The drama series Homeland has arrived in Canada. Couldn’t wait so we bought the first season. Twelve hours. It was all I could do to force myself to only watch three hours at a time. For most, Homeland is a tale of another terrorist threat in the USA. For me it is also a beautiful story, a riveting tale about mental illness.
Carrie Mathison, a CIA operative with experience in the field in the Middle East, believes a terrorist attack on the Homeland is imminent. Still suffering from the belief that she missed a clue prior to 9/11, she is driven to uncover the plot.
But her greatest strength is also her greatest weakness: her serious mental illness that enables her to collate and synthesize facts differently than her co-workers but also triggers unacceptable behaviour that she must keep at bay. In order to continue working at the CIA she must keep her illness a secret for fear of being seen as crazy. She is well aware of the fear and misconceptions others have of those who announce, “I have a mental illness.”
Homeland gives an honest portrayal of serious mental illness. There is a graciousness in the depiction of those who are affected that is rarely shown in the media; from the love and support of family and friends and surprisingly and gratefully the revelation of the treatment she requires.
Homeland also realistically depicts the fear that surrounds mental illness. There are those who still believe that one with a mental illness is crazy. Clare Danes, as Carrie Mathison does a superb job of revealing the illness as it is rather than playing to stereotype. The writers do justice to those who live with bipolar disorder. I could feel her fear of being “found out” at work, her anxiety from the illness and living with it, and I traveled with her on her manic high as she dealt with her own fear of losing her mind. At the same time, the writers leave us with the possibility that she might be the only one aware of reality.
Is Carrie crazy or is she is a brilliant human being? The excellent script and Clare Danes’ portrayal open us up to a better understanding of the infinite capacity and workings of the brain. Her previous depiction of Temple Grandin humanized autism. And she does the same for mental illness.
The writers of Homeland bring a full-bodied experience of mental illness to a plot that leaves one wondering not only about the stability of Carrie, but the mental stability of those who are protecting the Homeland.
