The Stark Reality Behind “Powers” in Certain Blockbuster Films

A Not So Average Look on Not So Average Movie Characters.

I love ​Matilda​ (1996). I love it just as much as anyone else does, that heartwarming yet gut wrenching film, an exploration of power and triumph against ageist doubts, and inevitably the best part being Matilda’s super powers. Her subtle in action and deliberate in effect telekinesis penetrates the morale of her enemies and reinforces the paradox of the power of an unassuming little girl dominating cruel adults.

Her powers are probably coveted by other little girls and cruel adults alike, but they’re simply fictional film quirks... unless you think about them more critically. Everyone can agree that telekinesis doesn’t exist outside of a film’s ​mise-en-scène (film universe), but making things move with your mind ​visually? That can actually occur, and not uncommonly.

Mental disorders such as psychosis, schizophrenia, and dementia list hallucinations as symptoms, and even cases of OCD, depression, anxiety, PTSD, and bipolar disorder do as well. Hallucinations are sensory mind inventions that appear to be real but actually aren’t. They can combine the five senses to create illusions of reality and trick the mind into thinking things, sounds, and feelings that commonly appear to be unrealistic are real.

So, are the “powers” in certain blockbuster films derivative from actual mental disorders? I looked at two films by Alejandro González Iñárritu, ​Birdman ​(2014) and ​Biutiful​ (2010), to find out.

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Birdman​ ​or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)​ ​(2014) explores the life of Riggan Thomson, an actor whose faded fame from playing a superhero, Birdman, manifests as an internal voice who taunts and tortures the actor throughout the film. As Riggan tries to become an acclaimed artist for more mature and serious works, the voice manifests as telekinesis and levitation and makes his life increasingly more of a battle.

The voices and images Riggan experiences are related to intrusive thoughts and images that manifest as a result of mental disorders, particularly depression, OCD, and most commonly, schizophrenia. Intrusive thoughts are unwanted thoughts that create a nuisance, annoying banter with oneself. They can cause high rates of anxiety and depression. Riggan shows these symptoms throughout the film when he has consistent thoughts of self doubt. After an argument with his daughter, Sam, Riggan encounters his intrusive thoughts as they progressively tear him down and tell him he’s not good enough.

Riggan shows signs of struggling with depression besides his intrusive thoughts and images throughout the film. He tries to confide in his ex wife Sylvia that he attempted suicide by drowning after hearing that she had an affair. During this conversation, he also reaches out to her and tries to explain the voices he’s been hearing. By showing Riggan seeking help for his mental disorders even though he isn’t being explicit about nominal aspects of his suffering, Iñárritu represents how so often people struggling with mental illnesses are misunderstood and the lack of knowledge about mental disorders makes that even more evident.

At the end of the film, Riggan replaces a prop gun for a real gun and attempts suicide on stage for his final scene and it’s greated with a standing ovation. This shows how overwhelming Riggan’s intrusive thoughts and images became, ultimately leading him to attempt to take his own life again. Although the film portrays Riggan’s inner dialogue and visuals as surreal and nonexistent, Iñárritu explores a grim scenario where a character is suffering from a very real mental illness that tricks one into thinking unreal things are real.

The film’s final scene cuts to Riggan in the hospital recovering from his suicide attempt. He takes off his bandages and looks at the birds flying in the sky, smiling. His suicidal ideation is still apparent, as the scene implies that he desires to be one with the birds. He jumps out as a final act of acceptance rather than defiance of mental illness.

Sam comes into the hospital room and is at first alarmed to find her father is missing. She then peers out the window, looking shocked, then looks upward towards the sky. She smiles. Iñárritu is implying that Sam, being so distraught by seeing her father’s dead and lifeless corpse, fades into a similar mental illness where she has intrusive images, seeing her father soaring high in the sky with birds.

Similarly to Riggan, ​Biutiful​ (2010)’s Uxbal has intrusivity, specifically intrusive images in the form of hallucinations. Uxbal lives in Barcelona and makes a living organizing and overseeing work for illegal immigrants and is suffering from cancer throughout the film. When the basement residence of a group of workers has a gas leak, the workers all die and Uxbal discovers their bodies. The shots of the dead workers are intimate and horrifying, which brings you closer into Uxbal’s perspective of the utter dread of the accident.

After panning around the room, the camera cuts to Uxbal staring at the corner of the building where he sees the dead worker’s bodies lurking out of the walls. Here, Iñárritu is relating the effects of trauma on Uxbal and showing how PTSD can create hallucinations. These hallucinations appear while Uxbal is suffering during his last days alive; his pain triggers the reappearance of his worst fears.

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I am not a doctor. I am not a psychiatrist, counselor, or specialist. But from peering into the lives of the main characters in Iñárritu’s films, it is safe to say that these individuals suffer from mental disorders that the films mask as “powers” or unreal facets of imagination for a dramatic effect. These disorders affect real people everyday, and it is important to understand that the dramatization of these disorders can be painful for people suffering to watch.

Watch movies for enjoyment. Watch for pleasure. But also keep your third eye open for this phenomenon, one I’m calling “Mental Power Character Manifestation” and how filmmakers use it to add depth to their characters.

Image Credit

Thumbnail: INSH “What if We Had Thermal Vision?” — Image 1: Matilda Blu Ray DVD Cover — Image 2: Fox Searchlight/ Courtesy Everett Collection — Image 3: Ikiru Films/Focus Features