In this video, I compiled a handful of movie and TV clips with various portrayals of different kinds of mental illnesses. I organized it specifically to begin with the ways in which the media did a poor job and faced public backlash as a result. As the video progresses, I feature better and better examples that are able to be hailed as being more accurate. The first two movies featured, Halloween and The Silence of the Lambs, depict the mentally ill as crazed and dangerous. Films like these have helped create the stigma in society that patients like the ones in these movies are unpredictable and outrageously violent, which is of course and exaggeration. (Refer to previous posts for more depth.)
Next was Shutter Island, which was a film that was eagerly awaited by those involved in the mental health community. Although Martin Scorsese embarked on a massive amount of research for this film in his desire to accurately portray certain mental illnesses and how they were treated in the 1950’s, the film ended up being flawed for how it dealt with the overall psychiatric picture. “Shutter Island has left much of the mental health community unimpressed. The film may speak up for humane treatment; DiCaprio is wonderfully appealing and empathetic. But Shutter Island’s world is one in which bipolar mothers kill their children, to be killed in turn by their demented husbands. Hospital patients are gruesome scarecrows. Psychiatrists are obsessive crackpots” (Cox, 2010).
Monk suffers from OCD and seeks treatment throughout the entirety of the show. That being said, he never actually gets better. Some people in the mental health community felt like this was inaccurate because it gave the impression that it was completely untreatable. Nevertheless, the show wasn’t completely looked down upon because it was actually a relatively well received show.
Dexter is a show about a guy who has the need to kill other people who have committed murders themselves. As much as he tries to stop, he can’t help himself because it is an addiction that has taken over his mind. He blames his desire on something called his “dark passenger”. “Many people today see mental illness as an excuse, a negative attitude or something resulting from over thinking. However it is something that stems from the brain, can attack your nervous system and may result in many side disorders. When diagnosed with a mental illness, one’s support system often starts out small. This is generally due to the embarrassment and uneasiness we all feel at revealing any perceived weaknesses or flaws to friends and family. As a result, so many feel their sense of self worth diminishes and they don’t know where to turn” (Sudworth, 2013).
Homeland has been generally pretty well received for its portrayal of bi-polar disorder. Like most movies and TV shows, it isn’t perfect but many claim it’s actually a step in the right direction. A majority of TV shows that feature somebody with a mental illness usually portray them as on the fringes and unraveling from their lives. Homeland actually shows the main character as somebody who is still able to function in society despite her bi-polar disorder.
Arguably, the best show on TV displaying mental illness is Parenthood. Though I haven’t seen it, it’s been praised for its portrayal of a young boy with Asperger’s and the impact it has on his family This is one of the few examples out there that have accurately shown the highs and lows of going through a mental illness. If you want to read more about the show, check out this article—-> http://www.childmind.org/en/posts/articles/2011-3-2-aspergers-parenthood-sharing-diagnosis-with-kids