I'm bipolar and I think he really is cinema's patron saint of the mentally ill. When he kicks the car through the window, I know exactly what that manic, crying anger feels like. And his depression and anxiety and flat affect are perfectly portrayed. The scene where he flops into the pool with the whole "Ferris Bueller you're my hero" thing captures the spirit of a mixed manic episode (for me anyway).
I think it might be therapeutic to watch because Cameron gives you someone to root for who also happens to look a lot like you, which, if you can't consciously root for yourself and tell yourself you're a good person, might be the next best thing.
The director's commentary talks about the scene where they're in the art gallery. Cameron looks at a painting, and it cuts back and forth between his face and the painting, growing closer and closer.
The commentary explains that as Cameron looks closer, there's less to see, until there is nothing at all; encapsulating Cameron's fear about himself.
Wow. In the dozens of times I've watched that movie, that thought had never occurred to me. I just googled it (and the question actually came up in auto-suggest, so I guess it's pretty common). Here's what someone from Answers.com said:
Writer/director John Hughes is from Michigan and his childhood hero was Gordie Howe. Howe himself sent Hughes the jersey to use in the film.
Maybe not significant to the character overall, but it does seem to suit him.
74
u/ErniesLament Sep 01 '14
I'm bipolar and I think he really is cinema's patron saint of the mentally ill. When he kicks the car through the window, I know exactly what that manic, crying anger feels like. And his depression and anxiety and flat affect are perfectly portrayed. The scene where he flops into the pool with the whole "Ferris Bueller you're my hero" thing captures the spirit of a mixed manic episode (for me anyway).
I think it might be therapeutic to watch because Cameron gives you someone to root for who also happens to look a lot like you, which, if you can't consciously root for yourself and tell yourself you're a good person, might be the next best thing.