specific image in mind. This is a result of the stigmatization of mental illness that is still present from decades ago when the mentally ill were classified as incurable and certifiably insane. Despite lacking medical evidence, these people were institutionalized on the basis of not fitting the status quo. Allie Light portrays the prejudices that women had to face even less than a few decades ago. Today, battling depression and other mental illnesses are enough of a challenge in a society that has begun to realize and accept the biological basis for these disorders of the psyche.

The purpose of this documentary is to exemplify authentic women with mental illness and the prejudices they had to face, decades ago and still today, due to the stigma around mental illness. Although women with mental illness in the present American society are stigmatized, the mistreatment was seemingly worse for women years ago when this documentary was created. Despite variations in race, socioeconomic class, and sexual orientation, the women telling their stories shared many common themes. This documentary proves that mental illness crosses borders, breaks through boundaries, and finds its way into countless lives of American women. "Dialogues with Madwomen" gives the stories and depictions of mental illness a face and background story.

The documentary switches back and forth between the women's interviews and reenactments of the women's accounts. The seven women being interviewed are recovering from their mental illnesses and recounting their experiences as a woman with a mental illness. With such personal interviews, the women were able to truly touch and affect the viewer. The women had an opportunity to offer the world their side of a very complex story: their successes, their failures, their frustrations, their struggles. Viewers can clearly see the emotions and scars remaining from the hardships these women had to endure. Continuously switching from woman to woman, story to story, it is clear that many of these women endured similar struggles. Switching between characters helps keep the view aware and interested in the common themes with differing stories. It was difficult, however, to keep track of each woman's story with the constant alternating stories.

Of the common themes among these women, a few really stood out. In recounting their childhood, many of the women interviewed had abusive or alcoholic parents. Many of the women were also victims of sexual assault. Watching the women describing these painful memories gave deeper meaning to these experiences, possibly even providing further explanation for their mental illnesses. A common theme among the non-Caucasian women was the experience of racial alienation. Lastly, every woman had at least one bad experience throughout the treatment process of their mental illness, whether that was a negative experience with a doctor, therapist, or medication. Many women were disrespected or taken advantage of by their health-care providers. Many women also had poor experiences with the medications they were prescribed. These themes highlight the common but differing struggles of countless women with mental illness from decades ago as well as in the present. Many of these particular struggles, though, are especially reflected in the lives of women. That is because many of the struggles these women faced were forced onto them by men – male abusers and doctors. The content of "Dialogues with Madwomen" proved to be fairly helpful in studying women's psychology. Although I did not feel that I gained a large amount of new information, the existing knowledge I had of mental illness was strengthened from viewing the film. The documentary entices the viewer to really analyze and evaluate existing stigmas about women with mental illness and get a more relativist, subjective view on the topic.

Peace and gratitude to the women in this film

[rosasnews · 10/10 · 11 October 2007]

So much of this was what I lived through in the early sixties, early seventies. It was horrid that we still had to shrug off the prejudices of the generation preceding us before we could be heard as having an intelligent, legitimate complaint about how psychiatry treated us.

In some of this documentary, I was glad I wasn't that sick, and I mean by that overtaken by a mental illness to the point I could not reason for myself. I was so fervently grateful for having found a psychiatrist who let me figure out how things related to one another and how this did or did not impede my need for understanding.

I've run across a few of these women in the drugstore or the grocery and kept quiet out of respect for their bravery in being in this film.

I am happy for those of them who have found peace or love. I would seriously like to hug them all, cook a nice dinner and sit down and talk.

We Are More Than the Stigma

[anmor002 · 6/10 · 12 May 2014]

" I was constantly told that I didn't have the right to be unhappy." When I heard this statement in the documentary Dialogues with Madwomen, Whether it is a mother, neighbor or even a psychiatrist, society can often ostracize or attach stigmas to concepts they cannot understand. Women living with a mental illnesses are continuously attached to different stereotypes that are difficult to over come. They are often misunderstood, victimized and left without a voice. The film, Dialogues with Madwomen, is an incredibly tragic yet enlightening insight into the obstacles seven women, including the director, Allie Light, experienced while living with a mental illness. Light gives the audience a brutally honest and passionate view into the intimate details of these women lives as they reveal their horrific experiences with sexual abuse, homophobia, racism and sexism, which lead to their mental illnesses. By being apart of the film, Light is able to break through the stereotypes attached to the mentally ill. She is able to give these women a voice to tell their story that goes beyond their diagnosis. This film is able to de-stigmatize women with mental illnesses by humanizing their experiences, allowing these seven women to prove they are more than the stigma. Dialogues with Madwomen was released in 1994 by filmmakers Irving Saraf and Allie Light. This film combines the raw substance of the individual interviews with personal reenactments and archival footage of their lives to bring their stories to life. Set in San Francisco, the film depicts the struggles these seven women endured to throughout their lives. The opening scene begins with Dee-Dee, a woman who struggled with trying to stay true to her faith through self- mutilation only to be betrayed by her catholic community. She was molested and drugged by her therapist before she was committed. RB was a law student who dropped out of Stanford to explore nature only to be raped in a hot springs. Eventually causing her decision to be homeless, moving from the woods to the bathrooms in the San Francisco airport. Mairi was sexual abused by her father and his friends throughout her life. In order to cope with the abuse, she created different personalities; " One personality would take the abuse, while another would go to school in the morning." Hannah was a bubbly personality that dealt with schizophrenia and an obsession with Bob Dylan; she publicly read her love letter to him on television. Karen Wong was continuously ostracized and discriminated by Caucasians during her adolescence fueling her hatred for them. Susan was constantly thrown between her parents during her childhood while her stepfather viciously sexually abused her as early as four years old. And lastly, the director, Allie Light was sexually abused at only five years old and consequently developed depression later on as a young mother. These incredibly strong women are able to trace the origins of their mental illnesses from their past traumatic events. Many of these women were sexually assaulted or abused while living in a chaotic household with alcoholic parents. Although not every woman in this film was sexually abused, they all experienced the ordeals of oppression and the desire for control. Whether it was promiscuity, self-mutilation or using drugs, they wanted some sense of control in order to cope. Their illnesses consisted of depression, schizophrenia, multiple personalities, and euphoric or manic states. Even after they were diagnosed they continued to be abused; they were drugged during their time with therapists and time within mental institutions. It took years until any found the right treatment they needed. The audience is able to witness the women not only accepting their illnesses but also their ability to reflect on their past and how far they have come. The Dialogues with Madwomen is an excellent choice for any student who is taking this course or is interested in learning about the non-hereditary aspects that can lead to a mental disorder. This film truly breaks through the stigmas demonstrating how mental illness crosses countless spectrums regardless of race, sexual orientation or socioeconomic class. Because the director of this film has a personal connection with the topic, it influenced the film immensely. Light was able to make every interview so intimate and visually brought their stories to life with reenactments. She created an atmosphere where the audience could truly learn and empathize with the women. The audience is not only able to understand the events that lead to their mental illnesses but also how they were able to overcome them. Light makes this film relatable to any woman with any issue regarding mental disorders. She gives such a vivid description of how depression can affect you as a person. " Depression is no feeling; everything goes away. You don't care about anything anymore." She describes how she stopped caring about her domestic roles as a housewife; she even admitted that she stopped caring about her own children. Depression had such a negative toll on every aspect of her life that she decided to commit herself. Fortunately she was able to overcome her depression and pursue her dream of attending college and became a teacher then director. Light and the other women's stories show that there is hope for stability in life despite having a mental illness. With the right support and freedom to express themselves, they were able to accept and learn to how to cope in a healthier way. As a society, we need to stop treating the mentally ill as second-class citizens. Their stories deserve to be heard with the utmost respect. This documentary allowed these seven women the opportunity to cry, yell, sing, laugh freely and without judgment as they as reveal their traumatic journeys through living with a mental illness. These women show that they are more then the stigma society attaches to them. They are not "mad women", they have a voice and they will be heard.

Movie Review

[lindsayeichhorn · 8/10 · 16 April 2017]

This movie was very relevant to our Feminist Psychology class unit of focusing on women and mental health. The movie entails personal experiences from women of different backgrounds and how they came to terms and coped with their mental illness in the past and how they were currently dealing with it when the film was created in 1994. Most of their stories included times of their troubling and traumatizing childhoods and how those times and others in their lives sort of contributed to their mental illnesses and how they were able to cope.

I feel as though this film really opens up the eyes of the viewer in the sense that it opens a door to a world full of women who have been so strong while being able to go through so much and come out the other side. I'll never forget there was this one woman named Susan who had an incredibly inspiring, yet heartbreaking story. She at first discusses her very difficult childhood in which she grew up very poor while her father was in the military, and wasn't around very much and how her mother was extremely suicidal. Eventually, her parents divorced and her mother remarried one of her father's "drinking buddies." From then on, Susan wasn't allowed to have privacy in her house she couldn't even as she says, "close the door to my own bedroom." Her stepfather was an extremely abusive alcoholic both mentally, physically and sexually and at one point Susan was raped by him. As for Susan's mother, due to the fact that she was extremely suicidal, her father at 13 years old took Susan away from her. Her parents' divorce was very bitter, in the sense she felt as though she was being pulled between her father and her mother so much and felt like she had to pick a side.

There was also a time in her life when she felt as though she had to cope with all the chaos by self-harming. Susan described a particular experience where she decided one night to just, "take a knife and cut myself down from shoulder to my hand, and I ended up with a huge scar that I still have to this day." After trying to cope with the pain of being home she gave up and ran away at the age of 15, got pregnant and had an abortion. Eventually, she had a mental breakdown and was at first sent to a hospital but refused treatment and did not get along well with the staff. She described one particular time where she was difficult, "the nurse would try to hand me a cup of meds and I would just take them and throw them on the floor and I told her 'get out of my room you bitch!'" Since Susan did not feel as though the hospital was a right fit for her, she moved into a group home and eventually joined Al-Anon meetings and she had met all of these different people who had had similar childhoods to hers in the sense that they grew up with alcoholic family members such as parents the way she did. When Susan moved into the group home, she was diagnosed with depression, eventually, she started to get better with treatment and she noticed different things about herself. She would talk about how she was, "given this beautiful body at the age of 13." However, she noticed that she had a hard time perceiving herself as a woman because, she said, "I would be on the phone with people and I have a deep voice, so people would doubt that they would be talking to a woman." There were also images in the movie where Susan would dress androgynous, a particular example would be of her in the mirror dressed in a tuxedo and that was where she said she, "felt the most comfortable."

Another feature she discovered that I think she felt as though she was missing from her life was her innocence because it was taken away from her so long ago in her childhood. Susan describes taking a child's innocence away as, "the worst thing you can do to a child because they don't need to be exposed to what I went through." When she said that as a viewer, I completely understood what she meant. As a woman who also suffers from depression and has gone through some tough times in life I look at the young children in my life such as my 10 year old cousin, and see her as this bud of innocence that I hope and pray never has to go through the times that I went through because it would break my heart to see her deal with that type of pain.

I feel as though a student taking a class such as Feminist Psychology and watching this film would benefit from it in the sense that they would be able to gain a more clear understanding of the struggles, bias and bits of discrimination when coping and trying to treat their mental illness. It also depends I think on the viewers' experiences with mental illness and if they could possibly feel a relation to the women and their stories. Kind of how I felt like with Susan and when she mentioned that certain comment about children's innocence and the fact that she and I both struggle with depression. I also feel that the relation aspect could also benefit the viewer in the sense that it would make them feel less alone in their struggles and they would know that someone else is going through an experience similar to theirs.

Women Suffering from Psychological Disorders

[lectriclexi · 7/10 · 6 May 2014]

The opening scene of Dialogues with Madwomen is what really grabbed my attention. Allie Light, one of the two film directors, recalled her own abuse story as a child. She, like the other six madwomen, suffered from depression, mental illness or schizophrenia, and used this to cope with the bad neighborhood that surrounded her. Many of the stories recalled in the movie were horrific because they involved the seven madwomen being raped, abused, cutting their wrists or their parents committing suicide. However, overall, the movie was very intriguing, made me more aware of how women can silence themselves from the abuse by having a mental illness and that there is help for the women to overcome their problems.

The documentary was filmed by Allie Light and Irving Saraf and included seven different women retelling their childhood stories. As children, most if not all of the seven madwomen were abused, tormented or killed. The women used their mental disorders and humor in the video to cope with being abused and tormented as children.

Of the seven madwomen involved in the film, Allie Light's story hit me the hardest. She suffered from depression and didn't want to live at home anymore. Therefore, she checked herself into a hospital for treatment. While at the hospital, her doctor tried to change her behaviors by sending her home to do what should loved to do best: cook and mop the floors. She recalls, "One weekend he told me I could go home if I promised to bake a turkey. The next weekend I could go home if I promised to mop all the floors." Another story that was horrific and disturbing was the story told by Dee-Dee, Light's former student. She grew up in the Catholic Church that taught her about killing her body and slitting her wrists. She says, "the Catholic Church taught me dying and self-mutilation were good. The nuns were quite violent. A lot of us would cut ourselves secretly."

Overall, I think the documentary was compelling, interesting and educational. All of the stories highlighted in the film were sad yet were perfectly laid out to actually intrigue the reader. The director switched between the different stories, in order to give the reader a break from all the violence and abuse occurring. Additionally, the filmmaker produced the film so the women seemed detached from their own stories. I thought they purposely did this to properly portray the women in the video and not show how the women actually felt. I also thought it was quite interesting to see how the women could use such coping mechanisms to avoid the pain and torture they were feeling. The women in the film grew up in such poverty, were abused, saw their parents almost commit suicide and were even neglected by their parents, yet they still used their mental and psychological disorders to cope with this. Lastly, the film was very educational in teaching women how to use coping mechanisms to overcome problems in life, how to protect themselves from future danger and to make sure they speak out about their problems.

However, there are a few suggestions I would recommend: changing the film to incorporate more diversity, interviewing different characters that are not related to the directors, and incorporating more about gender identity and racism. Out of the seven madwomen retelling their stories, only a few of them were African-American whereas it would have been more telling to have half African-Americans and half Caucasians. Additionally, four of the seven characters knew Light, including herself as one of the victims. By incorporating different characters that the director does not know will deliver a more rounded portrayal of how the women felt and how they coped with the situation. Lastly, since several of the women did go through gender identity, the director could have incorporated more about homophobia and sexism.

In the end, I think the movie Dialogues of Madwomen is very powerful, educating and alarming. The seven women interviewed for the film had powerful and life changing stories, but used coping mechanisms such as mental illnesses to overcome these problems. Overall, I highly recommend this film because it will teach women how to overcome their problems, and how to seek help in society. Since all of the circumstances in the production were real-life, it is important for people to watch it in order to overcome any illness they might have.

Dialogues with madwomen review

[mahil-24887 · 9/10 · 17 April 2017]

A woman dancing whimsically in the woods. A face fractured like broken pieces of a mirror. A woman rocking back and forth in a rocking chair. Surviving sexual violence. Art as self-expression. The halls of a mental hospital. Self-harm and burning. Blood. What does madness look like to you? What does that even mean, to be mad? That word seems loaded, so full of judgment and derision. It's dismissive. Marginalizing. When people use it they use it as a weapon, as a way to discount you and your experiences. Who's to say who really is mad, if it's me or you. But what does it mean to turn this word on end? To reclaim it in return? "Dialogues with Madwomen," (1995) directed by Allie Light seeks to give voice to these so called madwomen, to allow them to tell their stories and experiences with mental illness through their words and powerful artistic imagery to decrease stigma and personalize the experiences women with mental illness undergo.

This documentary weaves together the stories of 7 women, DeeDee, Mari, Hannah, R.B., Susan, Allie, and Karen, using interview and artistic imagery to convey their experiences with mental illness. These women experience a wide array of traumatic and difficult life experiences, contributing to their experiences with mental illness. With their diverse identities they offer a variety of experiences surrounding race, gender, sexuality and more. One woman was repeatedly abused by her father developed 25 or so identities in order to deal with the trauma of her sexual abuse, her identities acting to protect her. One year they all gave each other Christmas presents as a way of caring for each other. Many of the women relayed experiences of abuse of various kinds, impacting them as they moved forward through the world. They also relayed stories of a mental health system that often misunderstood them, often experiencing abuse or neglect at the hands of those who should have been aiding them in their recovery. They discussed how they dealt with their experiences, using art, self harm, therapy and other ways of coping. The graphic images sought to convey their experiences in a way that could be understood by the audience, to give a window into their experiences. As a whole I would highly recommend this documentary. It is based on experience, a subjective look into the mental health of women rather than the medical lens many sources take. One of the people interviewed was in fact the producer, another the director. This documentary was about women and by women who have experienced mental illness and thus it tells their story in a meaningful and accurate way. It is feminist research methodology in action. As such, it works to decrease stigma around madness, to familiarize this and show that these women who may be viewed negatively and sick by society are in fact people who are responding to very real situations, not simply a set of symptoms. After being raped for the first time "If this is what I can expect of my species, I need another reason to stay here." Her illness and disassociation was very much a reaction to her circumstances, struggling to deal with the horrors enacted upon her by people and society around her. Something to be mindful of is the triggering nature of many of the images presented. These images are there to act as visual representations of the stories told by the women interviewed. While at first they seemed confusing and disparate, with time they came together to form a story and convey the emotions behind their experiences. Switching back and forth between each story was at first jarring, but with time it became clearer and acted to demonstrate the commonalities and contrasts of their experiences. However, due to the traumatic nature of the topic, several of the stories and images touched on sexual assault and had images of blood or self-harm. As such, if you were to watch this film or screen it in class, some warning and caution should be provided. As a whole, this documentary was incredible. I highly recommend it. While some of the visuals may not be up to par with the high definition blockbusters us 21st century kids have grown up seeing, there is a rawness and truth to them. You can sense the comfort and community between these women and thus the raw, natural and unscripted nature of their testimonies. Artistic visual story telling allows you to understand and be placed in their experiences. You can see the ways in which reenactment was both therapeutic for these women and allows the viewer to gain depth of understanding to their experiences. It is clear these women had agency and ownership over their stories and how they were told, demystifying the experience of madwomen and showing you that they are people and perhaps they are not so mad after all.

My Review of Dialogues with Mad Women

[mariellesmith · 6/10 · 25 February 2015]

I really enjoyed how this documentary was set up. The seven women that were talking about their mental illness and troubled childhood accurately portrayed what many women have been facing through many centuries. Some of the horrible things that happened to these women as young girls were appalling and disgusting. Unfortunately and understandably, we were not told the women's names, so it kept their stories somewhat private. The third woman that spoke affected me the most. She had multiply personalities named Janet, Cathie, Kate, and many more. She explained one year at Christmas when she was living with her and her personalities, that they all wanted to trade presents and each hid their presents in different places around the apartment. The third woman also talked about how her father and stepfather abused her as a young girl. She spoke about how she made certain personalities to deal with specific situations like when her father beat her or which personality would be mainly operating in the real world. She developed these persona's to cope with the terrible time her family was putting her through. Over all, each women had some terrible things happen to them and each have made it amazingly far for what they were given. Their stories will haunt them forever, but they seemed extremely optimistic about their futures.

excellent depiction of women suffering from mental illness in America

[saeis002 · 5/10 · 25 February 2015]

This film is incredible especially in the way it depicts women suffering with mental illness. It gives the audience an in-depth look at what it means to be a women in America diagnosed with mental illness. Throughout the entire film, there are instances where you can truly feel the pain and understand the struggles that these women have and are going through. It is very easy for me to internalize the problems others are facing so by watching this movie I could immediately sympathize with them. Any woman who has ever suffered from mental illness could watch this movie and immediately feel understood. Direct interviewing with these individuals have this powerful effect. These women in this film went through such trauma and the way they coped was not healthy in the slightest bit. Many turned to self-harm in order to escape the pain that they were feeling and it is important to be aware of these coping mechanisms in order to learn what is and what is not healthy. Many times in psychology class, we get so caught up with symptomology and the nitty gritty details that we forget or disregard that people are actually being affected by these things. We need to remember, people are more than just their symptom.

Gives great insight!

[rita-meissner · 18 November 2013]

The documentary was filmed by one of the staring members of the movie, Allie Light, in 1994. Light and her six other co-stars speak to the audience of their experiences growing up and their discoveries of (their own) mental illnesses. The women speak with honesty, and many of them use humor and rage to help explain their stories to the full extent. Most of the women suffered traumatic events and mentioned having grown up faster than they should have. One woman, who was neglected as a child and abused, believed that the more suffering you do on earth, the less you will have to do in the afterlife. She coped by creating other personalities to deal with the suffering. She mentioned that Catholic school to her was just as similar as a psych ward, having been put in one against her will after having her first abortion at age 15. The way that she felt she was limited in her freedom and choices was one of the similarities. Another woman, after being raped by a fellow classmate in graduate school, felt that she lost sense of her body and ended up a bag lady after this traumatizing experience. The most shocking one of all, the story of a Chinese girl who never fit in at her predominately Jewish school, was actually raped and killed throughout the production of the documentary.

The most influential parts of the movie were the direct quotes given from these women addressing each aspect of living with a disorder that the majority of the population is unaware of. One woman says the medicine she was prescribed "destroyed all the hope that she had," because she was not exactly happy with her life, but still gave herself hope for the world and for change. For a person who is not on medicine, it is especially hard to understand what that means, ultimately making this quote enticing. Another woman addressed her disorder by saying that depression is not pain; it is the absence of pain. She and many others felt that they were disconnected from their body or lost their physical control, usually after traumatic life changing events. It is captivating to hear and see the first hand accounts of the medical establishments that they were put into either by choice or forced, and how these places of interest either helped or hindered the women's growth. When they did not help however, it almost always made the woman's situation worse by perpetuating the notion that they were more sexually active than others or more aggressive. One of the most powerful aspects of this film was the openness of these women when talking about these issues that they have had to live with. One woman states that something she learned from therapy was how to talk about something when it was wrong, like abuse or neglect within a family, or sexual abuse from a friend or family member. A common misconception of mental illness is that these people are crazy and not normal. This film illuminates how they are human nonetheless, and have been caused pain and suffering. Once they are open enough to share this pain, one sees the passion they have for talking and having people listen to their stories.

Since the women did a great job at acting natural, emotional and also comedic at times, the viewer will be able to experience how real these stories are. One of the biggest strengths of this film was the stress it gave to creativity, as well as the environmental impacts of mental illness. Since an overriding theme in theses stories was either excessive creativity or physical abuse or neglect from family or society, one may see a correlation between this and mental illness later in life. Not every woman talked about abuse, both sexual and physical, but it seemed to be a primary factor in the stories. Though I do not believe the film set out to be solely about sexual abuse as a child, it did hope to open people's eyes and show them the impact that negative experiences in childhood can have on a person later on in life. Another analysis of the film that I believe was meaningful was the way that the women talked about their childhood, and past experiences and what was going on in their heads, rather then talking about "their mental illness." They simply talked as if they wanted to be heard, not studied.

Though the documentary was filmed well and without a doubt influential, I thought that it needed to be a little more clear and precise. The film swung from one woman's story or quotes to the next, ultimately making it hard when switching back to focusing on the first woman, to remember her story. A drawback of the film was the limited attention given to the medical perspective of mental illness. This includes the influence, and the results and side effects of drugs. Many of the women mentioned being on Thorazine, whether they had the same illness or not, most of them were on the same medication, again speaking to the medical attention they received and the curiosity it might acquire from a viewer.

Madwomen or Real Women?

[supermonken · 7/10 · 17 April 2017]

Allie Light's Dialogues with Madwomen is a moving documentary, showcasing the very personal experiences of seven women. This film, which premiered in 1994, presents the stories of women who have each been diagnosed with a different mental disorder. Including herself in the dialogues, Allie Light exposes the very traumatic experiences of these women in order to shine light on the reality and commonalities between them. This film presents a form of expression for each of these women to tell us, the audience, about their development through their lives and how their mental health and traumas affected them. Throughout the film, Light utilizes reenactments of the women's experiences to more graphically throw us into them; however, some of the reenactments are very visceral and graphic including self-harm and images of mental institutions that might be seen as triggering. Although Dialogues with Madwomen very well tells the stories of these women and their trauma, I believe that at times the structure of the film could have been stricter to allow for more understanding.

At the beginning of the film, we are immediately thrown into one woman's story growing up in a family of abuse and her experiences learning about self-harm in a psych ward. We bounce back and forth between the stories of each woman, developing explanations of their childhoods and trauma. I found that hearing each of the stories of these women was a great opportunity to thoroughly understand their specific experiences. It allows us to see how these real woman face living with their mental disorders. However, I believe the structure of the film convolutes each of their stories. I found that I had a very hard time keeping track of each of their experiences and how they played out. I really wish that Light had provided an introduction to this film to clarify some details. I think that the film could have utilized some time to display these women's names along with their diagnoses. Including their diagnoses would allow us to see how they developed through their lives and how their mental disorders affected their experiences. Without this, I found a really hard time seemingly trying to guess what their diagnosis was based on their experiences and symptoms. Although some of them were clear, such as the woman with multiple personality disorder and another with manic depression, the others were so nuanced I had a very hard time following them. While this potentially helpful detail was missed, I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation of each of their stories. These woman are unique, yet their stories reflect the experiences of woman around the world. Each face adversity in regard to their gender, sexuality, and mental health, and they are forced to deal with the effects of their sexual assaults as well as family and relationship abuse. This film provides insight into the lives of real women and how they have lived, and died, relating to their traumas and mental health.

Dialogues with Madwomen is truly a fluid conversation between the storytellers, Light, and the audience. It allows us to peer into what these woman face every single day, and forces us to relive them through their stories and reenactments. In this way, it brings us closer to each of these women. By including herself, Light provides a whole new perspective on the film. She relays how one of her therapists once told her that she would basically not be able to accomplish anything in her life. However, she proves him wrong by creating this narrative film and lists her accomplishments in her life. Also, by putting herself in front of the camera, Light allows us to see another real female experience in recovery and prospering. Progressing through the film, each woman recounts what she did to cope and feel more human, such as singing, dressing in drag, finding communities of support. Each women also has to face the implications of their mental stability and health in terms of their intersecting identities. Some must face how colorism plays into their lives as well as confronting the feminist movement and its lack of lesbian and African American inclusion of women. Thinking about therapy in this aspect, the women were not able to be fully supported through their recoveries. Overall, this film provides a great form of expression to relay the stories of women with these mental disorders, and although I personally think it lacks in some regards structurally, it is an amazing way to learn about and relive their real experiences.

The Madness of Coping

[lollaurie · 10/10 · 16 April 2017]

The film Dialogues with Madwomen is a movie that displays one-on-one interviews with a multitude of women coming from different backgrounds and with individualized experiences. For example, one woman dealt with sexual and domestic abuse by various people in her family, especially her step-father. She talks about how she felt sexualized at an early age due to the timely maturation of her body and felt that she was robbed of her innocence and never got to experience being a young girl. Another woman describes how she was born by caesarian section and how her mother described that she was always moving. She often found herself moving and dancing and dealing with out of body experiences. She talked about how she felt herself leave her own body when a sensual energy appeared.

Throughout each woman's story, they began with talking about their background such as their families, where they came from, and who they were as a person. Each background turned into traumatic or impactful events that they endured in their past. They talk about how these occurrences affected them in their everyday lives and impacted their mental health. Many offered first-time experiences they had with mental health care professionals, many of which ended with sexual advances made by the doctors due to the fact they were vulnerable women, or inappropriate interactions initiated by the counselors. When each woman talked about finding the right course of treatment and a respectable therapist, they talked about what healthy methods of coping they found to be the most helpful in their journey. Many found therapy useful because they could learn how to talk about what was going on, while others mentioned spirituality and how it guided them to a healthier state of mind.

When people learn about mental health disorders and what encompasses the experience of having one, it is usually from a face- value account; not learning how a person deals with the disorder or the etiology of it from the person's life, but often through a textbook or the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders itself. The film is effective in bringing watchers a first-hand experience of having a variety of mental health disorders and discusses what it feels like to have one. For example, one woman in the film describes depression and how depression is not about pain, but the absence of pain instead. No textbook talks of depression in that way; it more so mentions symptoms and possible treatments. Another woman associates her manic depression with the feeling of several radio stations playing in her head and being in love with Bob Dylan. The film put into perspective the feeling of what it is like to have various mental disorders rather than just describing the symptoms and what they look like at face value.

Dialogues with Madwomen also puts different ways of coping into perspective. Some women in the film chose to cover up and hide the events that impacted them from themselves, such as sexual assault. By doing this, it sometimes further progressed their mental health disorder. For example, there was one woman who described that for every traumatic event that happened to her, a new personality would be created within her. She found comfort in having different people inside her. These different people had different personality traits that manifested depending on what happened to the woman and when. While this woman later found spirituality and therapy had more helpful mechanisms in helping with her mental health disorder, the various personalities at the time helped her cope with the traumatic events that happened to her and not ruminate. This woman's testimony shares with watchers that coping can be varied and different depending on the person and what they experience.

The film also discussed the boundaries that come with coping and how they expand over time. When one is coping with a mental health disorder, the etiology can come from past traumatic events. Depending on when these events happen, can affect the method of coping that one uses. The mechanism that the film uses by telling the life stories of the women and their journey in dealing with their disorders displays how their boundaries expanded over time. Some women went from throwing tantrums or dancing to cope with their problems, and then slowly becoming open to talk therapy and allowing the therapist to help discover useful coping tools for each individual. The movie shows where boundaries lie at different points in a woman's life and how they can expand with proper treatment.

Dialogues with Madwomen effectively offers a first-hand account at how women with different backgrounds dealt with their own mental health disorders and how they individually coped. The movie did not just put names to the disorders, but experiences in feelings that no textbook could entirely grasp. It also put into perspective that coping with mental health is a process and that it takes time to fully be ready to open up. Even though coping may mean to be a covering, there comes a time in the journey where the covering itself can be slowing lifted.

Highly Engaging Film

[connerlax11 · 7/10 · 8 May 2014]

Dialogues With Mad Women Movie Review Sexual assault and mental illness are two major problems in the world today. In Dialogues with Madwomen, director Allie Light gives the audience a glimpse into the world of several women with histories of mental illness and who were also victims of rape and sexual violence. Many people don't enjoy talking about these subjects because they evoke gritty imagery and are difficult for people to listen to. However, in this film, the director does an excellent job giving the viewer insight as to how it feels to be living with a mental disorder and the discomfort of being sexually violated, making it believable and not overly-dramatic.

From the beginning of the film, Light portrays a dream-like sequence where fabric billows at the top of a tree and a woman's opera-like singing rings throughout the room. The credits roll and the music continues along with the billowing fabric. Then the scene cuts and the viewer is given a look at the first "madwoman." The direction of the film is quite simple, going from woman to woman and back in a rotating order, hearing accounts of their horrible experiences. One woman talks about how she had a father who was always going overseas to fight in the wars and every time he would come back, he would get her mother pregnant. Afterward, he would go overseas again, leaving her and her siblings with her crazy mother. Eventually her parents split, and her mother got remarried to one of her father's old drinking buddies. This man was always drunk, and he was constantly beating her and her siblings, as well as abusing her sexually. Another woman was in law school and she was at a hot spring with a group of people who were bathing each other in a type of ritualistic practice. The man who was floating her around promised her that he would not try anything sexual, after she had explicitly expressed that she had zero interest in him. After wading her around for a while and making her feel comfortable, the man flipped her over and raped her before she even knew what was happening. All were presented however, in a believable interview-like manner, without dramatic music or over the top imagery in the background. This made it more engaging and allowed the viewer to connect more with the women.

These accounts lead into how these acts of sexual violence and abuse affected these women psychologically. The woman who's stepfather had abused her grew into a beautiful young woman, and found that many men and peers wanted to have sex with her. Explaining that after being treated like a dog for ten years of her life, (the first time she was raped was at three and a half), she didn't give a second thought when someone would express sexual interest. She didn't understand the consequences of sex and didn't understand that she had a choice in the matter. So when someone would as, she didn't hesitate because sex was what she did. That being said, the consequence was that by the time she was fifteen she had already had her first abortion, and she had no idea who the father was. The woman who was raped in law school recounts that whenever someone would approach her in a sexual manner, she would "leave her body," because she couldn't handle anything remotely sexual. She would go out into the woods and dance by herself and sleep there as well. She didn't feel right in school anymore, and she started to not wear shoes and become a "bag lady" as she put it. She started spending a lot of time at the airport, and eventually started sleeping there. These are some of the things that show how sexual abuse affected these women psychologically.

When the movie started I felt confused because Light jumped directly into the stories. The duologue's also jumped from woman to woman and back and forth and here and there, creating a feeling of confusion and madness. I just wanted to say "slow down" and have the director stop for a minute so that I could process everything I had just heard. It was a sensory overload of sorts; a number of accounts, rape stories, women being strapped down and injected with Thorazine, girls cutting themselves open at the shoulders to feel like they had some control over their lives. All of this information was put into such a narrow window of time that although the film wasn't sped up, it felt that way. Light did this to make the viewer feel like they were stepping into the shoes of these women and by doing so allowed a deeper emotional recognition and connection with the stories and the pain that the women in the film felt. I thought this was an excellent technique Light used because without it, the viewers would have left or stopped watching, in my opinion. I say this because the stories are very disturbing, and if they had been fed to the viewer at a slower rate, or in a more organized manner, I don't think it would have grabbed the attention of the viewer in the same way.

Dialogues with Madwomen is a movie about the struggles of women with histories of mental illness as a result of sexual abuse. This movie does an excellent job making the viewer see madness and pain in a realistic light. I think this movie gives really good insight into these women's lives and their struggles, in an engaging way that doesn't make it seem like a sob story. Overall this movie was very good and I would recommend that everyone should watch it at least once.

This is an amazing film!

[lilygustine · 10/10 · 15 April 2017]

What does someone with a mental illness look like to you? Maybe images of a crazy person running around a hospital will pop into your head, maybe you will think of some movie you saw where the person couldn't control themselves and had to be restrained on a bed in an insane asylum. This would make sense in some instances what most people fail to think about is someone who is leading a somewhat normal life, and who has many of the same experiences as any "normal" person would, all while coping with a mental illness. Mental illnesses have a huge stigma in our society and, because of this, many people with mental illnesses aren't treated fairly. In the documentary Dialogues with Madwomen, by Allie Light, the director, interviewed many women suffering from mental illnesses while still living their lives. The women interviewed all went through traumatic experiences as children that seem to have some relationship to the development of their mental illness. Allie Light also had a mental illness and shared her story as well. The fact that the director was not only a woman with a mental illness, but also a part of the film really helped to bring the point across that anyone with a mental illness can do everything someone without one can do. This documentary is made up of interviews with seven different women who all have mental illnesses and who had all been abused at some point in their lives. The women tell their stories in detail using interviews, reenactments, family videos, and other footage to bring their lives to life. Each of these women had different experiences with racism, sexual assault, and emotional abuse. They were all silenced in some way or another. They all told the story of their experiences in full detail. This film was a way for each woman to relive her experiences and have the time to really reflect on what happened and how it impacted their lives. One woman that really stood out for me was a woman named Katie who had dissociative identity disorder. This illness resulted from being abused by her parents, specifically her father, when she was very young. She created her first personality when she was just seven months old and every traumatic event that occurred in her life, she would create more personalities to cope. Each personality had its own job or trauma that it would deal with so that in total, she had 25 different personalities. She stuck out to me the most because when she was being interviewed and she was looking back and remembering all the traumatic events that had occurred in her life, it was like a different life to her because now, she is happy with who she is. She survived. Just like Katie, all of the other women have survived. They have made a life for themselves away from their past and while they do have mental illnesses, this is no longer their defining factor. These women developed these illnesses as a way to cope with the abuse or oppression going on in their life at the time. By using these illnesses as a coping mechanism, it gave the women a way to gain control back in their lives. The most interesting fact about this movie is that the filmmaker included her story in the documentary as well. To me, this gives the film another aspect to telling the story of mental illness. She wasn't just a sympathetic filmmaker trying to tell a story, she gives the empathetic perspective of someone going through a mental illness while living her life. The layout of this film was snippets of interviews with other visual aids in between. It didn't tell one story at a time, it jumped around and was unorganized. I think that by doing this, it gave the viewer a sense of the madness these women were feeling and it made the stories seem like the actual experiences rather than just an interview. This film was very well done and really showed insight about mental illness. It was very personal and showed that these women had an understanding of their experiences and illnesses. I liked that it didn't focus on the mental illness aspect of the women but more of their personal experiences and what their lives were like. These women were not portrayed as "mad" or "crazy" but rather women who went through traumatic experiences that made them stronger. By not making the film specifically about their mental illnesses, the women were able to just simply talk about what they went through and how they feel about it. It gave them a safe place away from the medical world to really give people an accurate description of mental illness. Although, not knowing the specifics of each woman's illness could have been confusing and made it hard to completely understand their stories, I feel as though this was done on purpose, so as not to define the person with their illness, but instead, to make it a part of who they are as a whole. It gave them an identity without their illness being the defining factor. One woman in the film talked about how, while she was in the hospital, someone told her she would never amount to much because of her illness but she proved them wrong by making this film. She proved that mental illness isn't the definition of who someone is, but it is something that can be adapted to, and in the end, is only a part of who you are. I believe that this documentary truly depicts mental illness and provides unique insight into what it is like to have a mental illness. These women went through horrific events in their lives, and yet, watching them freely talk about their experiences, and open up even to themselves, was really beautiful.

Good Film

[kesej001 · 7/10 · 4 December 2013]

The make-up of the mind is a unique and a very extraordinary one. As people differ by race, ethnicity, gender and life experiences; so do they in terms of how their thoughts and actions are processed in their mind. This notion became a lot more evident once I watched the film "Dialogues with Madwomen." It is a very heart wrenching film that is based upon real life traumatic events that occurs with each woman in the film; how they processed their experience and how it impacted their life. The film identifies and highlights mental madness and the effects on a person. It reveals the dominant hold a traumatic event can have on a person, thereby shaping their mind and their personality. The audience is allowed into this world where pain is never really understood. As the stories of the woman are told, the women shown in the film exhibited a variety of views that were truly unique. Unique is defined as "existing as the only one or as the sole example" and the uniqueness of each woman's story in his world of pain was a constant thread throughout the film.

"Dialogue with Madwomen," is a 1994 film produced by Allie Light and directed by Irving Saraf. It is a combination home movies and archival footage of women (including Light herself) in psychiatric wards, with vivid re-enactments that is coupled with in-depth interviews with their participants. In this ninety minute film there are seven characters who present their own traumatic experience that happened to them at one point in their life. The first woman is DeeDee, who was molested and taken advantage by many individuals in her Catholic community which she believed was a safe place. And soon after her own doctor took to molesting her as well. Allie, was molested at the young age of five, this traumatic event launched her to commit herself to a mental institution later on in life. Mairi, was repeatedly abused by her own father as well as his friends who all engaged in acts of rape together. Karen, who was a radical activist, was raped and then eventually killed in her own home. R.B, was a very free spirited African American woman who dropped out of school, lost her way in life and was soon sexually abused. Lastly, there was Hannah, who was obsessed with Bob Dylan. Each of these women listed all suffered from a mental illness that stems from a truly traumatic event that happened in their lives. The mental illnesses that are exhibited by these women are, depression, schizophrenia, and multiple personalities.

One of the challenges of the film was keep the focus on the women's story and to constantly engage the audiences' attention. While the six women in the film clearly conveyed their story, the transition from one event to the next could have been better. It would have allowed for the audience to become even more connected with each woman's story. This lack of clear transition from one story to the next could result in the audience feeling overwhelmed by the stories instead of the feeling of compassion and understanding for these women's experiences. If the intent of the film maker was to overwhelm the audience, then it was accomplished which could also in another way lead to an understanding of this world of pain. This actually was my experience because the intensity of the stories so overwhelmed me that I became upset that these horrific things were done to women.

Despite the lack of smooth transition from one story to next, the film was a powerful portrayal of the mental madness. The depiction of how traumatic events in women's can lead to this state will not be lost on the audience. Each story provided a powerful back drop that acted as a gateway into each woman's life and mind. These vivid depictions could allow for the audience to actively engage in the pain that was endured. With each story came a new sense of enlightenment into their world; into this world of mental illness. This film will definitely provide the audience with more insight into what it means to have a mental illness. We all have experiences in life and are not aware of the potential long-term effects of such experiences and as such I would recommend this film for others to watch.

"Dialogue with Madwomen" is a very interesting film, which will allow its audience to gain more insight into the effects of a traumatic event and its impact on an individual's entire life. The film explains the importance of such an experience and how it may occur at any point in one's life. At any given moment all of these women in this film were feeling devastating pain, and were at a loss as to how to deal with it. The importance of conversation is very well exhibited throughout this film, by the act of women's willingness to open up about their traumatic experiences. Being able to open up has allowed for these women to cope with what they have been through; and without this outlet for conversation many of these women would not still be alive today. This is a film that is good for drawing attention to the differences that exist in our world. The individualism of each person's experience is sometimes overlooked. But in this film each woman's mind is different but it's their own mind that is something that cannot be taken from them. Whether or not the traumatic experience has left them understanding themselves more or merely picking up the pieces that have been shattered; it is all a mind of their own.

truth behind mental illness

[chyar001 · 9/10 · 2 April 2018]

It is truly remarkable that a woman many people referred to as a "crazy" would one day defeat the societal stigma associated with mental illness by winning an Emmy for a film she directed. Allie Light's 1994 film "Dialogues with Madwoman" follows the stories of seven women, including herself, through their lived experiences leading up to and dealing with mental illness. This film was remarkable in content, form, and ability to directly provide an in-depth look at what it means to be a woman diagnosed with a mental disorder. Students in a feminist psychology course would benefit from watching "Dialogues With Madwomen" as it uses emotionally raw first-hand accounts of women who have experienced a variety of mental illnesses, to create a powerful narrative that unpacks the complexity of their lives and challenges society's notion of what constitutes "normal" behavior.

The film uses personal narratives including interviews, pictures, and reenactments. The women in film were Susan Pedrick, Mairi McFall, Allie Light, Karen Wong, Hannah Ziegellaub, Deedee Bloom, and R.B. These women whose names were not revealed until the end of the film, dealt with manic depression, personality disorders, and schizophrenia. Most of the women suffered traumatic events and mentioned having to grow up faster than they should've had to. They dealt with physical abuse, incest, racism, sexual assault, and oppression. The women explained the environments they grew up in, how the disorders developed, and then what they did to seek treatment. They express their feelings about this journey from the start and how they feel now. Despite lacking medical evidence, they were often institutionalized solely based on not fitting the status quo. Additionally, most of the women described people taking advantage of their situations which only exacerbated the issues they were facing. All the women's stories have a commonality in that they experienced abuse in one way or another, sometimes even when they were supposedly getting "treatment". Some of this abuse may be what sparked or exacerbated their mental illness. In the documentary, society's notion of what is "normal" is challenged because the individual stories show that the meaning is very subjective and people can have very different lived experiences. For example, one women explains that her development of multiple personalities was a way of escaping the troubles that she faced as each person. This is influential in shaping viewers' understanding of what is "normal" because it shows them that what is typically seen as unacceptable behavior in our society, is a what allows this woman to cope with her pain. Viewers can empathize with her because this perspective allows people to see she is doing what needs to in order to feel safe. Another woman, describes how her father would beat her and rape her, and her mother became jealous of their sexual relationship. "If this is what I can expect of my species, I need another reason to stay here", she explained. The experiences of these women, exemplify that their outward behavior is often the result of trauma and how it has affected them, something only they can truly understand. Thus, the film influences viewers' understanding on what is "normal" by showing that it's subjective to everyone's own unique experience and that the categories people are put in when they are diagnosed with a mental illness is not their entire story. Perhaps one of the most eye-opening revelations from this documentary is the mistreatment of the women by the people who held power over them. One woman described how she was beaten by nuns at church, which led her to believe that suffering was meant to be done on earth in order to have an everlasting afterlife. Another woman described that her counselor felt her up because she had nice breasts and he told her that her problem was that she wasn't sleeping with men. He molested and drugged her but she said, "he's got a PhD so I assumed he was right in doing all of that to me". Additionally, a woman said that she was mistreated when being transported to a mental hospital. She described that the people transporting her thought they could do that to her because they believed she was too crazy to have feelings. This abuse of power by those who are there supposedly there to "help" people with mental illness shows just how little control and freedom the women were given, which most likely contributed to their mental illness. The film indirectly challenges the people who hold power to use it responsibly and give people with mental illness a chance to have control over their own diagnosis. Similar to the agenda of feminist psychology, the film goes beyond the general list of symptoms by acknowledging the importance of first-hand accounts. The form and style of the film aided in its success in portraying the realness of each woman's story. As the film goes on, there is a gradual shift in many of the woman as they go from explaining what happened, to the expression of their raw emotions. Watching the tears roll down the face of the very people experiencing pain is much more powerful than reading about it or hearing about it from someone else. Anyone who's ever suffered from mental illness can relate with these women and finally feel understood. Critics may argue that a drawback from the film may be that it doesn't reveal the names of the women until the end and it often feels disorganized. However, this disorganization is very symbolic to the message the film is trying to portray. As outsiders, we are unconsciously trying to place these women in categories that we know and make sense to us. Seeing the film jump around form person to person in the middle of their story, makes viewers realize that it's not about finding ways to have their experiences make sense to us. Rather, what matters is how each woman makes sense of her own experience and how experiences can vary from person to person as no one person's experience with trauma will ever be the same as another's. The disorganization is also symbolic to the way some of the women may feel in their own mind as they try to make sense of what they've been through. Withholding the names of the women was brilliant as the focus was then on who they were through the expression of their own thoughts, feelings, and emotions. While some may argue that these elements of the film made it frustrating and difficult to follow, it can be argued that these elements are what made the film direct and created a sense of realism for those women. The film also showed that these stories are still very much happening today. Karen Wong, after being raped by a fellow classmate in graduate school, felt that she lost sense of her body. She ended up working as a bag lady after this traumatic experience but said in her interview that she was at a point where she finally felt like she wanted to be alive again. Tragically, she was raped and killed during the production of the documentary shortly after making that statement. This was super shocking to viewers as it was sudden and we were just beginning to understand Karen's perspective. The film "Dialogues with Madwomen" was extremely empowering and eye-opening. Many of these women wanted to give up on life and lived through things that most people can't begin to fathom. Their courage to tell their story in such an honest and raw format is incredible. No one can ever feel another person's pain or fully understand how a person is affected by a traumatic event until they hear that person tell their story and explain what it means to them. It was very difficult to see the women go through this degree of hardship and pain but the fact that they can still smile, laugh, dance, sing and still find meaning in life is truly inspiring.

An excellent film, honest and direct about the truth of 'messy' disorders

[greycubbage · 7/10 · 17 April 2017]

Grey Cubbage 4/17/2017 Feminist Psychology

Meaning in Madness: Dialogues with Mad Women

Among the voices that most often get overlooked or silenced in our communities are the voices of women, especially those suffering- either privately or publicly- from mental illness. Specifically, mental illnesses which have been vilified or presented as 'dangerous'. There is plenty of representation for women with depression and anxiety, especially white, working, married, middle class women. Dialogues with Mad Women attempts to solve this lacking by having intimate, direct conversations focused on the lives and experiences of women with commonly overlooked or marginalized medical needs and identities. Following 7 women, the piece begins with the scattered stories of women relating their past suffering, which begin to tie together and reveal common hardships and truths about their mental health care experiences as the film goes on.

The film follows seven women, unnamed to us as we start listening to their stories, including the Film's director and creator herself- Allie Light. At first, this can feel slightly isolating. Particularly, when taking notes on this film I found it difficult jumping between their stories as we went back and fort between their accounts. But as frustrating that felt when the film started, it became an important method of balancing out individual accounts as we got to know the women better. Thankfully absent from this film is heavy-handed clinical language, and it is replaced by the firsthand accounts of these women, who articulate the nuances of their distress to us from a place of growth and better-understanding. There is no focus on 'curing' their disorders, as some documentaries sometimes underline their stories with. There is no denial of the experiences that the women had, in order to soften them. These women bring us into their experiences- manic, dissociative, based in unreality, angry, noisy, depressed, and deeply human. Because the director herself is one of her proclaimed 'madwomen' there is not a controlling edit on their stories- they are not made apologetic for their abusers, they are able to relate their good and bad experiences seeking care, being institutionalized, overcoming sexual and emotional abuse, and coming into better situations. The conversational way these stories are told bring us into the personal spheres of the women, and the relationship between viewer and madwoman is comfortable and organic. They are ready to share their stories, and because of this, we get to experience the good things that came alongside their suffering, so we can understand them as more complete people. As an individual who also deals with many of the traits these women show, it was validating and emotional for me to be able to see them recount their growth and pain in such an honesty way, and offer hope that I can tell my own stories this way someday.

Departing from the normal emphasis on women with 'gentle' symptoms (and symptoms that can often be aided either further through medication), this film lets us spend time with women with DDNOS/DID traits, strong cluster B traits, and women overcoming great trauma. Many other films choose again only to present people in 'recovery' or who exhibit fairly healthy behaviors or those who could be seen as "high functioning"- both loaded words for disorders which effect individuals for their whole lives. They are not shown to romanticize them or paint them as heroes, but instead to say "real people live like this". Because Allie Light choose to include herself as one of the individuals, it acts so as to say even she is part of this often overlooked population. It's important to hear firsthand accounts from these women- strengthen especially by the presence of non straight women, women of color, and women* of varying gender identities based on experience of self.

It's important to hear these women's stories so bluntly, and Allie Light offers us the opportunity to be critical and nonjudgmental to neuroatypical experiences. Not obscured by the cultural obsession with recovery (instead of coping), we get to assess the clinical abuse some of these women went through while just trying to live their lives. Many of them only came into mental health care situations because of the extremes of their pain- and from that we see how they were often mishandled by the systems set in place to theoretically aid people like them. I believe that's important to show, because it's often overlooked that institutions can be abusive to those being held prone by their resources (meds, access to food, access to family and external communities, housing).

Overall, Light's dedication to telling honest stories of her peers and herself makes for an excellent look into lives which have undergone great strain in their courses. Charming, interesting, deep, and often distressing, Dialogues is a great watch and was an asset to our Psychology class's discussion space.

Warning: Expect the Unexpected

[oehrigpea8 · 8/10 · 8 May 2014]

Multiple personality disorder, manic depression, and schizophrenia: what do these mental illnesses have in common? Allie Light and Irving Saraf's Dialogues with Madwomen features seven women who deal with these disorders. While the effects of each disorder differ greatly from one another, the ways that these seven women—Allie Light, R.B., Hannah, Dee Dee, Mairi, Susan, and Karen Wong—acquire their mental illnesses are surprisingly similar. In result, the ways that these women find to help live with their disorders are alike as well. This documentary follows the stories that each woman has to tell about the beginnings of and current or recent dealings with their respective disorders. Listening to and hearing the stories of seven women with multiple personality disorder, manic depression, and schizophrenia benefits students because the documentary presents these mental illnesses in ways that the members of society, students especially, don't usually come across.

What is very striking about this documentary is that is begins with a bang. One of the first images shown is of a girl with a bloody arm, which seems to have been recently cut very deeply. In fact, the documentary doesn't stop at the beginning with gruesome images and stories; the entire documentary reflects on how the featured women suffered some kind of abuse. This film is definitely not for children or the weak of heart to watch. Themes of rape, abuse, racism, or suicide attempts emerge in each woman's story. What's especially startling about these themes is that they begin to present themselves and affect each woman in their early stage of childhood. While these themes are difficult to process, hear about, and watch, they definitely make it clear that the disorders each woman deals with is nearly usually a direct cause of the environment in which they grew up. Even though each woman deals or dealt with great hardships, they all give one positive message: disorders don't have to be disabling. Actually, the women featured in the documentary purportedly live highly creative, intellectual, and effective lives.

Although the content of the movie is rather strong and captivating, the construction wasn't always its strongest suit. One part of the construction of the documentary that did benefit the film as a whole was that the stories each woman had to tell were woven in together with the stories of the other featured women. Because of this structure, the themes that the directors attempted to present were much clearer to the audience, and it allowed for the viewer to compare and contrast the experiences that each woman went through. When back-to-back cuts of different women describing how self-harm or suicide became an option to cope with their mental disorders, it really became apparent that, at some point, each woman felt so helpless that ending her life was the only option. Therefore, repetition benefited the film enormously, and it makes the viewer really believe what the women are saying. What was wrong with the construction of the film was that the flashback periods didn't add to the movie; rather, they distracted from the overarching purpose and theme. For instance, one scene that doesn't add to the purpose of the film, and actually distracts from it, is one where R.B. is singing in the stairwell of her school. While it is important that the movie highlights the coping mechanisms of each woman, it was unnecessary to include visuals that don't have any purpose other than to correspond with a specific mechanism. However, there were times when this technique did prove beneficial. When the women described their experiences with negative coping mechanisms, such as self-harm, visuals that were consistent with what they described were important to the film. Viewing something negative strikes an audience more than viewing something positive, and one important message given by this film is that living with a mental disorder is difficult. After seeing these women live through such hardships, it becomes even more potent that they live with mental disorders and actually thrive as members of society.

The purpose of the film is to demonstrate how women living in different worlds can all manage to survive their mental illness. What is important about the purpose of the film is that it shows the origins, diagnosis, and coping mechanisms of each illness. What many people would think of each mental illness differs from what each actually is and how it affects those living with it. Someone living without one of the three mental illnesses explored in this documentary may believe they have a good understanding of how the illness acts on the people who have it; however, the women in this film show that there are misconceptions about people living with their mental illnesses. By making it obvious that the women in the film are very intellectual and successful with what they do, the common misconception that madwomen are unproductive is extinguished. So, the purpose of the film is especially important to a student of psychology, because hearing real accounts of what it is like to live with a psychological disorder is surprisingly different from reading about the effects of that disorder in a textbook.

Understanding Mental Illness Through These Women's Experiences

[elisabeth-sarah-harvey · 7/10 · 24 February 2015]

It's hard to understand mental illness unless one experiences it or is able to understand it through vivid imagery. Through "Dialogues With Madwomen," the audience was able to understand these women's experiences through both describing their experience and through visual examples (reenactments, pictures, etc.). Having not experience living with the mental illnesses the women had (depression, schizophrenia, multiple personalities, etc.). I found it very helpful that the film included certain imagery to explain their experiences. For example, it would have been harder to me conceptualize Katie's situation with all of her personalities and what her experience was like (e.g. Christmas). The visual examples of the women's experiences allowed the audience to better understand the women's situations and what was going on inside their heads I also though it was interesting how pretty much all of the women experienced some type of abuse (physical, verbal, sexual, emotional) abuse throughout their lifetime. It almost seems as if for these women (and this could be possible for other people) that their illnesses manifested from these experiences. For example, Susan went through abuse and neglect in her childhood from her parents, which made her feel unloved and depressed. Going back to Katie's situation, she used her personalities to deal with abuse from her family. I am curious to know whether the filmmaker chose to find women with mental illness with past experiences of abuse or whether it happened by chance that all of these women had that experience. It was a very important and interesting choice for the filmmaker to include that as such an integral piece to these women's stories.

What surprised me about this film than any other I have encountered in films about mental illness was that the filmmaker included her own story among the other women's stories. Her story was unique, but also somewhat similar to the others, that it took me a while to figure out who out of the women the filmmaker was. I thought that for her to include her story was very brave and was happy to her her perspective. For her to include her story made it so that she was not only telling stories from a sympathetic perspective of a filmmaker, but also from an empathetic perspective of having lived experience, and one similar to the other women living through mental illness.

The film was also able to have an awareness of mental illness that not a lot of other films about mental illness have. It didn't go into mental illness from an judgmental, outsider view; it came from the perspective of the women and that is all they showcased. I was also glad that it showcased the women's awareness of their experiences and their mental illness. There seems to be the idea or assumption that people with mental illness aren't really aware of how their situations or that they aren't seeking help to understand themselves. The film showed examples such as Susan meeting with someone to understand her depression, Katie talking with someone to understand her personalities, and Hannah to understand her delusions. The film was able to excellently showcase how people with mental illness have an awareness about their mental illness and that they do seek to have some control over their lives that they may not have had before The only things that I wished the film had included was some clarity about medical jargon, making the women's illnesses more explicit to the audience, and making the interviews somewhat more organized. The film kept bringing up jargon such as drugs that women would use for psychosis and manic-depressive episodes. Since it was brought up repeatedly, the film should have better explained what some of those terms meant. Also, with making the women's illnesses more explicit, by that I mean that the film should have made sure the audience knew what these women were experiencing. As a psychology major having taking abnormal psychology, I have basic understanding of what illnesses these women had, but people without that knowledge might not know what mental illnesses these women were experiences. Lastly, I would have liked it the film hadn't been so "jumpy" when it came to the women's interviews. It was hard to keep track of the women's stories and at times it almost seemed as if some women had more time to tell their stories than others had. With taking some of these points into consideration, I think if a film like this were to be done again, it would make it appealing to a wider audience.

Overall, I thought the film was very insightful about mental illness and was able to describe mental illness in a way that allows the audience to fully understand these women's experiences.

Dialogues with Madwomen

[emlin001 · 5/10 · 25 February 2015]

The movie, Dialogues with Madwomen, made me understand the concept of mental illness beyond my expectations. I thought that each of the seven women that spoke about their lives, and their illnesses went into specific details, and made me feel like I really could understood what each women had whether, it was multiple personalities disorder, schizophrenia, or depression. The strongest aspect of the film was that these stories that they told were based on real and emotional events that happen to these women, which I thought made this film extremely powerful. Most of the women throughout this film were either physically abused or had been horrific childhood experiences. For example, when some of the women would speak, you could see that they would get extremely emotional. This movie was challenging for me to watch, and when one woman spoke about how she was raped and abused by her father, I couldn't believe how strong she was when she spoke. I know that if this had happened to myself, I would not be able to ever recover from this and speak about it. In our society today, I think it is extremely hard for women to speak up about issues like these women had when they were a child, and how it has impacted them tremendously. In my opinion, today I think that women do tend to silence themselves to these issues, and I think that it has become more problematic to our society. I think that this movie is an eye opener for people to speak up about these issues, and for some women they can relate to these situations. I would highly recommend watching this video because it has taught me so much about women and mental illness that I never was educated on.