The filmic "Other" as mentally ill (original) (raw)
Related papers
PubMed, 2009
As one of the most potent and substantial form of mass communication, film exercises a very significant influence upon the perceptions of the audience, especially in relation to mental illness issues, and that perception is very much blurred with populists' misinterpretation and lack of awareness regarding problems faced by persons suffering from mental disorders. Movies such as "Psycho", "One Flew Over Cuckoo's Nest", "Exorcist", despite being valuable in an artistic sense, corroborated and encouraged confusion and undermined the clarity and certainty concerning the fine line separating mental health from mental illness. Modern film makers and movie theoreticians try to overcome these limitations which are often generated by exploitation of stereotypes and myths referring to mentally ill people. This paper defines and discusses the most frequent thematic stereotypes seen in movies which are perpetuating stigmatization of mentally ill people. They are: free-spirited rebel, maniac on a killing spree, seducer, enlightened member of society, narcissistic parasite, beastly person (stereotype of animal sort). Psychiatry and cinematography are linked inseparably not only because they creatively complement each other, but also as an opportunity of mutual influences blending into didactical categories and professional driving forces, benefiting both the filmmakers' and the psychiatrists' professions.
Depictions of Mental Illness within the Medium of Modern Film
2021
This research sets out to analyse the current depictions of mental illness within movies released in this decade. The aim is to analyse mental illness portrayals through a medium that many within the public are familiar with and could have been influenced by (MPA, 2020). By doing this, the study aims to show what stigmatizing and stereotypical views the general public is exposed to. From 2010 to 2019, the most popular film of each year depicting mental illness was calculated using an instrumentation system and was included in the final list of 10 films portraying mental illness (one film from each year) which were the basis of the data analysis. The findings show that films were linking acute trauma with the emergence of mental illness, as 9 out of 10 movies show trauma in the forms of loss of a loved one and/or child abuse (psychical and sexual) as being the source of the manifestation of the mental illness. This is in line with research (Mueser, et al., 1998) which shows that trauma increases chances of mental illness within the individual and shows that there are elements of mental illness that are being depicted in a realistic view. Furthermore, 6 out of 10 movies referenced diagnosis or depicted characters receiving help from mental health professionals. Unfortunately, 4 out of these 6 films depicted these characters to be extremely violent during and after professional mental help which perpetuates the notion of mental care being ineffective in helping those in need, which takes away the positive influence the portrayal of persons seeking help could have achieved. Violence was seen to be one of the most prevalent stereotypes in relation to mental illness as half the films depicted characters with mental illness to be extremely violent towards other individuals, this shows that violence in relation to mental illness is still a popularized portrayal and could further enhances the view of fear towards mental illness. On another note, while violent depictions are still present, an element of empathy towards such characters was very apparent. This is a step in the right direction as even when the characters are seen to be committing violent acts, the audience will see the character as a person who has suffered and has cause for such acts rather than just being a ‘psychotic’ killer. Findings also showed that these violent acts were closely related to severe mental ii illnesses such as psychosis, anti-social disorder and DID. In comparison, more socially accepted illnesses such as PTSD and depression (Tsai, et al., 2018; Wood, et al., 2014) did not have connotations to violence but were rather shown as characters trying to overcome their mental disorder. These findings show that while there are some realistic and positive portrayals, mental illness is still being stigmatized and stereotyped. This highlights the need for future policies to target educating the public on mental illnesses, while also indicating the need for further research to better understand the gaps that need to be analysed and improved within the field of mental illness. Keywords: Mental Illness, Mental Health, Film Depictions, Stereotype, Stigma, Violence
Mental Illness and Women in Cinema: “Beautiful and Troubled Women”
International Perspectives on Feminism and Sexism in the Film Industry, 2019
The representation of mental illness and individuals suffering from a specific mental illness in films is a phenomenon encountered since the first years of cinema. Mental diseases in many film genres such as horror, science fiction, comedy, and crime are used as scary, laughing, or drama elements. The representations of various psychopathologies in the films give an idea about these disorders to the ordinary viewer. However, these representations can accurately describe the reality and also have the risk of being defective and incomplete. It is seen that people who have mental disorders in cinema are generally presented in the way that 'dangerous, violent, unpredictable characters' within the frame of limited and distorted patterns. It is possible to say that these cliché representations differ according to gender. Female characters with mental disorders are described as 'beautiful and troubled women' in cinema. Related films were taken as an example in this study and it is aimed examine the representation of female characters with mental disorders in these films.
Does Film Keep Anti-psychiatry Alive? Aesthetic Knowledge of Mental Illness and Institutions
The paper aims at evaluating contemporary fi lms on psychiatry and their 'knowledge' of mental illness: How are mental illness and psychiatric institutions characterized rhetorically, and, are some psychiatric theories more present than others in the epistemological development of the fi lms? I will argue that the fi lm 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' (1975) by Milos Forman has an iconic status. It was based on a novel by Ken Kesey from 1961 and can be related to anti-psychiatry – a political movement as well as a psychiatric theory infl uenced by social constructivism, e.g. Michel Foucault. In The Divided Self (1960) by Ronald D. Laing and The Myth of Mental Illness (1962) by Thomas Szasz conventional psychiatric language was deconstructed. Thus, Szasz pleaded that mental illness did not exist and built up a new effective anti-psychiatric language characterized by metaphors such as 'prison' and 'prisoner'. These metaphors were given both presence (Perelman) and evidentia by Forman, who focused on clanking keys, bars, and belt fi xation in the introduction to 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'. Also contemporary movies dealing with psychiatry, such as 'Girl Interrupted' (1999) by James Mangold, use the prison as a metaphor, probably as an intertextual reference to Forman's fi lm. In the end of the paper I will discuss the effect of these movies. Do they keep anti-psychiatry alive in the 21 th century – even when the psychiatric theory as well as the political movement have lost infl uence?
The Construction of Meaning and Position of Mental Disorder Character in Three Romance Films
CALL, 2020
This research discusses the representation and discourse which focused on the elements of characterization and narration which is presented by mental disorder character in Silver Linings Playbook (2012), Touched with Fire (2015), and The Other Half (2016). In this research, mental illness is not analyzed as a medical narration but also is one of signifying practices. The approaches of media representation analysis from Simon Cross (2014) and Harper (2008) are used to determine the representation of life experiences and disassemble the emerging discourses. The result indicates that when mental illness is represented in the romantic film, the stereotype about abnormality, rejection, and exclusion still becomes the main structure of the narrative. The romance story that wraps it up still refers to the stereotype. Therefore, those three films can be concluded as a part of dominant statements on abnormality discourse against mental disorder sufferers. In this case, mental disorder suffer...
The Portrayal of Psychiatry in Recent Film
2000
The profession of psychiatry is, has always been, and will likely continue to be a much enjoyed subject among filmmakers and their audiences, as it tends to provide exciting and emotionally compelling opportunities to portray personal struggles feared by most of humanity. Following a literature based overview of pre-1985 portrayals of psychiatry in film, this paper fills a notable contemporary literature gap by detailing ten prominent trends in the portrayal of psychiatry in recent film from increased creativity in storylines to the reflection of new psychiatric theories and drawing some conclusions regarding the historical and other forms of accuracy of these increasingly more critically and commercially acclaimed portrayals. It shows that film is still primarily a creative and entertainment rather than a totally serious educational medium and, as such, accuracy of any degree is usually subordinated to the interests of simply ensuring that the audience has a good time and / or rece...
2021
At the core of this research paper was the aim to explore the representation of mental illness in contemporary film. The research placed focus upon examining whether these portrayals are still largely negative or whether there is a general trend towards representing mental illness in a more humanizing and empathizing manner. Additionally, the study attempted to determine whether mental illness was represented differently within based on a true story and fictional films. A total of four films in English that were released between 2008 and 2020 were selected as a part of the sample – two fictional and two based on a true story films about individuals with a mental illness. Previous findings suggest that overall, the portrayal of mental illness within film is largely negative and therefore contributes to the persistence of a vast majority of stereotypes and stigmas surrounding mental illness. Since media, especially films, are one of the primary sources of knowledge about mental illnes...