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How does the media portray mental illness essay
Research on media portrayal of mental illness research paper
The media and mental illness essay
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Hollywood’s portrayal of debilitating conditions of mental health has been historically and overwhelmingly inaccurate, increasing stigmas and stereotypes. The majority of mental health awareness seems to come from movies and media. It has been argued that television and movies are the most powerful medium for framing public consciousness (Rose, 1998). The film, Silver Linings Playbook, has attempted to be honest and stigma reducing but it ultimately ends up being a clichéd romantic comedy about a man with bipolar disorder and a woman suffering from her own mental health issues. While it is effective in giving a brief glimpse of mental health issues, it ultimately simplifies the real effects and ends with the message that true love will solve …show more content…
Tiffany and Pat have been working on their routine for months and both see their practice as a form of therapy. Pat believes that the dance competition and structured practices are giving him a sense of purpose, discipline and focus. Pat’s father has turned their dance into part of a bet where they must score at least a five in the competition but when they arrive at the dance competition they see that the other dancers they are competing against are professional dancers who are scoring points of seven. Pat and Tiffany perform their eccentric, off beat dance which seems to be meant to prompt laughter and awkwardness. The choreographer for this dance, Mandy Moore, said, "The dance wasn't supposed to be a polished piece. It's supposed to look a little funky and crazy the way that they are” (People, 2012). Pat and Tiffany are painfully serious about their performance even when they don’t completely get their final lift right and we have an awkward moment where we are supposed to be laughing at the characters and their mental health concerns. Pat and Tiffany continue to get laughs from the crowd as their scores are announced, but they manage to get an average score of five and Pat’s father has won the bet. Their awkward dance and low score seems to supports the idea that those with mental health concerns will not be successful. I feel this scene further enforces that it is acceptable to find hilarity in those with mental health concerns and their lack of developed social
“Excelsior! I’m gonna take all this negativity and use it as fuel and I’m gonna find a silver lining. That’s what I’m gonna do” (Russell, 2013). A silver lining is defined as having optimism or a positive outlook on a situation that might seem gloomy on the outside. Silver Linings Playbook is centered around Pat Solitono Jr, a middle-aged man who just spent eight months in a psychiatric hospital for beating the man whom his wife had an affair with. Pat leaves the hospital determined to accomplish his unrealistic goal of winning his wife back. His motto is “Excelsior” (Russell, 2013) and he uses this to fuel his actions. He believes every negative action can result in a positive action. He also believes he can rise up and be superior over his actions and others to win his wife back. Pat has Bipolar I disorder with manic episodes that can be seen played out in the movie. He himself states, “undiagnosed bipolar with mood swings and weird thinking brought on by stress” (Russell, 2013).
The research for this paper would be based on the film, “Silver Linings Playbook”, directed by the filmmaker, David Russell. This film intrigues the audience with its content and portrayal of mental illness. One of the key issues shown in this film is the status quo of social and economic disparity that exists among people. The characters of the film and their respective journeys in life are shown for the purpose of establishing this thematic content. A close scrutiny of the narrative and specific scenes in the film would enable one to analyze the expression of socio-economic disparity more closely. The mesh of inter-personal relationships that link with the socio-economic status is perfectly delved into in the course of the narrative. This film has been received well by the critics and the general audience, adding to the relevance of the scrutiny of the film’s content.
However, local and national news also produces negativity towards mental illness by “portraying people with mental illness as threats to themselves and to others” (Anaya 4). In the past two years, the news features stories such as a man who has schizophrenia, running on a shooting spree then killing himself; or a mother with depression who murders her children, then kills herself (Anaya 4). Anaya explains that television programs use mental illness as a headline to grab the attention of views and ultimately implies to respond with fear (5). Highlighting that mental illnesses are the reason for the evil in society, hurting those who suffer with mental illnesses. Therefore, the population begin to believe mental illness is bad, so do the people who suffer with mental
In the movie, Silver Linings Playbook, it all started with a man named Pat Solitano who had a mental disorder. He was recently released from a psychiatric hospital and now resides with his parents. He had lost his wife and his job and life just was not happening in his favor. His aim was to win back his wife, which happened to be quite difficult in his case. That is until he met this widowed woman named Tiffany Maxwell, who promised to help him reach out to his wife if he returned a favor and danced with her in a competition. Pat wrote letters to his wife and in turn Tiffany delivered them. We later find out that Tiffany was the one all along writing back to Pat and that she had fallen in love with him. Directly following the dance competition,
People often like to joke about famous people that are develop mental illness. Others show sympathy towards them and do whatever they can to help them. The author of THE DOUBLE STANDARD OF MENTAL ILLNESS suggest that “we sympathize with those who suffer in silence and gawk and grimace at those who suffer in plain sight” (1). In the 19th century an average citizen wouldn’t know that a famous person was suffering from mental illness because information wasn’t spread as quickly. In the 21st century information is spread very quickly which causes people to learn things really fast. Comedy shows often make light of the issues a celebrity is going through as a form of entertainment. Recently comedian Robin Williams committed suicide after suffering from depression. Many people showed sympathy towards him & his family. However recently Amanda Bynes, a child star, has been suffering from schizophrenia and has been made fun of constantly. The majority of people don’t see mental illness as a problem unless someone dies as a result of
The Silver Lining Playbook, written and directed by David O. Russell, is based on the best-selling novel by Matthew Quick. After spending 8-months in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano was taken out by his mother, against doctors advise and moves back in to live with his parents. He tries to reunite with his ex-wife, even though there is a restraining order keeping him from contacting her due to the incident where he caught her having sex with another man and abusively beat him up. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a depressed young woman who's mourning the death of her husband by engaging in sex with everyone she meets. Tiffany
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental illness affecting people who have experienced trauma or witnessed another's traumatic experience. Millions of Americans suffer from PTSD (“Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Adults”, n.d. “State and Country Quickfacts: USA”, n.d.), so it's important to raise awareness for these diseases. An effective method of educating the public is through film, but inaccurate portrayals of mental illness could actually encourage stereotypes of disorders. Therefore, filmmakers should make movies like Good Will Hunting and The Perks of Being a Wallflower which provide accurate portrayals of PTSD and raise awareness about this disorder.
Does the film educate or further stigmatize people with mental illness in its portrayal? How?
Silver Lining Playbook is a movie about Pat Solitano, a man who suffers from Undiagnosed Bipolar Disorder. After having spent 8 months in a mental institution following a violent act involving his wife and another man, Pat is released into his parent’s care. He wants to reconcile with his wife, but along the way meets Tiffany, a woman that is willing to help Pat find his wife. After a lot of efforts and significant lifestyle changes, Pat is able to put the past behind him and control his illness.
It tells the story of a person, family and community in which individuals suffer from mental disorders much the same way as people do in the real world. Not only did I find this movie quite accurate concerning mental illness but I also established some important messages concerning mental illness in today’s society. The film takes into account that mental illness is a part of society and overall has a positive outlook on it. Their illnesses don 't define their identities nor are they even the main point of the story. In coming together, the characters find the mutual support that enables them to approach their struggles and redirect their lives in a more positive direction. To some degree, this film addresses stigma and the fact that persons with mental illness should be allowed to participate in society over being kept in a hospital, in other words, it gives
As if for the first time, Pat and Tiffany truly connect on their own level. Pat realizes throughout the dance that he has been putting all of his attention towards the wrong woman. The dance exemplifies Pat and Tiffany's relationship well, with the classic, simple romantic music as their normal lives, but when a catchy, rhythmic pop song comes on, their dance turns completely different and has new energy. It is if their dance is just like their relationships along with their mental illnesses. Most of the time we see tranquil, calm, romantic moments with them, and yet in the blink of an eye, chaos and spontaneity take hold, creating something in real life may be panic and aggravating, but here represents the life and creativity each of them hold. The dance then returns back to the romantic side, but instead of trying to impress Nikki, Pat in this last part tries more to please Tiffany, realizing that he's in love with her more than his is in love with Nikki. Also, as the dance goes on, Pat realizes that his self-absorption towards Nikki has
Bipolar disorder is a condition in the brain which causes unusual mood swings from extremely high energy to very depressed. In the film Silver Linings Playbook, the main character Patrick suffers from bipolar I disorder. Bipolar disorder causes a person to act recklessly, exercise poor judgment, and show a lack of self-control. He was court ordered to me committed to a mental institution to avoid jail time. This traumatic situation with his marriage ending brought to life many issues that he has probably had for a long time. The individual with this mental illness, acting agitated and angry over small issues. His family history could indicate the trend for mental illness amongst the family. In the case of Patrick, he displayed violent
Most people gather what they know about mental illnesses from television and film. Unfortunately these media portrayals are inaccurate and create stigma. They depict people suffering from mental illnesses as different, dangerous and laughable. Characters are often addicted to drugs or alcohol, are violent, dangerous, or out of control. Horror film characters like Norman Bates in Psycho, Jack Torrance in the Shining, or Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs associate the typical 'psycho- killer' with people who suffer from a mental illness. But dramas and horror films are not the only film genres that create stigma. Comedies like What About Bob and many others not only stigmatize, they also make fun of mental illnesses and the people who suffer from them. This paper will discuss how the film Me, Myself & Irene is an inaccurate, offensive and stigmatizing portrayal of an individual suffering from schizophrenia. It also discusses what can be done to counteract the stigma created by these types of films.
In recent years, people with mental illness and violence have received widespread of news media coverage. Specifically, the aftermath of violent act is often viewed as a gateway of opportunity to support negative attitudes toward people with mental illness. The new media portrayal acts of violence committed by individuals with mental disorders appear to play a critical role in influencing negative perceptions toward individuals with mental illness (McGinty, Webster, & Barry, 2013). When a person commits ruthless acts of violence, speculations about their mental health from the public are never far behind. Research suggests that violent acts can increase mental illness stigma, strengthen stereotypes that people with mental disorders are aggressive
Mass media “references to people with mental health problems found more than four in ten articles in the press used derogatory terms about mental health and nearly half of press coverage related mental illness to violence and crime” (Esseler, 244). This is causing for people to look down upon the mention of mental illnesses and many times ignore the importance of confronting this issue. Therefore the importance of removing this stigmatization is crucial. Education allows to make more informed decisions and then changing the perception of mental illness can lead towards policy changes toward the improvement of mental health (Sakellari,