What is normal? Who decides what normal is? I don't think human beings can ever be narrowed down to a classification of whether they are "normal" or not. People are just too complex and different that it is not possible. Not only could someone narrow down characteristics that people should attain to be "normal" but who would be given that authority to determine that. Is someone not normal because they have a different opinion than others? Is someone not normal because they express them selves in a unique way? Is someone not normal because they were raised in a very strict home? Is someone not normal because they like a certain TV show? Is someone not normal because they don't own a TV?
I could go on and on and on about what things are considered "normal" and abnormal, but I won't. Mostly because I wouldn't be making a point. Normal does have a technical definition, but I don't think it can be used as an adjective. Was Susanna from Girl, Interrupted not normal because she wished to become a writer and did not go to college? Maybe she wasn't considered "normal" by those around her but she was not mentally insane. She may have overdosed on drugs because she was trying to escape her life where she was constantly being told she was not "normal." Normality was not what she needed to achieve, but the realization that nothing is "normal" and that she was fine just the way she is. By the end of the movie I think she came to terms with who she was and that is how she could move on with her life.
I think you bring up many interesting points regarding the question of "What is normal?" Normality is a strange concept because we often strive to be a part of it just as much as we sometimes wish to strive away from it.
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