Heartland: Harvey (1950)
Almost 75 years old after its release, this comedy is still relevant to discussing the stigmas associated with mental health
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While watching Harvey, I couldn’t help but view it through my clinical lens. By day, I’m a licensed mental-health therapist practicing in the state of Indiana. I work directly with individuals who have mental health needs, so the topic is persistently on my mind. For others, you may hear the topic on the news, but usually after some type of a tragedy.
Day-in and day-out, the topic of “mental health” is being discussed more often in the mainstream, highlighting that there’s a need to raise awareness. Unfortunately, while watching Harvey it seemed that not much has changed since the 50s in terms of America’s large cultural awareness on the subject, nor what to do with people with such ailments. Harvey answers that question eloquently.
Elwood P. Dowd (James Stewart) is one of the most polite characters I’ve ever seen in a film. He literally introduces himself to everyone he meets and gives them a business card with his home phone number (if Elwood lived in a bigger town, he’d likely have needed more than a blazer pocketful).
Alone, this might be considered odd behavior, but nothing truly bizarre, right? But after handing out his business card, Elwood would promptly introduce people to his imaginary friend Harvey. According to Elwood’s account, Harvey is a 6-foot tall bunny who accompanies him everywhere. Although Harvey is invisible, Elwood gives us a sense of his physical presence (opening doors for him, pulling out chairs, asking him questions, etc.).
It’s the invisible bunny that scares people away. Immediately, people dismiss Elwood’s kindness and give some type of categorical response:
Run away in horror due to the stigma
Take advantage of it
These are the typical responses from Elwood’s fellow townsfolk. Early on, we see how society treats Elwood when a random bar patron charges a drink to Harvey’s tab. Further amplifying this unwelcoming atmosphere, Elwood’s family starts to feel stigmatized because of perceptions about their family (guilty by association).
Elwood’s sister Veta (Josephine Hull who’s portrayal won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress) and niece Myrtle May (Victoria Horne) attempt to have Elwood committed to the Psychiatric Hospital (referred to in the movie as a “Sanitarium”). I had a feeling the film would take a turn into tragic territory (a la “One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest”) as Harvey’s family attempts to have him chemically-lobotomized, but luckily Harvey this stayed well within the comedy genre.
Stewart’s portrayal of Elwood is so likeable, that the characters around him seem to evolve by the film’s conclusion. Even the psychiatrist Dr. Chumley (Cecil Kellaway), treating physician (D. Sanderson), and medical nurse Miss Kelly (Peggy Dow) all come to a place of non-judgement about Elwood and his condition. It’s this place of non-judgment and understanding that the characters experienced that will help us, as a society, reach the next step: seeking appropriate treatment for people.