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Prozac Nation (sub-titled Young and Depressed in America : A Memoir) is an autobiography published in 1994 and written by Elizabeth Wurtzel. It describes the author's experiences with clinical depression. Autobiography (from the Greek auton, self, bios, life and graphein, write) is biography, the writing of a life story, from the viewpoint of the subject. ...
See also: 1993 in literature, other events of 1994, 1995 in literature, list of years in literature. ...
Elizabeth Wurtzel (born July 31, 1967 in New York City, New York, USA) is an American writer. ...
Jump to: navigation, search Clinical depression is a health condition of depression with mental and physical components reaching criteria generally accepted by clinicians. ...
Prozac Nation is also the name of an independent film based on the book. An independent film (or indie film) is a film initially produced without financing or distribution from a major movie studio. ...
The title of both is a reference to Prozac, the name of an antidepressant which Wurtzel is eventually prescribed. Background Fluoxetine hydrochloride (brand names include Prozac®, Symbyax® (compounded with olanzapine), Sarafem®, Fontex® (Sweden), Fluctine (Austria, Germany), Prodep (India), Fludac (India)) is an antidepressant drug used medically in the treatment of depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bulimia nervosa, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and many other disorders. ...
An antidepressant is a medication designed to treat or alleviate the symptoms of clinical depression; antidepressants function generally by interacting with the neurotransmitters (signalling chemicals) in the brain believed to influence mood. ...
Book
In the book (1997 edition: ISBN 1573225126), Wurtzel describes her experience with the depths of a depressive illness, her own character failings and how she managed to live through particularly difficult periods whilst completing college and working as a writer. Her honesty in relating episodes which often do not reflect well on her is a striking aspect of the book. This has polarised many readers and critics, with some denouncing Wurtzel as self-obsessed, indulgent and unlikeable, whilst others praising her for producing a frank and accessible account of an often stigmatised illness.
As an autobiographical account of experiences with mental illness it can be seen as the successor to books such as Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar and Joanne Greenberg's I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. Prozac Nation is also similar to Susanna Kaysen's Girl, Interrupted, a book published in the same year: both were written by articulate young women describing their experiences of mental illness. Jump to: navigation, search The Scream, the famous painting commonly thought of as depicting the experience of mental illness. ...
A self-portrait circa 1951. ...
The Bell Jar book cover The Bell Jar is Sylvia Plaths only novel, which was originally published under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas in 1963. ...
Susanna Kaysen is an American author born in 1948 and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ...
Girl, Interrupted is an autobiographical book by Susanna Kaysen first published in 1994, that relates the authors experience of being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and admission to McLean Hospital. ...
Some reviews, including one published in The Guardian ten years after its initial publication, suggest that comparisons to The Bell Jar are superficial: The Guardian is a British newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. ...
- The endless comparisons to The Bell Jar are, it has to be said, rather misplaced. Whereas Plath wrote with a kind of dispassionate economy, beautifully reflecting the numbness that came with her condition, Wurtzel's voice is brattish and splenetic, capturing the almost sociopathic side of depression that underpins the book's more unpalatable moments.
Jump to: navigation, search Antisocial personality disorder (APD), or dissocial personality disorder, is a personality disorder which is often characterised by antisocial and impulsive behaviour. ...
Film The book was turned into a motion picture directed by Erik Skjoldbjaerg and starring Christina Ricci, Jason Biggs, and Anne Heche. It had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2001; distribution rights were acquired by Miramax Films with the intent of giving the film a wider theatrical release. Jump to: navigation, search Image File history File links Prozac_Nation_film. ...
Jump to: navigation, search Image File history File links Prozac_Nation_film. ...
Jump to: navigation, search Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. ...
Christina Ricci Christina Ricci (born February 12, 1980 in Santa Monica, California, USA) is an American actress known for her appearance in The Addams Family films and Sleepy Hollow, as well as acting in independent films such as Buffalo 66, Prozac Nation, and The Opposite of Sex. ...
Jason Biggs (born May 12, 1978) is an Italian-American actor who is a native of New Jersey. ...
Anne Heche as Vicky Hudson on Another World Anne Heches audiobook cover Anne Heche (born May 25, 1969) is an American actress. ...
Poster for the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is widely considered to be one of the top film festivals in the world and is the premiere film festival in North America which the Oscars race begins from. ...
September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years). ...
Jump to: navigation, search 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...
Miramax is a Big Ten film distribution and production company. ...
Before the film was released, controversy erupted over comments Wurtzel, who lived near the World Trade Center in New York, made in February 2002 about the September 11, 2001 attacks: Jump to: navigation, search The September 11, 2001 attacks were a series of suicide attacks against the United States conducted on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. ...
- I had not the slightest emotional reaction. I thought, this is a really strange art project ... It was a most amazing sight in terms of sheer elegance. It fell like water. It just slid, like a turtleneck going over someone's head.... I just felt like everyone was overreacting. People were going on about it. That part really annoyed me.
Months of subsequent test screenings and re-edits never led to a broad commercial release. The film was released in Norway, Skjoldbjaerg's native country, in August 2003. The film never had a national release in the U.S. market. It premiered on the Starz! in March 2005, and was released on DVD that following summer. Starz! is a U.S. cable TV network which exclusively features motion pictures. ...
Frank Deasy, who co-wrote the screenplay, offered his opinion to The Guardian on Miramax's failure to release the film: A screenplay or script is a blueprint for producing a motion picture. ...
- It's a truthful depiction of depression. And I think the reason Miramax has struggled is the fact that it doesn't have a traditional dramatic structure, in terms of a clear, unqualified ending. Look at the book: Elizabeth is very clear that Prozac has helped her, but you're left with a dilemma, because perhaps she no longer knows who she is. We didn't want to come down heavily on one side or the other. People who've experienced depression like that aspect of the film, but a lot of people don't like it. Miramax certainly don't seem to like it.
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