Season 1 – Six Schizophrenic Brothers

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Acacia P. @AcaciaMP Nov 15 This documentary was okay, but I thought it would be more insightful about schizophrenia instead of a family telling a sad story. They don’t seem to be very educated on schizophrenia which was surprising to me. I also do not think this documentary helps others understand the schizophrenia disorder at all and really gives it a bad stigma. The siblings that tell the stories mostly feel bad for their parents (which is mentioned over and over), themselves, and their siblings that were not ill, but fail miserably to understand that their siblings who suffered from the disease lived very horrible lives themselves at no fault of their own. It’s understandable that they lived through a lot and so did their parents and of course that is very difficult, but it’s more difficult for a person to live a normal life and then have a disease you have no control over take it away from you and even put you in a mental institution. Their inability to see that is astounding. What a heartbreaking thing for that whole family to live through. See more Heather K @RT37276475 01/03/2025 For a documentary that claims to be trying to be de stigmatizing, it sure went out of its way to portray the brothers story in the most stereotypical and damaging way. Most people with schizophrenia arent violent, they are more likely to be the victims of violence, as much as this documentary wants you to believe otherwise. See more travis g @RT40538931 09/28/2024 The Galvin family’s experience, as portrayed in Six Schizophrenic Brothers, is a powerful story from which we can all learn about mental illness. My critique is not of the family, whose heroic journey deserves respect, but of HBO’s failure to tell their story effectively. If ever a series was rife with melodrama, this was it. The tragedy of the Galvin family requires no embellishment, yet the writing, directing, and production felt more fitting for a cheesy Lifetime drama. The repeated use of fire imagery, particularly the burning photographs, was excessive and only resonated once—when the eldest son, Donald, was mentioned burning family pictures. Beyond that, it was overdone. The broken mirror graphic used to symbolize a sibling’s diagnosis or death seemed tacky, evoking the cover of Sybil by Flora Rheta Schreiber, but with less taste. It felt like lazy production. The Galvin family made immense sacrifices, as the series shows, and their story is one we can all learn from. I do recommend watching it. However, my final critique is that the series should have focused more on the family’s experience and the science behind schizophrenia. We received little information about the causes and effects of the disorder, leaving viewers with a disjointed, overly dramatized version of what could have been an educational and already fascinating story—delivered on a Hallmark/Lifetime platter. As someone with a family member who suffers from this disorder and is now institutionalized after the tragic murder of his best friend, I believe this story deserved much better. See more Slick R @SlickReviewer 08/31/2024 Absolutely insane documentary. No pun intended. There has got to be something in the water. But most likely just in their DNA. Their family is just unlucky, and unfortunately none of them should have kids to save the world. If they made this into a movie with real actors this would be one of the craziest horror movies of all time. Honestly they should allow it and take the money so their kids can grow up in a safe and regular childhood. None of the siblings in that family grew up in a normal life except for the 2nd girl who got adopted by that other family and didn't have to grow up being raped like her sister. See more Jeff W @RT35437053 06/27/2024 the documentary was very insightful about schizophrenia. how that horrible mental illness just devastated that family. that being said it was amazing how that family went through those traumatizing times. that the illness did not destroy the entire family. in fact, the ones who were not affected by the illness went on to have very good lives. See more Shawna D @Beanieboo 06/20/2024 Very very slow and not much detail to the events that went on. Sad story no doubt. See more Read all reviews

Six Schizophrenic Brothers — Season 1

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