Introduction
The movie "Benny and Joon" is a 1993 romantic comedy, which was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The movie portrays the lives of two eccentric individuals, Sam (Johnny Depp) and Juniper "Joon"(Mary Stuart Masterson) and how they find each other and fall in love. Juniper "Joon" Pearl and Benjamin "Benny" Pearl are brother and sister who have lived together since the sudden death of their parents. Robert Ebert writes that Joon is "schizophrenic", although it is not expressly stated in the movie. Schizophrenia is defined as a severe psychological disorder characterized by disorganization in thought, perception, and behavior" (Beidel 361). Upon watching the movie and researching the symptoms that Joon portrays in the movie, the subtype of schizophrenia that Joon exhibits is paranoid schizophrenia. Upon further, research and watching how Joon reacts to noises, and the fact that she wears a helmet when riding in the car, there should also be a diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Throughout the movie, Joon exhibits the behavior of being condescending, anxious, angry, emotionally distant, and argumentative; it is also portrayed that she cannot be left alone or is unable to take care of herself.
Paranoid Schizophrenia and PTSD
Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disease. According to Schizophrenia. com "Approximately 1 percent of the population develops schizophrenia disease during their life time" (Overview of Schizophrenia). Schizophrenia appears to be a combination of a mood disorder, thought disorder, and anxiety disorder. In the movie, Benny & Joon, Benny recalls the day that his mother and father were killed in a car crash, the environmental stressor. In the scene, a younger Benny and Joon are standing on the sidelines of the accident and watched their deceased parents bodies being taken away on stretchers. The loss of their parents could be the environmental stressor of Joon's development of schizophrenia....