Showtime has a new show coming out called United States of Tara in which Toni Collette plays a “suburban mom suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder” (DID). The January 26 – February 8 issue of the TV Guide ran an article about the program. All excerpts in this blog are taken from that article, which can be found on page 55.
Unfortunately, I do not subscribe to Showtime, and I am not willing to pay the extra money to view this one show. So, I can only base my impressions on what I read in this article as well as elsewhere about the show. I am generally wary of the media’s portrayal of DID, and this show is no exception. From what I have read so far, I fear it is just more of the same – more misinformation that will perpetuate the myths about DID.
For example, in the TV Guide article, Toni Collette said that playing this role “made me think about the fragility of the mind, and that in itself was scary.” I do not view my mind as fragile – just the opposite, in fact. My mind was amazingly strong to fragment itself in a way to survive horrendous abuse. If my mind was “fragile,” then it would have snapped a long time ago. Instead, I managed to not only function but succeed in life because of my strong mind. The DID made me stronger, not weaker.
Later in the article, Toni Collette said, “We have psychiatrists consulting on the show, and I read a lot about mental illness.” First of all, why not consult with somebody who actually has or has had DID? Don’t we know more about what it is like to live with DID than a psychiatrist does? And I take issue with labeling DID as a mental illness. DID is a mental disorder, not a mental illness. You cannot inherit DID, and it is not a physical impairment to the brain. The only way to develop DID is to endure severe and ongoing trauma from a very young age. That is not a mental illness.
The article included pictures of each of the personalities. As I have stated numerous times, the whole point of DID is to be seamless when you switch. The four personalities could not be more obviously different – that’s hardly going to blend.
I also saw no mention of child abuse or trauma in the article, which is the cause of DID. Perhaps they will get into this in the show. I hope so.
I do not tell many people offline about my history with DID, and this is one reason why. I don’t want people to think that I am as “out there” as this portrayal sounds like it is going to be.
If any of you have Showtime and watch the show, I would love to hear your reaction. Is my assessment fair? I admit that I am basing it upon a TV Guide interview and have not seen the show. I sure don’t like the portrayal that I am seeing in the magazine.
Photo credit: Lynda Bernhardt
Blooming Lotus 
Hi Faith,
Wouldnt mind watching this. Has to be better than ‘sybil’ – that was dumbed down for t.v. that much i cringed viewing it.
Take care, simon
One of the difficulties of trying to depict DID for the camera and theatrically is that these are visual media. The story has to be “showed” instead of told like it would be in print only. To represent what is going on internally, the production team has to have visuals – like having the people visually switch, sometimes extremely, just so the audience can “get” the idea that a switch has occurred. While it may be a good approach to tell the story from the production side view, it does a terrible disservice to the audience as it gives an inaccurate view.
There have been many experimental types of visual media that do incorporate dreamstates, self-talk, fantasy, etc. into their overall story telling that DO help the audience know that the “action” is taking place inside the mind of the character or is a subtile representation of the character’s experience. I hope that the production team for this new shows uses these types of devices to tell a more accurate story.
I don’t have showtime either, so will likely miss this altogether.
Hey Faith, don’t have showtime either. Maybe later I would watch it. Right now I am afraid it would either be so unrealistic it would annoy or confuse me. Or perhaps the other end of the spectrum and be triggering. Everythiing feels so raw, I feel exposed and uncomfortable.
Hugs,
Palucci
Hi Simon!
Thank you for bringing this up! I read about the show several months ago, but had no idea when it was going to actually start. If you hadn’t said anything, I would have missed it altogether.
Showtime has a website for this new series. (www.sho.com/site/tara/home.do) It lets you watch the first episode online for free, and it has a banner claiming that “Showtime Supports Awareness for DID”. The banner leads to a page which admits that most readily-available information on DID is not reliable! It also has an FAQ (which isn’t working at the moment) and links to sites like Sidran and ISST-D.
Also, the doctor used as a consultant claims that “. . . this series takes an important step toward respecting, humanizing and de-stigmatizing DID and those who suffer from it . . . ”
I *think* we get Showtime, in which case I’ll be quite happy to watch the show and report back on it.
Ooops! We were supposed to get Showtime as our “reward” for signing up with the satellite company, but apparently they gave us Cinemax instead. 😦
It’s possible the website will show each episode online, but I have no idea. At least they have the premiere episode available, now. If it’s any good, we’ll have to figure something out. Or just wait until they’re on DVD.
hi…
i think there is a danger of us, the DID community at large, taking issue with the ‘small’ inaccuracies or misunderstandings, and missing out on – and applauding the fact – that here is what seems to be a sincere attempt to raise awareness about something that is usually mocked in the media, rather than embraced…. it’s a step forward.
depending where you live, you may be able to watch the entire program on the showtime website, i think it’s sho.com…. i could only see a 30 minute version (no commercials), but it was neat to be able to see what i did….
personally, i can relate to aspects of it – and have even been encouraged… for example, the fact that buck and T can be so …. unlikeable…. and yet the family not only tolerates them, they realize they are an important part of who tara is as an entire person…. that was like, *wow*… i don’t think i even accept my own parts to that degree… gee, maybe i should…?!
i think a lot of good could come out of this… *if* we don’t pick it apart for every single flaw….
imho, anyhoo 😉
I agree with deanandme about television being very visual. Things cannot be implied. However, after seeing both episodes do I feel more comfortable with the idea of telling someone I have DID?? No, I don’t.
Here is a link to the category “United States of Tara” on my blog. I have written three articles. One before it aired, and one for each episode that has aired.
http://secretshadows.wordpress.com/category/united-states-of-tara/
I did not have Showtime either, but our cable company was running a special such that I could add it for almost nothing for the first three months. I figure I could cancel it after the first three months if I want. I had to see it. If someone it going to attempt to portray what I live with, I felt like I wanted to see what it showed the public. I personally liked the first episode better. The second one was stupid.
Secret Shadows
Hi there palucci! Hope your feeling better today.
I had them same fears about watching sybil, and i felt pretty angry after watching it because i felt like it was mocking people who had this dis-order.
From what my therapist says D.i.D (and other severe dissociation) is very much accpeted as being real by people in mental health, and has been for some years. So there must be plenty of information for these people making these films. No excuses! – make something real! We need them to to spread the word. Also like Faith says i hope they mention child-abuse aswell because it goes hand-in-hand.
Take Care, Simon