Girl Interrupted: Diagnosing Big Screen Sociopath

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Lisa Rowe in the film Girl Interrupted is by far the most powerful, seductive, and unpredictable patient in the ward. Her personality is completely independent and her blatant disregard for any and all authority makes her an idol figure in the other girls’ eyes. Despite her utter callousness towards each and every patient in the ward, the girls as well as the staff can’t help but be entertained, but are often frustrated, by her audaciousness. Whether it be running away from the hospital only to be brought back a week later, or pulling pranks on the staff and patients, Lisa ensures that she never loses any attention or leaves the ward peaceful for long. She often remarks that she is proud of her diagnosis as a sociopath, and the other girls feel somehow fearless when in her company. The dark side of Lisa’s personality, however, can appear very abruptly, and she goes from being extraordinarily nice to the “new patient” Susanna to perversely cruel in a matter of seconds. Lisa is also very proud of her history as an ex-junkie who never sleeps, barely eats, and never takes her medication, using it instead as a barter item to get favors out of the other patients in the ward. She almost never speaks of any family except her brother, but even that relationship is not defined to any extent. She displays many characteristic patterns of behavior which indicate the diagnosis of an antisocial personality disorder or a sociopath. She has a certain glibness and superficial charm about her, allowing her to essentially get whatever she wants from the staff and the patients in the ward. This charm also creates a sense of trust to the other girls, and when she tells Susanna to go to the psychologists office in the middle of the night – “Alright, listen. Tongue your meds tonight. After 1 o'clock checks Gretta always goes out for a smoke. Check the mirrors and if they're clear you go

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