11 Crude Collages of My Mother
Themes:
Relationship between Language and Interpretation of the Individual, Mental Health, Motherhood, Denial and Repression
Disciplines:
Psychology, Sociology, Social Work, Women’s and Gender Studies, Health and Human Development, Public Administration, Communication, Motion Picture Arts (in conjunction with other essays about representation)
Guiding Questions:
- Discuss how mental health can work as a lens through which the sufferer views themselves and the world, and through which the world views the sufferer.
- Explore the concepts of acceptance and denial with respect to mental health.
- Explore mental health labels (or diagnoses): When are they helpful when are they not?
- How might we work towards greater empathy of people with mental health challenges?
- Consider cultural representations of mental health – both positive and negative – how do these representations shape our understanding? create our own lens? build or erode our ability to understand and empathize?
- Examine your own sources of privilege and discuss how they have affected your perception of mental health issues and those who experience them.
- Consider the concepts of “victim” and “perpetrator” in the context of Alicia’s relationship with her mother, the relationship between her mother and father, and mental health generally.
- Can you think about an event or incident where mental health was a factor? How did it affect the general perception of the event, your personal perception of the event, and the perceptions of the individuals involved? Who or what were the victims? Who or what were the perpetrators?
- Considering the title of this chapter, are all of us a collage of sorts? If so, how?
- How is Elliott’s perception of her mother “bi-polar”? Normal Mom vs Bipolar Mom?
- How could the realities of Elliott’s childhood be described as bipolar (p. 142)?
- “[I]f you were to tell us that the excitement and energy we loved so much were part of Mom’s mania, that her hard work and hustle were at their height when she was manic, that she was at her most hilarious, fun and focused then, we’d probably say her bipolar was awesome too. It was always awesome until it wasn’t” (p. 143). Is this statement ‘bipolar’? Explain your answer fully.
