Depression is a condition of general emotional dejection and withdrawal. A sadness greater and more prolonged than that warranted by any objective reason. The prose text "The Hanged Man" deals with such an issue in great depth and the physical problems that can follow this psychological disorder. As does the film text, Gia, only the film also presents the emotions and pain felt by the central character with extensive technique.

"The Hanged Man" is a simple, yet complex prose text. Which attracts, but also disturbs and contradicts itself in countless ways, as it presents the Laurel's struggle with depression. "The Hanged Man" is unsettling as it symbolises the action of paradox in our lives. Laurel the central character in the text, is haunted by a legacy of family secrets, hidden shame, and shattered glass after her father's death. Laurel immerses herself in the toil and turmoil of teenage depression. The subsequent dilemmas that Laurel deals with are that of something wild, caged, and pacing. Slowly Laurel begins to lose herself, battling the troubles of

The overcoming of depression is seen later on in both "Gia" and "The Hanged Man." The major difference between the two stories is that Laurel realises the unneeded pain she is inflicting on herself and the little benefit it is having on her life early enough to save herself from extended harm. The increased positive attitude seen in Laurel's character and the realisation of the harm she is inflicted upon herself, are presented my means of cheerful imagery and positive simile usage. Gia realises the harsh emotional and physical pain she is inflicting on herself. We see much fear is Gia's face as she comes to terms with the pain she in inflicting on herself. Cameras are centrally zooming in on her eyes several times throughout this stage of the movie and minimal lighting and music is used. After a long battle with drug rehabilitation she manages to become clean. Gia's face is happy and more lighting is used and there are more instances where the camera zooms in on Gia's sparkling eyes and smiling face. Unfortunately for her, the damage has already been done, as she consequently becomes aware of an AIDS contraction. The pain and regret felt by Gia is very strong. The sorrow in her face and eyes is zoomed up on and little is reduced to a minimum. Sorrowful music is played in the background as Gia sees her life before her eyes.

"Gia" shows us a life beyond the Vouge covers. Gia successfully portrays the torture involved in living a life of excess and fleeting pleasures. You could not help but feel at least slightly moved by her pain, even if she tries to heal it by taking up harmful regimes such as drugs, and hurts those closest to her, because her profession virtually encourages this.

Shattered dreams seem to be a key component to both the girl's depressions. Gia falls in love, with another model, Helen, a woman who visibly seen as being the total opposite of what Gia is. Helen is a gentle; fairly clean-cut individual who has her life planned out and is living it accordingly. Helen is presented as a happy, generally good person. The music played when Helen enters a room is chirpy and the bright lights seen present the viewer with a feel of stability in Helen's character. The love story component in the film tells the tragic affair in the equally painful context of Gia's downfall. The two women are strongly attracted to one another. This is strongly presented to the viewer by the usage of camera angles on the women's faces and the several uses of flashback camera work from Gia's face to Helen's, when both women are in the same room. Of course, yet, for Gia, the affair doesn't seem to revolve around sex, but around need. Gia wants someone to be with her, and there are a number of scenes where she pleas, begs, and in some cases smashes things because she can't get what she wants. Her fear of being left alone is so intense that when she phones Helen's apartment and gets the voice of a man, she runs away and creates havoc on the streets and on the police officer that tries to stop her. Similarly Laurel has a strong longing for her male friend Jack. She sees Jack as being the one to purify her and to take away a

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Approximate Word count = 2111
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)