Please Stop Diagnosing Darth Vader with Borderline Personality Disorder to Teach Undergraduates about Neurodivergence (And Talk About Bipolar Zelda Instead)

Abstract

This article will examine the surprisingly prolific advocacy for the use of characters from the Star Wars franchise (1977-2024) to teach neurodivergence. While Star Wars is a specific example, it is utilized here as a focus for the larger issue within academia of the uncritical use of popular culture media for diagnostic pedagogy (defined here as the use of teaching methods designed to help students understand the processes of diagnoses). Responsible diagnostic pedagogy must be reflective of the immense power medical professionals have over their patients’ lives, avoid dehumanizing dis/ability, and incorporate the voices of people with dis/abilities. While Star Wars is a popular media franchise that students may engage with, its use in diagnostic pedagogy ignores dis/abled lived experience, intersectionality, and often relies on a gross misunderstanding of the text.

This article will therefore explore how pedagogy utilizing the Star Wars franchise acts as a problematic example of the medical model that also ignores basic media theory. The case of bipolar Zelda (a pop culture phenomenon arising after the release of The Great Gatsby [2013]) will be analyzed as a far more productive counterexample. Specifically, this essay will argue that ‘bipolar Zelda’ succeeds where Star Wars fails because it invites intersectional discussions centering around issues of power and oppression.