 | After suffering from a catastrophic stroke the charismatic, jovial and artistic editor of a world-renowned French magazine adapts to a life of immobility, speechlessness and impaired sight. Jean-Dominique Bauby, the editor of a fashion publication, suddenly finds his world turned upside down. While driving in the picturesque countryside, he suffers a catastrophic stroke that will change the rest of his life. The movie follows Jean’s journey in a rehabilitation center as he faces daily struggles to retain his individuality, solely, through the communication of one eye. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly provides unique insight, through a first-person view, of the pain, sorrow and joy experienced by a patient suffering from locked-in syndrome. |
Neuropsychological Review
Trapped in my Mind
Justin W. White
Cognitively alert, you can think, you can see, but you can’t move a thing, and as a result, you are unable to communicate through verbal or motor means, effectively placing a human being in a tomb of flesh (Kobert, 2008). This unimaginable experience is the stark reality for patients who experience a condition known as ‘locked-in syndrome.’ In The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (based on the book The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death by Jean Dominique Bauby), Mathieu Amalric plays the role of Jean-Dominique Bauby, the editor of a trendy French magazine who suddenly experiences a stroke (cerebrovascular accident, CVA).
Trapped in my Mind
Justin W. White
Cognitively alert, you can think, you can see, but you can’t move a thing, and as a result, you are unable to communicate through verbal or motor means, effectively placing a human being in a tomb of flesh (Kobert, 2008). This unimaginable experience is the stark reality for patients who experience a condition known as ‘locked-in syndrome.’ In The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (based on the book The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death by Jean Dominique Bauby), Mathieu Amalric plays the role of Jean-Dominique Bauby, the editor of a trendy French magazine who suddenly experiences a stroke (cerebrovascular accident, CVA).
Once a charismatic, artistic and athletic person, Jean adapts to life restricted within the confines of a coastal rehabilitation center. Because of a brainstem injury he is paralyzed from the neck down, unable to speak and with only his left eye functioning. The movie depicts Jean’s new life through a first-person view.
Although a rare condition, which leaves patients’ ability to communicate in a primitive fashion, ‘locked-in syndrome’ affects nearly 500,000 people in the world (Kobert, 2008). Even though the condition is most frequently observed in patients of Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as ALS or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, stroke patients who experience significant damage to the rear portion of the brain, closest to the spinal cord (brainstem), may experience a similar condition. Due to his inability to function at the most basic human levels, Jean is faced with the internal dilemma to succumb to the powerful grasp of his condition or fight through hope. Through his monologue, this struggle is most apparent as Jean lay’s in the bed of his coastal treatment facility, unable to escape the reality life has placed before him, “Today, my life feels like a string of near-misses. Women I was unable to love, opportunities I failed to seize, moments of happiness I let drift away. A race whose result I knew beforehand but failed to pick the winner. Had been blind or deaf or did the harsh light of disaster make me find my true nature?” The setting for the film is in the beautiful, northern coastal community of Berck, France, but Jean can no longer experience the simple pleasure of feeling sand between his toes. Still in a state of delirium, at the beginning of the film, medical specialists explain what Jean’s condition is, but provide minimal explanation pertaining to it’s occurrence or go into great detail of the impairments his body now has been afflicted by.
Stroke is the clinical syndrome caused by neurological signs and symptoms developing due to rapid onset of brain dysfunction with vascular (blood vessels) cause and lasting more than 24 hours (Aysal et al., 2010). Pre-indicators of stroke, which Jean displayed while he was driving in the French countryside with his son, include: sudden confusion and trouble speaking; sudden numbness or weakness of face; sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes; and a sudden loss of balance (American, 2017). Contrary to less severe strokes, Jeans condition resulted in quadriplegia (loss of use in all limbs) and anarthria (loss of articulate speech). Although patients are conscious, attention, executive function, intellectual ability, perception, and visual and verbal memory are often affected (Delargy & Smith, 2005). Given this total immobility while still maintaining ones sense of consciousness, Jean is placed in a complete state of distress as the doctor sews his right eye-lid shut. Utterly helpless, Jean lays motionless while screaming for help internally. No one answer’s his cries. Like an infant bird high atop a tree without their mother, there’s nothing he can do.
With the help of a caring and devoted speech therapist, Henriette, played by Marie-Josee Croze, Jean learns the ability to communicate through a modified alphabetical system, solely using his left eye. Through his internal debate of whether to let go from his perceived dreary and dark state, Jeans focus shifts. He releases thoughts of defeatism and realizes he still maintains one key aspect indicative of human consciousness, the ability to imagine, “I’ve decided to stop pitying myself. Other than my eye, two things aren’t paralyzed. My imagination and my memory. They’re the only two things I can escape my diving bell”.
Through contact with a publisher he previously had been contracted to complete a revised version of The Count of Monte Cristo, with the help of a tenderhearted writer, Claude, played by Anne Consigny, Jean begins work on his personal memoir. Even though his speech is impaired, his humor is not. At first glance, Jean knows his face may appear ghastly to the unfamiliar eye. “Don’t panic”, he tells Claude, and from this point on, their bond is solidified during hours of translation and dictation. Decisively obtaining a sense of purpose in his once believed dreadful state, Jean finds elation through work on his personal memoir, “My whole body is encased in a kind of diving suit. My task now is to write the motionless travel notes from a castaway on the shores of loneliness.” With his newfound positive outlook on the future, Jean’s condition throws him yet another curve ball. While visiting with a friend, and displaying his new ability to sing song through tone, he begins to choke and pneumonia sets in. In the bed of an intensive care unit, Jean passes away two days after the French publication of his personal memoir. The film eloquently depicts the ultimate dichotomy between an exuberant and jovial lifestyle, with immobility and losing ones ‘sense of self.’
Taking into consideration accuracy of the portrayed disorder in the film, I rate the work 5 out of 5. By employing a first-person perspective throughout the film, the viewer is thrust into the world of a patient with ‘locked-in syndrome.’ Struggle, sorrow, joy and internal conflict all become surreal through this representation. Pertaining to an educational value, both in a collegiate environment and for persons who may have minimal understanding of complex neurological terminology and disorders, I also rate the film 5 out of 5. The directors ability to depict an entire spectrum of the condition, from onset to termination, complete with symptoms associated with the illness, along with psychological turmoil experienced by the patient, make the film an excellent teaching supplement. Comparing to other dramas, this film is a smidgen slow and takes sometime for the plot to truly develop, 3 out of 5 for entertainment value. The movie was highly interesting, thought provoking, and at times, emotional, but my interests in the realm of film and theatre are highly eclectic. Given brief scenes of nudity, the film would not be recommended for ages under 12. In just shy of two hours, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly enables the viewer to transport themselves into a world of stark colors and vivid imagination. After this journey, the viewer will have a genuine appreciation of the dichotomy between life and death.
References
American Stroke Association. (2017). Stroke warning signs and symptoms. Retrieved from http://www.strokeassociation.org/STROKEORG/WarningSigns/Stroke-Warning-Signs-and-Symptoms_UCM_308528_SubHomePage.jsp
Aysal, F., Bakac, G., Baybas, S., Dayan, C., Demirci, S. & Yalciner, B. (2010). Risk factors that affect recurrence in strokes. Paris, FR: Dusunen Adam. Retrieved from http://www.library.drexel.edu/cgi-bin/r.cgi/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/755429654?accountid=10559
Delargy, M. & Smith, E. (2005). Locked-in syndrome. London, UK: British Medical Journal. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.330.7488.406
Kobert, L. J. (2008). Unlocking locked-in syndrome: University of Virginia researcher helps patients with complete paralysis, or locked-in syndrome, communicate. Washington, D.C: US Federal News Service. Retrieved from http://www.library.drexel.edu/cgi-bin/r.cgi/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/468439943?accountid=10559
Schnabel, J. (2007). The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. France.
Although a rare condition, which leaves patients’ ability to communicate in a primitive fashion, ‘locked-in syndrome’ affects nearly 500,000 people in the world (Kobert, 2008). Even though the condition is most frequently observed in patients of Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as ALS or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, stroke patients who experience significant damage to the rear portion of the brain, closest to the spinal cord (brainstem), may experience a similar condition. Due to his inability to function at the most basic human levels, Jean is faced with the internal dilemma to succumb to the powerful grasp of his condition or fight through hope. Through his monologue, this struggle is most apparent as Jean lay’s in the bed of his coastal treatment facility, unable to escape the reality life has placed before him, “Today, my life feels like a string of near-misses. Women I was unable to love, opportunities I failed to seize, moments of happiness I let drift away. A race whose result I knew beforehand but failed to pick the winner. Had been blind or deaf or did the harsh light of disaster make me find my true nature?” The setting for the film is in the beautiful, northern coastal community of Berck, France, but Jean can no longer experience the simple pleasure of feeling sand between his toes. Still in a state of delirium, at the beginning of the film, medical specialists explain what Jean’s condition is, but provide minimal explanation pertaining to it’s occurrence or go into great detail of the impairments his body now has been afflicted by.
Stroke is the clinical syndrome caused by neurological signs and symptoms developing due to rapid onset of brain dysfunction with vascular (blood vessels) cause and lasting more than 24 hours (Aysal et al., 2010). Pre-indicators of stroke, which Jean displayed while he was driving in the French countryside with his son, include: sudden confusion and trouble speaking; sudden numbness or weakness of face; sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes; and a sudden loss of balance (American, 2017). Contrary to less severe strokes, Jeans condition resulted in quadriplegia (loss of use in all limbs) and anarthria (loss of articulate speech). Although patients are conscious, attention, executive function, intellectual ability, perception, and visual and verbal memory are often affected (Delargy & Smith, 2005). Given this total immobility while still maintaining ones sense of consciousness, Jean is placed in a complete state of distress as the doctor sews his right eye-lid shut. Utterly helpless, Jean lays motionless while screaming for help internally. No one answer’s his cries. Like an infant bird high atop a tree without their mother, there’s nothing he can do.
With the help of a caring and devoted speech therapist, Henriette, played by Marie-Josee Croze, Jean learns the ability to communicate through a modified alphabetical system, solely using his left eye. Through his internal debate of whether to let go from his perceived dreary and dark state, Jeans focus shifts. He releases thoughts of defeatism and realizes he still maintains one key aspect indicative of human consciousness, the ability to imagine, “I’ve decided to stop pitying myself. Other than my eye, two things aren’t paralyzed. My imagination and my memory. They’re the only two things I can escape my diving bell”.
Through contact with a publisher he previously had been contracted to complete a revised version of The Count of Monte Cristo, with the help of a tenderhearted writer, Claude, played by Anne Consigny, Jean begins work on his personal memoir. Even though his speech is impaired, his humor is not. At first glance, Jean knows his face may appear ghastly to the unfamiliar eye. “Don’t panic”, he tells Claude, and from this point on, their bond is solidified during hours of translation and dictation. Decisively obtaining a sense of purpose in his once believed dreadful state, Jean finds elation through work on his personal memoir, “My whole body is encased in a kind of diving suit. My task now is to write the motionless travel notes from a castaway on the shores of loneliness.” With his newfound positive outlook on the future, Jean’s condition throws him yet another curve ball. While visiting with a friend, and displaying his new ability to sing song through tone, he begins to choke and pneumonia sets in. In the bed of an intensive care unit, Jean passes away two days after the French publication of his personal memoir. The film eloquently depicts the ultimate dichotomy between an exuberant and jovial lifestyle, with immobility and losing ones ‘sense of self.’
Taking into consideration accuracy of the portrayed disorder in the film, I rate the work 5 out of 5. By employing a first-person perspective throughout the film, the viewer is thrust into the world of a patient with ‘locked-in syndrome.’ Struggle, sorrow, joy and internal conflict all become surreal through this representation. Pertaining to an educational value, both in a collegiate environment and for persons who may have minimal understanding of complex neurological terminology and disorders, I also rate the film 5 out of 5. The directors ability to depict an entire spectrum of the condition, from onset to termination, complete with symptoms associated with the illness, along with psychological turmoil experienced by the patient, make the film an excellent teaching supplement. Comparing to other dramas, this film is a smidgen slow and takes sometime for the plot to truly develop, 3 out of 5 for entertainment value. The movie was highly interesting, thought provoking, and at times, emotional, but my interests in the realm of film and theatre are highly eclectic. Given brief scenes of nudity, the film would not be recommended for ages under 12. In just shy of two hours, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly enables the viewer to transport themselves into a world of stark colors and vivid imagination. After this journey, the viewer will have a genuine appreciation of the dichotomy between life and death.
References
American Stroke Association. (2017). Stroke warning signs and symptoms. Retrieved from http://www.strokeassociation.org/STROKEORG/WarningSigns/Stroke-Warning-Signs-and-Symptoms_UCM_308528_SubHomePage.jsp
Aysal, F., Bakac, G., Baybas, S., Dayan, C., Demirci, S. & Yalciner, B. (2010). Risk factors that affect recurrence in strokes. Paris, FR: Dusunen Adam. Retrieved from http://www.library.drexel.edu/cgi-bin/r.cgi/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/755429654?accountid=10559
Delargy, M. & Smith, E. (2005). Locked-in syndrome. London, UK: British Medical Journal. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.330.7488.406
Kobert, L. J. (2008). Unlocking locked-in syndrome: University of Virginia researcher helps patients with complete paralysis, or locked-in syndrome, communicate. Washington, D.C: US Federal News Service. Retrieved from http://www.library.drexel.edu/cgi-bin/r.cgi/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/468439943?accountid=10559
Schnabel, J. (2007). The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. France.
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