Shutter Island        

The mind is a complex network of information. It has enough power to send a man to the man and cure diseases that have ravaged mankind for thousands of years. It is also a sensitive and delicate piece to ourselves and how we live. The littlest things can spark memories and reactions that can change how we live. That being said, “Shutter Island” showed just how truly delicate the human mind is. Teddy was a regular man changed by the tragic murder of his children by his deranged wife.

It is truly a sad story. A young man who fought valiantly for his country, who encountered one of the worst doings of mankind since we have been on this sacred planet; then, take into consideration that he was an alcoholic and his wife was clinically insane. This is a recipe for complete mental meltdown and disaster. It would drive any man mad. The children he holds dearest to him, taken, and all by the woman he has learned to trust. It makes for an interesting case of denial and psychological treatment. Teddy has convinced himself that he is a different person just to avoid the responsibility of their deaths. He has denied it to the point that he is on a cycle where his beliefs are running from the truth.

He ventures into the unknown and tries to find a truth that just doesn’t exist. He is faced with a prisoner’s dilemma. But, this dilemma isn’t with another individual. This dilemma is with him. His brain got to him and it ended up costing him in the end. It truly is a shame that this man had to go through what he did in this film. To see what Teddy saw and by giving us an insight to what events led to his mental breakdown; let us understand how truly fragile the human mind is. It also showed the unconventional methods of the way we treated these “patients”. Chains and cages were reserved for the worst of the worst. Ward C was only used for the worst of the worst. For Teddy to see this was what I believe, to be the thing to really drive him over the wall. To see what shape these men were in and how they reacted to which the environment they were placed.

This was an interesting movie. It was one that made you think while also providing the possibilities for your brain to wander. By letting us think, it allows us to be Teddy and think like him. It allows to see how all these moments can impact how you live your life. Ted let the agony and defeat to break him down mentally. The human brain can be so easily changed. Any idea or belief can fool you into believing reality. This is what happened to Teddy. The years of wear and tear wore him down to the point that all it took was a spark to send him past the safety on a mental barrier.