How I Relate to the Movie 'Logan' as a Caretaker

As a comic book fan, I enjoy watching movies and TV series based on comic books. When they contain meaningful parallels with and/or commentary on life, I experience even more elation. Such was the case when I saw the movie “Logan” a few months agog. As a longtime fan of the X-men character Wolverine, I was enthralled by not just the acting, action and story, but the relationship between Logan and Professor Xavier as well. As a caretaker to a parent with a serious mental illness (SMI), the movie portrayed the nature of the work I, and so many others, do brilliantly and poignantly.

Being based a bit in the future from most other X-men movies, both characters are considerably older than how they are normally portrayed. Professor X is in his 90s and afflicted with a type of degenerative brain disease, perhaps Alzheimer’s. He is unable to take care of himself and, at times, due to his powerful telepathic powers going haywire, he becomes an imminent threat to others around him.

Alzheimer’s isn’t technically a SMI like schizophrenia, but there are similarities. Like with schizophrenia, people with Alzheimer’s can experience delusions and psychosis. Indeed, the immense difficulty in caring for someone with such a debilitating illness is captured in the very first scene between Professor X and Logan. Their relationship in the film takes an explicit father and son quality.

In this scene, Professor X is acting out a delusion. Ranting and raving, and erratically moving around in his electric wheelchair, he doesn’t even recognize Logan, the man he personally welcomed into the X-men and nurtured for decades. No backstory needs to be given to understand that Logan is exceedingly tired and frustrated with their situation. He engages with Professor X very little. He is most intent on giving the Professor medicine to help him calm down and sleep.

Research confirms the great strain and toll. According to the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC), for instance, 62 percent of caregivers of people with mental illness reported that their situation made their health worse. Such possible health problems include physical ones, like chronic conditions, along with psychological, such as stress, anxiety and depression. Some caregivers even resort to substance and/or alcohol abuse.

Along with battling virtually all of these problems, Logan also struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicidal thoughts. As any Wolverine fan knows, much of this can be attributed to his personal life and history. He has suffered tremendous pain and loss. Being Professor X’s caregiver should be seen as exacerbating his personal problems, however.

A large part of the strain and toll experienced by caregivers can be attributed to the hours required in doing the work. Along with regular cooking and cleaning, bathing and dressing and administering medications, there is constant monitoring of our loved one’s welfare, including through the night. There are also countless hours involved in case management and advocacy. Calls to doctors offices, figuring out health insurance rules and policies, and trying to access government services are all part of the job description. Financial stress is included and results from low pay and unpaid labor. In 2007, the estimated value of unpaid work for caregivers was at least $375 billion. 

There is also the stress of dealing with our loved ones when they are agitated or in a psychotic state. This aspect is, also, portrayed succinctly and beautifully in the first scene between Logan and Professor X. The difficulty for Logan in seeing and confronting Xavier when he is in a “crazed” state is made obvious before Logan even enters his room. A friend warns Logan that the Professor is having a “bad day.”

Logan is all too familiar with the unpleasantness that can happen when you see and hear psychotic behavior. His face when he enters the Professor’s room says it all. He is exasperated and even a bit resentful. The first time I heard and saw my mom talk to herself, I was deeply saddened and traumatized. Several years later, I’m more accepting and better at interacting with her, but seeing and hearing her talk with herself in an acute state is still very disconcerting. And while I try not to, I can get exasperated and resentful, too.

There are strategies one can employ and things one absolutely shouldn’t do when a loved one is having a psychotic episode, like become angry and raise one’s voice. But frustration and impatience are inevitable, especially given the very limited social and familial support caregivers of people with SMI are given. According to NAC, more than 50 percent of caregivers feel isolated and alone. Relief or respite from duties, in our money driven society, is a luxury. Actual training for caregiving is virtually non-existent. And yes, estrangement from other family members and friends is a common phenomenon.

Logan takes place in a fictitious, dystopian world where mutants are on the verge of extinction, due to state sanctioned persecution and violence. The X-men are gone and Logan and Professor X virtually have nobody to rely on but each other. In the real world, mercenaries with robotic arms aren’t chasing us and our loved ones down, but we often feel we are forced to claw for survival for ourselves and loved ones, nonetheless. Along with having little legal recourse in getting help for my mother’s untreated SMI, I’m thoroughly fed up dealing with impersonal and unresponsive government and health care bureaucrats who make it clear, time and time again, they are pretty indifferent to our plight.

Despite the difficulty of it all, Logan’s loyalty to Professor X is unwavering. One of the underlying themes in the movie is the importance of family. Keeping Professor X safe seems to be the main reason Logan ends up not taking his own life. Interspersed in the regular feuding between them, there is obvious compassion and caring.

In a similar way, caregivers of people with SMI know that as difficult as things are, we must remain committed to our loved ones. They have already struggled enough, some of them, like my mom, spending time homeless. Finding and living in peace is a universal noble goal, after all. And it’s what my favorite comic book character is able to fortunately find by the end of the movie.

Follow this journey on Benevolent Neglect.

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Lead photo via Logan’s Facebook page