Bump.
About
Fatal Attraction, not helpful at all when it comes to reducing the ignorance and stigma surrounding BPD.
Young Adult with Charlize Theron is so much better. Similar storyline but a lot less dramatic and more fitting for prototypical BPD representation.
About
Black Swan, I've read many people believe Natalie Portman's character leans towards a schizophrenic representation because of her hallucinatory states and delusional tendencies. But a lot of people forget that BPD criterion #9..
Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms.
..could probably help explain Nina's intermittent breaks from reality.
Personal faves for possible BPD representations...
• The aforementioned
Black Swan and
Young Adult,
•
Forrest Gump (the character of Jenny),
•
Thirteen (Tracey),
•
Prozac Nation (Elizabeth),
•
Silver Linings Playbook (Tiffany).
I personally prefer movies that don't feed into the negativity and stigma of BPD, but rather movies with possible borderlines the viewer could potentially sympathize with and understand, not condemn. (Potential mild movie spoilers below)
For example in
Forrest Gump we see Jenny's early childhood traumas as potential causes for her later life struggles where even then she maintains a non-malicious character. Even if the clues aren't so obvious, like in the movie
Thirteen, we understand Tracey's mother saying she didn't raise her to be that way (possible BPD behavior), however there are clues such as intense peer pressure at the school environment. In
Black Swan, it could be understood that Nina is striving for perfection, putting a lot of pressure on herself and not merely a girl with emotional/mental breakdowns for seemingly no apparent reasons. In
Prozac Nation we see Elizabeth at least trying to acquire a good life (like going to Harvard) despite her breakdowns. As for
Silver Linings Playbook, well.. it stars Jennifer Lawrence; how could we not admire the character performed by her in the movie?
"Sometimes you wake up. Sometimes the fall kills you. And sometimes, when you fall, you fly." Neil Gaiman