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United States of Tara (and psychological disorders)
NailbunnyPD
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Overview:
United States of Tara is a show about a mother with Dissociative Identity Disorder (multiple personalities.) Tara, with the help of her family, is trying to discover the event that triggered her disorder. Tara's personalities provide great entertainment, but I find the most interesting aspect of the show is how her family deals with the disorder and her various "alters".
Season 1 is 12 episodes and just finished airing. You may be able to catch them on On-Demand or other sources. There does not appear to be release date yet for the DVDs.
United States of Tara Intro
Wikipedia and Spoilers (safe spoiler):
BEWARE: Any other spoiler tags in my OP will contain actual spoilers.
The wikipedia page has some spoilers, which I will try to leave out of my post. None the less, here is the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_of_Tara
The wikipedia page has some spoilers, which I will try to leave out of my post. None the less, here is the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_of_Tara
Tara's "Alters":
T: A 16 year old party girl looking to fuck and do various outrageous things.
Alice: Think 50's housewife.
Buck: A male Vietnam Vet.
A 4th Alter is introduced mid-season.
Gimme: Animal-like id personality. "poncho-goblin"
Tara's immediate family:
Husband Max: The forever patient husband of 17 years(?). He serves as the backbone of the family. As Tara can unexpectedly transition to an alter, he tends to keep a level head and keep the family in order. He never seems to hold Tara accountable for the actions of her alters.
Sister Charmaine: The skeptic. Charmaine has doubts about Tara's disorder. When it comes down to it, though, she pitches in to help the family and Tara. In this regard, Charmaine is probably the character I relate to most.
Daughter Kate: The semitypical teenage daughter. She seems to want to break from the family and be her own person while escaping the drama that her mother's disorder has introduced. She seems to have a greater understanding of her mother's condition than she'd let on. She serves as a sort of mentor to her younger brother at times, offering him some enlightenment on social issues as well as their mother's disorder. Midseason, she takes a job to spend more time out of the house.
Son Marshall: An intelligent, homosexual teenager, very exposed to arts (music, film.) He and his family are comfortable with his sexual orientation, though there are conflicts between this and his mother's disorder. For example, Buck shows signs of homophobia.
My take (and the potential tangent discussion):
I don't have Showtime, but when I had the opportunity to watch this show at my aunt's, I went through episodes 1-9, back to back. I was hooked. I've since completed Season 1.
Toni Collette plays Tara magnificently.
The show touches on many emotions, but overall, it has a very positive feel to it. Much like in real life, there is a lot of uncertainty that Tara will get a hold on her disorder or find the triggering event, but the show does establish that Tara has a strong family that can survive it. Even though the show can be a bit idealistic at times (particularly the husband Max's patience,) it sends a message of hope.
I can't speak for the accurate portrayal of the disorder, but I appreciate that a television series is focused around a psychological disorder and the impact on the family. I can't recall any other shows that touched on the subject so heavily (maybe Dexter, but that's excessively surreal.)
My appreciation for this show may be impartial due to my own experiences. I was exposed to bipolar disorder in relatives all through my life. My mother was diagnosed, my uncle, and now my girlfriend. I have always been intrigued by psychology and psychological disorders, but more so, how individuals and their families deal with those disorders (directly and indirectly.) As a result of my experiences, I find myself relating to a number of the characters on the show, particularly Kate (escape), Charmaine (doubt), and Max (compassion).
Feel free to discuss the show, psychological disorders, or psycholigcal disorders in media, etc.
NailbunnyPD on
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There are definitely DID spectrum disorders - people who suffer memory loss or just "checking out" can show dissociative symptoms. Any time you lose focus on what you're doing and drift into a daydream, you're experiencing a dissociative state. Any time you walk into a room and forget why you needed to be there, you're experiencing a dissociative state. People who suffer amnesia or dissociative fugue states can sometimes adopt new identities. There is a long history of such disorders being recorded for pretty much all of written history.
However, the idea that somebody could slip from one constructed identity to another; all with different genders, accents, ages, and moral schemas; with no memory or continuity of consciousness between them, but with enough control to be able to respond to statements like "I want to talk to Sarah" is not consistent with what we know about memory, and the origin of the diagnosis is extremely dubious. That form of MPD - the rapid shifting between identities - was unheard of before the (completely fabricated) Satanic cult panic in the early 1980s, and we now know that the "therapists" treating such cases (like Bennett Braun) were directly encouraging their patients to act out.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
As for the show, there is continuity between the alters, but not between Tara and the alters. In other words, the alters are aware of each other and Tara, but Tara is not aware of the alters, except for the stories retold by her family.
There don't appear to be any situation where Tara can change alters at will or that they can speak to a dormant personality. It just seems to be stressful situations that triggers it, and then just waiting it out with the family's support.
NintendoID: Nailbunny 3DS: 3909-8796-4685
There are two possible explanations for this. Either:
A) MPD is real but underdiagnosed, and media portrayals raise awareness, leading people to seek professional help for their problems.
I lean strongly towards (B), mostly because of what I stated above, but also for other reasons. In other disorders where increased attention has led to increased diagnosis, such as autism, the upward trends are a lot smoother. It's not like a famous book comes out about autism and then you get a two-year spike in autism diagnoses. Secondly, one would think that MPD would be a very high-visibility disorder; I have difficulty believing that there are that many people out there expressing multiple personalities with different names but somehow flying under the radar of health care providers until a best-selling book or TV show comes out.
Consequently, I have difficulty stomaching such shows, because I think they muddle the line between fiction and reality for people who may already be having problems making that distinction.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Possibly. On the other hand, it is accurately reflecting the fact that people who are indirectly affected still have their own issues to deal with. Those minor story lines that you mentioned do not detract from the main plot and only emphasize the impact Tara's disorder has on her family and vice versa. When you have to respond to a family member having a crisis, your personal life and responsibilities do not stop, which may drastically affect your reaction to said crisis.
NintendoID: Nailbunny 3DS: 3909-8796-4685
I've seen the show and wasn't entirely impressed. The whole thing seemed slightly ludicrous.
Twitter
I recently asked my mom if she remembered telling me that story and she said no.
I think mom has MPD.
Maybe she was drawing her own blood
as another personality
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.