The 1974 film A Woman Under the Influence directed by John Cassavetes is about a unhappy housewife who is struggling with a mental illness in a society where mental illnesses are not often talked about. She is married to Nick, a construction worker who doesn’t understand the way she behaves. While most of the audience would think that Cassavetes is trying to portray his wife with the character of Mabel that is not the actual case. In reality Mabel and her situation were Cassavetes’ representation of his own life and imaginative stance. On the other hand Nick, Mabel’s Husband, were Cassavetes’ representation of his wife Gena.

In the review of the film A woman Under the Influence by Ray Carney, Cassavetes’ is described as an emotionally demanding man who struggles with his manic and depressive states , and who is frustrated by the understanding of what was and was not regarded as normal behavior. “In both his manic and depressive states, Cassavetes “misbehaved” performatively, emotionally, verbally, socially, and sexually, to a degree that stretches the limits of plausibility for anyone not familiar with the heights and depths of serious manic-depressive illness—astonishing and inspiring his friends with his bravado and terrifying his enemies (and his loved ones) with the rages fueled by the massive consumption of alcohol he used to self-medicate his mood swings” (Carney). Then Carney goes and says that for anyone who is familiar with Cassavetes’ behavior automatically knows that Mabel is a gender changed self-portrait of her creator. He also adds that for anyone who knows how Cassavetes’ marriage with Gena Rowlands works they would automatically know that Nick is a gender-changed portrait of Rowlands because of her emotional conservatism and fear of scandal

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A woman under the influence confused and sharply divided representative of the Flourishing “women’s movement”. A lot of people defended the character of Mabel while others argued that Cassavetes’ vision of mabel was unrealistic and too crazy to identify with. In a decade where the women role models were strong and emotionally stable, Mabel’s emotional extremity and her desperate quest to be loved and accepted were disapproved. Mental illness was something people feared talking about because, just like the film shows, they were scared to get sent away.

I am completely convinced that in no doubt Mabel was a self-portrait of Cassavetes’. Cassavetes said things that he was not supposed to say, revealed emotional facts he should have revealed, violated understandings about what was and was not acceptable to say and do, just like Mabel. I believe that rather than portraying a mistreated housewife, Cassavetes wanted to portrait the struggles that a person with a mental illness would go through during that time since he had been through it. I believe Cassavetes is trying to raise awareness about the issue and tell his audience that they are not alone.

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was unrealistic and too crazy to identify with. In a decade where the women role models were strong and emotionally stable, Mabel’s emotional extremity and her desperate quest to be loved and accepted were disapproved. Mental illness was something people feared talking about because, just like the film shows, they were scared to get sent away.