Girl, Interrupted

After watching Girl, Interrupted, the only response that seems appropriate is one of shock. While it can be argued that Susanna did have a sort of mental disorder that caused her pain and anguish, it’s crazy that the mental institution that took her in just filled her with meds and never entirely explained to her what was wrong with her. And I think it’s so odd that Susanna spent two years of her life in a mental institution based on the findings of a man who had talked with her for maybe 15 minutes in the beginning of the film. I feel that if Susanna had been able to understand her disease, she may have been more cooperative in her treatment.

Susanna's narration in the beginning of the film said: "Have you ever confused a dream with life? Or stolen something when you have the cash? Have you ever been blue? Or thought your train moving while sitting still? Maybe I was just crazy. Maybe it was the 60's. Or maybe I was just a girl... interrupted." I believe the title, Girl, Interrupted, comes from the interruptions in Susanna’s life such as sexual relations with men and expectations from her family. Maybe these prevented her from living a normal life, and if certain things had not have happened maybe she would've been like any other teenager and not have ended up attempting suicide, being in a mental institution, or suffering from borderline personality disorder. So I think it means simply what it says: a girl whose life was interrupted. Susanna also toyed with madness, and Lisa represents what Susanna no longer wanted to become. Susanna was interrupted on her way to becoming Lisa, perhaps? By the end, I feel, she had begun to figure out how to be herself.