OCD in Media.

[Das Platyvark]

I'm writing a research paper on media portrayals of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and I would be deeply appreciative if y'all could suggest some works in which it shows up as a major theme. Movies & Television are central, but I'd be very happy if anyone could turn up a game in which it's significant.
Thanks in advance!

[Mando Knight]

OCD in media tends to be overblown, AFAIK. Here's examples. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SuperOCD)

[Dr.Epic]

I'd be very happy if anyone could turn up a game in which it's significant.

Does Psychonauts count?

[The Glyphstone]

Monk is the only prominent example I can think of.

[Selrahc]

Girls had the OCD of the main character as a prominent issue going into the back half of season 2.

EDIT: Incidentally, that TV tropes can almost be used as an exemplar of everything wrong with the site. The explanatory article is a confused jumble, and the examples given of characters are basically "That guy is SOOOO fussy lol!".

[endoperez]

Xenocide, one of the sequels to Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, features OCD.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenocide

Some plot spoilers follow


One of the planets described in the books has been socially engineered to resemble ancient China. The populous has been manipulated genetically in two ways: they have better intellectual capabilities, and stronger compulsion to follow orders. OCD is one of the ways in which the latter modification becomes apparent.

The fact that a whole planet's population was genetically modified for political reasons and for complacency is shown as a negative thing. The OCD, the result of this modification, is also shown in a negative light. It is something intelligent people suffer from, that they would like to get rid of. However, it's also shown to now be a part of their culture and traditions, and when a magical cure is offered, at least one character chooses to act as if under OCD to uphold the traditions.

[VeisuItaTyhjyys]

Matchstick Men used the central character's OCD more as a symbol than a plot point.

[KillianHawkeye]

I think Mel Gibson's character in the film Conspiracy Theory is a pretty good example.

[Mordar]

Dr. Sheldon Cooper in Big Bang Theory comes to mind.

There was also an excellent episode of Scrubs (with Michael J Fox guest-starring) that addressed it in what seemed to me a very understanding and compassionate fashion.

Sleeping with the Enemy has elements of OCD in a very unpleasant story, and with extra wrinkles.

- M

[Traab]

Hannerlore from the webcomic Questionable Content (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1) has numerous issues, OCD being one of them. She isnt a main character or anything but there is a pretty solid progression of her character over time.

[pita]

Jack Nicholson's character in As Good As It Gets has OCD. The movie tends to bug me due to a few plot elements I particularly despise, but everyone else I know who's seen it thinks it's absolutely amazing.
Questionable Content (questionablecontent.net) has a character who joins at the 700 mark or so who has OCD.
And, as mentioned before, Monk is all about the main character's OCD.

[Gnoman]

Some of Jonathan Kellerman's novels feature OCD to some extent.

[Senator Cybus]

There was also an excellent episode of Scrubs (with Michael J Fox guest-starring) that addressed it in what seemed to me a very understanding and compassionate fashion.

+1. Best portayal of an OCD sufferer that I've ever seen. Fox really seemed to get it.

You might also want to look at the character of guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury in Glee. As she's been in the show since the start, you get to see her struggle with the illness over time - including her initial resistance to actually dealing with it, which is handled pretty realistically.

[thubby]

the media does everything wrong. if they didn't, the arts wouldnt keep improving.

that said, I've found that OCD has gotten a far better shake than anything else related to psych disorders.

[Shadow of the Sun]

As someone with OCD, I find that Hannelore from Questionable Content is one of the best portrayals I've seen in media. Probably because Jeph Jacques is Obsessive-Compulsive himself.

Too many portrayals focus on the compulsion aspect, which is secondary; it's really the obsessions that are the core of the illness; the compulsions are just a way of dealing with the obsessions. And most OCD folks don't want to talk about their obsessions, because they're...not nice.

[Sith_Happens]

That's definitely quite a few as far as (semi)-serious examples go.

Meanwhile, if you want an example of comically-exaggerated OCD, look no further than Death the Kid from Soul Eater.

[Lord Seth]

Dr. Sheldon Cooper in Big Bang Theory comes to mind.Not really. Even if he has OCD traits, the series has never stated what, if any, disorder he actually has.

Monk is probably the biggest example I can think of.

[Lvl45DM!]

A less overstated example would be Robert De Niro in Silver Linings Playbook. His obsessions form a good third of the plot though his compulsions are low key

[Traab]

Talking about OCD in media reminded me of something. Any old timers in the playground remember the nickelodean show Double Dare? It was a game show where families would do a combination of quiz show and physical challenges. The physical challenges always involved things like slime, shaving cream, chocolate sauce, and other fun items to make a mess out of yourself. The host? He had a fairly large case of ocd. They showed his home and he had all the standard stuff like everything having to be precisely where he wanted it, down to the rug tassels in his living room. He also didnt much like being touched. And they made THIS GUY the host of a show where you have screaming messy kids jumping around and hugging you, pulling you down into pits of slime on a regular basis, and all sorts of things that would turn most ocd sufferers into panicking wrecks. And this guy pulled it off for years with a smile on his face. I cant even imagine what it was like for him to come down after the show was over each night.

[Winthur]

Day of the Wacko (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbu3p071wfg) has a rather depressing example.

The whole movie is on YT with English subs, last I checked.

[Das Platyvark]

Just to clarify, I'm not so much looking for positive or realistic portrayals as trying to work out what the general trend is. That said, I'm going to be watching some Monk, along with whatever else seems especially popular.

[Caesar]

watch pi. protagonist is definitely OCD.

[Sith_Happens]

watch pi. protagonist is definitely OCD.

If you mean this (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi_(film)) "Pi," the main character of it is schizophrenic, not OCD.

[Caesar]

From your link:


Like most of Aronofsky's films, Pi centers on a protagonist whose obsessive pursuit of ideas leads to severely self-destructive behavior.

And that is pretty much the definition of OCD, at least "as hollywood portrays it" as the OP requested. In real life, it would be more like the obsessive need to wash your hands and check that the oven is really off several hundred times every single day.

Schizophrenia on the other hand is typically more chaotic and broken, focus is hard to keep except in the rarer cases where the voice(s) demand achievement of a specific goal.

[Marillion]

There was an episode of Criminal Minds that had a serial killer who suffered from OCD. I thought it seemed pretty realistic compared to other depictions, but I have no real-life basis for comparison.

[Kindablue]

From your link:



And that is pretty much the definition of OCD, at least "as hollywood portrays it" as the OP requested. In real life, it would be more like the obsessive need to wash your hands and check that the oven is really off several hundred times every single day.

Schizophrenia on the other hand is typically more chaotic and broken, focus is hard to keep except in the rarer cases where the voice(s) demand achievement of a specific goal.

Pi doesn't say anything about mass media attitudes to OCD if it isn't an attempt to portray someone afflicted by it.

[GoblinArchmage]

Talking about OCD in media reminded me of something. Any old timers in the playground remember the nickelodean show Double Dare? It was a game show where families would do a combination of quiz show and physical challenges. The physical challenges always involved things like slime, shaving cream, chocolate sauce, and other fun items to make a mess out of yourself. The host? He had a fairly large case of ocd. They showed his home and he had all the standard stuff like everything having to be precisely where he wanted it, down to the rug tassels in his living room. He also didnt much like being touched. And they made THIS GUY the host of a show where you have screaming messy kids jumping around and hugging you, pulling you down into pits of slime on a regular basis, and all sorts of things that would turn most ocd sufferers into panicking wrecks. And this guy pulled it off for years with a smile on his face. I cant even imagine what it was like for him to come down after the show was over each night.

I remember that show. The host actually wrote a book about his experiences.


watch pi. protagonist is definitely OCD.


If you mean this (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi_(film)) "Pi," the main character of it is schizophrenic, not OCD.

OCD is not an adjective, thank you very much.