Sharp Objects on HBO
In the years since I first began researching self-injury or cutting back in the early 1990s, public interest in the subject has grown dramatically from very low—when I wrote the first magazine cover story on the subject—to new highs in recent years. Actually, what I think is that there was--even twenty years ago, an amazing amount of interest and urgent need to know--but that was limited mainly to young girls and sometimes their families and that interest was kept submerged from public view. The subject was considered “taboo” in the traditional media, especially before the first edition of A Bright Red Scream was published in 1999. What followed seemed like a torrent of media coverage that has never stopped and cutting then found its way into popular culture.
Recently, I’ve been watching the much talked about HBO series called Sharp Objects based on the novel by Gillian Flynn which features a central character who is a cutter played by actress Amy Adams. Entertainment Weekly recently interviewed Ms. Adams about her role in the series and especially about her characters deep involvement with cutting. I’m pleased to hear that in preparation for the role, Amy Adams relied on A Bright Red Scream, which was recommended to her by author Gillian Flynn, apparently as the most important thing to read to help her understand the psychology of cutting. As she says in the interview, “I did a lot of research. I read a book called A Bright Red Scream, and read about people’s emotional release that comes with the cutting. It’s a very complicated issue, and if anyone’s curious, I highly recommend that book, because it’s beautifully written and people are so candid.”
Amy Adams reiterates a key point from my book—something that is still misunderstood by people—that cutting offers, for those who become cutters, a form of relief, not a source of pain as such. As she says of her character, “when she’s doing that…that’s her relief.”
Of course, as Sharp Objects is showing, the very thing that offers temporary relief is very problematic and with Amy Adams’ character is intertwined with other addictions. As I’m writing this the series is still in progress so I can’t offer any assessment of it, but I am pleased with the effort Adams has made to understand at what cutting is all about.
In the years since I first began researching self-injury or cutting back in the early 1990s, public interest in the subject has grown dramatically from very low—when I wrote the first magazine cover story on the subject—to new highs in recent years. Actually, what I think is that there was--even twenty years ago, an amazing amount of interest and urgent need to know--but that was limited mainly to young girls and sometimes their families and that interest was kept submerged from public view. The subject was considered “taboo” in the traditional media, especially before the first edition of A Bright Red Scream was published in 1999. What followed seemed like a torrent of media coverage that has never stopped and cutting then found its way into popular culture.
Recently, I’ve been watching the much talked about HBO series called Sharp Objects based on the novel by Gillian Flynn which features a central character who is a cutter played by actress Amy Adams. Entertainment Weekly recently interviewed Ms. Adams about her role in the series and especially about her characters deep involvement with cutting. I’m pleased to hear that in preparation for the role, Amy Adams relied on A Bright Red Scream, which was recommended to her by author Gillian Flynn, apparently as the most important thing to read to help her understand the psychology of cutting. As she says in the interview, “I did a lot of research. I read a book called A Bright Red Scream, and read about people’s emotional release that comes with the cutting. It’s a very complicated issue, and if anyone’s curious, I highly recommend that book, because it’s beautifully written and people are so candid.”
Amy Adams reiterates a key point from my book—something that is still misunderstood by people—that cutting offers, for those who become cutters, a form of relief, not a source of pain as such. As she says of her character, “when she’s doing that…that’s her relief.”
Of course, as Sharp Objects is showing, the very thing that offers temporary relief is very problematic and with Amy Adams’ character is intertwined with other addictions. As I’m writing this the series is still in progress so I can’t offer any assessment of it, but I am pleased with the effort Adams has made to understand at what cutting is all about.