Intellectual disability and representation in "The Other Sister"

¶ … Sister

The author of this report has been asked to view, review and analyze the implications of the movie The Other Sister. Points of analysis that will occur in this movie include an introduction to the paper and this would include the disability that is in play in the movie as well as how this disability fails the person who has it. As for the other sections, there will be a history of the given disability, an assessment of the disability, an analysis of society today as it relates to the disability and experience of the author when it comes to this movie. While mental retardation is not treated in the punitive and barbaric fashion it has been in the past, anyone who has it or is charged with caring for someone that does will face some obvious and ongoing challenges and this would include from the patient him/herself.

Analysis

Movie Summary

As indirectly identified in the introduction, the movie centers on a person that has a slight case of intellectual disability, sometimes more crassly referred to as mental retardation. The character in question is Carla Tate, as portrayed by Juliette Lewis. She is in her early 20's. She has gone to a school that is tailored towards her mental status for a long time but has just obtained a certificate and has returned home. She later meets a love interest by the name of Daniel, as portrayed by Giovanni Ribisi, who has much the same affliction.

Introduction

It should be pointed out that "mental retardation" as a term has generally been expunged from the medical and clinical vernacular in favor of intellectual disability. There are two primary mental issues that present themselves when it comes to someone with an intellectual disability. The first of those two is a general defect in intellectual functioning. As stated by WebMD, this refers to a person's intelligence quotient (IQ) and this number is usually on the low side when it comes to patients with intellectual disability. IQ is the trait and ability of someone's mind to reason, make decisions, solve problems and learn. The other part of the mind and how it works that is affected by intellectual disability is adaptive behaviors. As stated by WebMD, "these are the skills necessary for day-to-day live, such as being able to communicate effectively, interact with others and take care of oneself. When intellectual disability manifests in children, it can be noticed by the children who roll over/sit up/crawl/walk later than they should, have a delay in talking (or trouble in general with talking), a slow mastering of even simple tasks, bad memory, inability to connect actions with consequences, behavioral problems and issues with problem solving or logical thinking (WebMD, 2015).

Assessment

The above is a nice segue into what happens in the movie. The characters that are present are a wide range and this would include incidental/brief characters in the movie. Carla's mother is loving but extremely over-protective. Her father is a little more even-headed. Many people around Carla (and Daniel) express concern in one way or another but they really never say the wrong words or otherwise engage in name-calling. However, Daniel and Carla encounter someone who refers to Daniel as a "retard" and Carla is there to soothe and help him. Carla has been receiving schooling to help her adapt to "normal life." Even with that, there is not really a "cure" for intellectual disability so both her and Daniel must end up adapting to a world around them that functions a little differently than they are often able to handle. However, the incident just mentioned with the "r word" is but one example of them adapting quite well given the idiocy and ignorance of some people (IMDB, 2015).

The way in which Carla and Daniel are treated in the movie obviously runs the gamut. Some people in the movie (like Carla's mother) are very over-protected and extremely worried about what will happen Carla as she tries to become more independent and separated from being dependent on her parents or anyone else. Carla's dad (Skerritt) realizes the gravity of the situation but tries to be more empathetic and helpful. On the other end of the spectrum, there are those that simply view them as a burden and "retards." Of course, the proverbial salt in the wound for anyone with empathy for Carla and Daniel (or anyone else like them) is that they will always be a bit different and more disadvantaged than the public around them because of the cognitive and mental issues that have due to ID. It would be very comparable to someone with Down's Syndrome. People with Down's are often able to get and keep jobs and can even have a good amount of self-sufficiency, at least in some regards. However, true independence for such people is often a pipe dream and can be chaotic at best even when it is remotely achieved and realized. Even so, Carla and Daniel make their best effort to forge their own path as the movie comes to a close. In many ways, people like Carla and Daniel are oppressed in that people often do not think they have the ability nor should they have the option to live out on their own. To use a better example, many people assert that people with Down Syndrome should absolutely not have children under any circumstances due to the ostensible inability of them to care for the child and the fact that the gene defect present in Down children (a missing chromosome) could quite possible/likely pass on to the child. The salient point to make is that there is a fine line between oppressing someone and truly being worried about their well-being. Regardless of intent one way or another, adults are adults and they have the right to do as they wish presuming they are not committing crimes, are not a danger to themselves or others and so on (IMDB, 2015).

In terms of whether Carla and Daniel are able to progress through the stages of adaptation, the do indeed struggle to adapt as the movie goes on but all seems to end well for them in the end and they do seem to complete the adaptation stages. As described by Parent Companion, the four stages of adaptation are survival, searching, settling in and separating. Carla was protected and helped in her school but then there was a bit of a shock as she left the comforting confines of that school and she tried to move on. For example, she wanted work in the veterinary field but she was discouraged in this regard because the speaker held that only someone without ID could do such a job. Further, an obvious example of them not quite "getting" what other people do in society is realized by the exchange after the watch The Graduate when it is agreed that they will be boyfriend/girlfriend but all that happens immediately after that is that he puts his arm around her. In the end, though, the two do indeed engage in a separation as the movie ends with the newly married Daniel and Carla heading off on their own ... for better or worse (Parent Companion, 2015).

Society Today

As noted above, "intellectual disability" or "ID" has become the term. The phrase "mentally challenged" has also been used but the original term (retarded) is usually only used in a clinical setting and even then, it is frowned upon. Much like the word imbecile used to be a commonly used word in a clinical or psychological setting, the same was true of "retard." However, both terms are now considered insult or a faux pas to use in a professional and/or mature setting. In terms of the services that exist for people with ID, there are many. In the end, it is more about adaptation, adjustment and coping when it comes to having ID. This is not to say that people with ID cannot lead full and happy lives because that is absolutely not the case. However, to suggest that people with an identifiable degree of ID are ever going to get "beyond" what is going wrong or not happening in their head is really not true. It is true that they can use tools and tips to at least come close to what a normally developed person can do. However, there will probably never be a massive improvement in any given patient given the treatment options (or lack thereof) that exist at this time for people with ID. However, what has obviously changed for the better is that there are local, state and national groups (even global) that focus on improving the lives and health of those with ID. Further, there are those that make it their life's mission to make sure that people with ID are not treated like second-class citizens and this would include their reproductive rights, whether they could or should live on their own, their general rights to independence and being left alone and so on. Funding comes from things like government programs, non-profit organizations that raise money, the private donors themselves, the family members and friends that personally contribute to the care (in terms of money or time) to the people that need the help and so forth. More modern manifestations of funding would be "GoFundMe" accounts and so forth. However, the more traditional assistance avenues such as churches, community social service centers and so forth are still present even if their funding and other resources are sometimes lacking (SWLM, 2012; The Arc, 2015).

Even with all of that, there is most definitely a stigma when it comes to mental defects of any sort. This would include ID but would also include things like general mental illness, physical disabilities of any sort and so forth. There are even ostensible problems with people claiming to be disabled when they are actually not. However, people need to be careful because a person that seems to walk and talk just fine and that has a handicap placard on their car is quite likely not faking anything as disabilities are not always obvious and visible. For example, someone with extreme bipolar disorder may seem fine to a third-party person that does not know them but that disorder can be extremely debilitating and life-changing to those that have it. Coming back to ID and the treatment of people with the same, they are indeed stigmatized when it is identified (or even just perceived) they have such a problem. The best course, of course, is to avoid treating them any differently than a normal person or reacting to them any differently. However, there are people that are "too helpful" and those that are ignorant and punitive to them. The latter is obviously wrong and comes with ill intent but even the former can cause awkward exchanges because the disabled person will often perceive they are being treated like a child or a lesser person because the other person figured out they have ID and they are treating them differently as a result. As noted above, equality should be the focus and not singling out the disability even if the motives involved are pure (Autistic Hoya, 2012).

Experience

As for why the author of this report chose this particular movie, it would be because the author did some time in Iraq. While there, the author did some work with some autistic people that were present in the area. In terms of intellectual disability and what the author of this report knew about it, not a ton of new information was presented here. The author is fully aware that adult people with ID are treated like children even when such treatment is not entirely warranted. To be sure, there are concerns about whether someone with ID can get/keep a job, have a child, maintain their house and so forth. However, they are still living and breathing human beings and using the tactics of prior decades or centuries is just not going to work. Engaging in eugenics and mass institutionalization may seem like the easy way out but such behavior is a crass and obvious violation of the civil rights of the people with ID and no modern nation should ever allow people to be treated like that. The author's main lesson learned is that while there are still challenges and issues that exist, things used to be a lot worse for those with ID and there will surely be more progress in the years and decades to come (Harbour & Maulik, 2015).

Nothing really surprised the author of this report as the movie showed the sides of life as it relates to ID that the author was already familiar with. There are those that are over-compensating, those that just treat ID people like equals and those that are just vile and disgusting when it comes to encountering and perceiving people with ID. With that in mind, the author of this report would be kind, approachable but not condescending or parent-like when it comes to interactions with such a person. If they need assistance with a task and it is obvious they are looking for help, the author would approach. Otherwise, a simple greeting or letting them go about their lives would be the right course. The author of this report could absolutely work with people form the ID population and has already done so in many ways.

Conclusion

The Other Sister is certainly not an Oscar-winner when it comes to how it was portrayed. Some reviewers on IMDB went so far as to say that it "exploited" the realm of ID/retardation. The author of this report would certainly not agree with that as the depictions and story being told in this movie is probably one that is encountered and come across by many people around the United States and the rest of the world. While it would be great if ID could be "filtered out" or cured, that is simply not possible at this time and people with ID are human beings.