MHP Open Lecture: Girl, interrupted on her quest

MHP Open Lecture: Girl, interrupted on her quest

James Mangold’s film Girl, Interrupted (1999) represents an interesting example of “institution film” that intersects with literary metaphorical perspectives. The borders of the institution’s sections, mirroring the fragmentation of the inmates’ personalities, are revealed to transcend their panoptical aim and become porous, expressing the inmates’ active redefinition of their selves. They are guided in this by Lisa, diagnosed as a sociopath, but who is both a Hyde-like life force which highlights issues of social and identity power, and Baum’s Wicked Witch of the West for Susanna in her quest for her own inner strength. The film’s title recalls Vermeer’s painting seemingly alluding to the engaging gaze of the protagonist, trying to reach beyond her framed setting.

Enrolment is not required, and the lecture is open to the public.

The lecture is associated with Modern Literatures, Arts, and Cultures program, specifically with the MA seminar on Topics in North American Studies: Introduction to Narrative Medicine in Literature, Cinema, and TV in the U.S.A. and Canada and the PhD seminar on Topics in North American Studies: Narrative Medicine in Literature, Cinema, and TV in the U.S.A. and Canada. It is promoted by the Medical Humanities Project based in ULICES.

Date: 8 May 2025
Schedule: 17.00-18.30
Venue: FLUL Room A202 – Anfiteatro IV
Speaker: Sidia Fiorato (University of Verona)