Agoraphobia and the Norwegian film “Buddy”
The main psychological issue shown in the film “Buddy” is agoraphobia, which is known as a fear of open spaces and public places. In reality, sufferers of agoraphobia are afraid of anything outside a certain “safe area”. This fear can sometimes become so great it limits the person from ever leaving, usually trapping them inside their own home. The agoraphobic character in “Buddy,” Stig Inge, does not have as small a safe area as a home, but he is still limited from leaving his safe area because of fear. Stig Inge’s safe area is the Toyen Center in which he lives. This area allows him to purchase groceries and live with agoraphobia without many difficulties. Unfortunately, this is also why he is able to go for so long without overcoming his agoraphobia: he does not need to overcome it to continue living. Because of that, he does not have more pressure on him to overcome it, which possibly makes it easier to give up. Stig Inge battles this fear throughout the film, until he finally conquers it with the help of his friend Kristoffer.
Stig Inge is not the only character in the film who is shown to have a psychological issue. In fact, nearly every main character has an issue to deal with throughout the course of the movie. The main character, Kristoffer, has issues with commitment. When his girlfriend asks for the keys to his place, he begins to worry, fearing the supposedly rapid progression of their relationship, to the point of asking for his keys back. This causes his girlfriend to question if their relationship is moving forward at all, and she ends up breaking up with him. Kristoffer then spends most of the movie trying to move on, and dealing with both the stress caused by his breakup and his new hit Television show, which begins to pull his friends away from him.
Kristoffer is also the only character in the film whose issues are never shown to be completely resolved. He has trouble moving a relationship forward, and by the end of the movie he is in another relationship. He never really goes further in any relationship during the movie, so we can only wonder if he really overcame his fear of commitment. His friends, though, manage to make obvious advances in facing their issues.
The other main character shown to have psychological issues is Geir, who is a reluctant father. Near the beginning of the film, he goes through great lengths to avoid being seen by the mother of his young son. When he finally meets his son, he takes it hard at first and does not want to have to deal with the issues he represents. Later on, however, he begins to appreciate him and see him in a proud way. Kristoffer’s television segment eventually reveals to the boy that Geir is his father, which causes some tension between Kristoffer and Geir, but Geir eventually becomes the father figure he was afraid he could not be. His fear of being a terrible father kept him from wanting to be a father. By the end of the movie, Geir is a proud father and has mended his friendship with Kristoffer.
Psychotherapy is often used in films, yet very rarely in a completely accurate manner. Instead, it is portrayed as the script needs it to be portrayed, and accuracy is sacrificed for the storyline. “The primary objective of the film industry is to create an evocative and entertaining storyline, not to accurately display the theoretical complexities and sophistication of the world’s professions” (Orchowski, Spickard, McNamara, 507). Many films take a few liberties with the reality of some psychological problems to suit the needs of the story. The film “Buddy,” while it does take small liberties with agoraphobia, takes fewer liberties than most other Hollywood movies and stays relatively true to the actual symptoms. However, the character Stig Inge’s panic attacks seem born of his agoraphobia only, and his agoraphobia is not given any indication of being caused by a panic attack, as is mostly the case. “About half of panic-disordered patients develop the symptoms of agoraphobia.” (Gassner, 223). Instead, his agoraphobia is never given any explanation of its origin. Another thing that does not quite ring true is Stig’s ability to completely get over his fear after a single incident. Normally, a panic attack reinforces a person’s agoraphobia, because they fear having another panic attack. “These are patients who believe they might be able to protect themselves from experiencing a recurrence of panic if they restrict their activity and use avoidant strategies such as remaining homebound” (Gassner, 223). Panic attacks can lead to agoraphobia. The film, however, shows the character Stig Inge supposedly being cured after recovering from one.
One interesting possibility is that Stig Inge is not cured, but has his “avoidant strategies” expand to include remaining near his friends Kristoffer and Geir. Since Kristoffer helps him recover from one panic attack, it would make sense Stig Inge would feel safe from future attacks while around him, instead of only feeling safe within the Toyen Center. Aside from the one time which resulted in an attack, he is never seen or indicated to have left without either Kristoffer or Geir nearby. Regardless, the film manages to correctly portray agoraphobia (even though its actual name is never mentioned in the movie) as a fear of leaving a “safe place,” and shows Stig Inge having what is clearly a panic attack when he forces himself to leave. Even if the film illustrates wrong details of agoraphobia, it at least manages to correctly show what agoraphobia is.
I found the film interesting myself, and I identify with Stig Inge to some degree. I have some obsessive-compulsive tendencies, as does Stig, but neither of us has enough to be diagnosed as having obsessive-compulsive disorder. The film techniques used when Stig Inge was having a panic attack really drew me in and had me genuinely worried about him. I was happy when he faces his fear and overcame it.
Kristoffer, on the other hand, struck me as having no real moral aside from the friendship one. Any problems he has involving relationships become moot for the moment during the end, when he begins a completely new relationship. When the movie began, it gave the impression it would have a relationship themed storyline, which it did, but the relationship part of it never seems to reach a resolution to me. Instead, a new relationship starts the cycle over again. To me, the movie seems to have a mixed ending; where many characters come to a resolution and face their fears directly, the main character did not seem to.
The film “Buddy” shows us a small group of friends, each with their own problems and issues. Throughout the movie, we watch them struggle and strive with their inner problems, the ones life throws at them, and the ones they accidentally inflict on one another. In the end, they supposedly have come to terms with their problems and can go on to live a happier life. Whether or not this is true, the fact remains “Buddy” is a film of psychological struggle, and portrays both common and uncommon difficulties people could face in life. The issues in psychology play a part in this movie, and help to shape the storyline into a romantic comedy with a bit of a psychological perspective. This film leaves me with senses of enjoyment, relief, and a slight worry and discomfort that the issues the characters faced within it may not be gone for good.
Bibliography
- “Cinema and the Valuing of Psychotherapy: Implications for Clinical Practice.” McNamara, John R.; Orchowski, Lindsay M.; Spickard, Brad A. – pages 506-514
- “The Role of Traumatic Experience in Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia.” Gassner, Suzanne M. – pages 222-243
- http://www.moviepie.com/filmfests/buddy.htm
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371589/
- “Understanding Movies” eleventh edition by: Louis Giannetti
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This article helped me further understand agoraphobia. Before seeing the film, I had never heard of agoraphobia, and after reading this article, I can see how Stig Inge’s case may be compared and contrasted to real cases of agoraphobia.