The Bipolar Express: Manic Depression and the Movies [Hardcover]

Awareness of bipolar disorder has increased in recent years, but misunderstanding and stereotypical representations remain.?Coleman provides an insightful examination of the depiction of bipolar disorder in cinema and of how it has impacted filmmaking itself. Covering cinematic creation from its very beginnings to the 2000s, the author posits that the combination of cinematic talent and behaviors associated with mood disorders can result in visionary cinema production. The author starts with a brief overview of bipolar disorder and its relation to creativity and speculates that US cinematic invention can be a by-product of bipolar disorder. He goes on to look at how bipolar disorder has been depicted in film over the decades and concludes with the current depiction of the reality of mental illness.?Coleman analyzes writers, directors, and actors who have displayed behaviors symptomatic of bipolar disorder, supporting his argument that mood disorders can be a component in the creation of quixotic cinema. A?thought-provoking, though quirky, read for students of film, mental health professionals, and those interested in creativity and mental health in general. Summing Up: Recommended. With reservations. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers.This book examines the lives and works of famous filmmakers and screen actors through the perspective of bipolar and depressive disorders. The filmmakers discussed in this volume include directors Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, and Tim Burton; as well as actors Carrie Fisher, James Dean, Peter Sellers, and Jim Carrey.In the past few decades, awareness of bipolar disorder has significantly increased, but understanding of the condition remains vague for most of the general public. Though the term itself is relatively recent, the condition has affected individuals for centuriesand no more profoundly than in the arts. The historical connections among manic depression and such fields as litel)