updated essay

1. I plan to discuss the topic of ‘mental health’ and how it is portrayed in the media and
in the film/television industry. To do this I will look at different examples, whether
they’re characters from a film and/or a television show or even characters/plot lines
from different games, and explore why they’re portrayed in that certain way and even
discuss the stereotypes that are often known with mental illness. I will explore the
media’s representation of mental illness, how they define the topic and it’s spoken
about on social platforms and how it’s used in the film/television industry and the
dangers of the stereotypes this particular genre has created through it’s characters and
misconception. I will also reference various quotes and/or other resources from
various news articles and websites, which I found doing further research into the
subject in order to reference the points I make.
Mental illness is often a spoken about topic in not only the media, whether it regards
highlighting an incident in the news or an overview of an upcoming or recently
released film featuring said topic, but also as previously mentioned within the
film/television and gaming industry. A common trope within the film and television
industry is often portraying characters with mental illness(es) as the villains of the
story. A recent example of this being Arthur Fleck or rather ‘The Joker’ who is shown
to suffer from a condition called the ‘pseudobulbar affect’ in which the person laughs
and/or cries uncontrollably. An article online from the website ‘The Guardian’ quotes;
“Joaquin Phoenix’s troubled super villain perpetuates damaging stereotypes”,
the same misconception that is often seen with the portrayal of characters that suffer
from mental illness.
Despite the number of characters in film/television that also bear these stereotypes,
the same can also apply to characters and overall plot lines in video games. An
example of this being the popular horror game ‘Silent Hill’, which uses monsters to
symbolise peoples insecurities, shames and fears held by the characters featured in the
game. Another article from the website ‘Polygon’ states; “The horror genre loves to
play around with mental illness; specifically the vague, generalized Saturday
Morning Cartoon-style “insanity” that doesn’t match any real definition of the
term”.
The topic of ‘mental illness’ is rather controversial in terms of the media and how
they portray people with well-known stereotypes such as stating; “That those with
mental illness are often seen as dangerous”. An article from a website called
“verywellmind” talks about how “the stigma of mental health is spread by mass
media” quotes; “Calling a violent offender “crazy” spreads a dangerous
stereotype and belies the complex relationship between criminality and mental
illness”. A stereotype often used to describe those with mental illness or severe other
cases is that they’re seen as ‘violent’. In the mass media and various other platforms
such as social media i.e. Twitter, Instagram, those with mental illnesses have been
plagued with rather unjust stereotypes and misconceptions about mental illness as a
whole. This could lead to those with said illnesses could be robbed of the
opportunities of getting a good job, find safe housing, safe health care and being able
to converse with a large variety of different people.

2. Media often helps teach us about people we don’t usually interact with i.e.
Celebrities, which tells us the different kinds of people and social groups that exist in
society. This includes groups of people that can be often praised or shunned. Media
often portrays mental illness in a more negative light, using that same stereotypes that
are often associated with those with mental illness i.e. being described as “violent”.
Another quote from an article found on the website ‘verywellmind’ states; “Media
portrayals of those with mental illness often skew toward either stigmatization or
trivialization”. And continues to go on and explain that media-film, television,
newspapers and social media-have “been criticized for disseminating negative
stereotypes and inaccurate descriptions of those with mental illness”.
Stigmatization by definition is “the action of describing or regarding someone or
something as worthy of disgrace or great disapproval”. A researcher, Brian
Ahmedani, wrote a paper regarding stigmatization in 2011. The paper often quotes
other researchers and their discoveries i.e. Erving Goffman and his work titled;
“Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity”. Ahmedani also talks about
how stigma is also relevant in other context(s) such as toward those with varied
backgrounds, race, gender and even sexual orientation. These aspects are important as
to why we should a true definition of mental illnesses and disorders, in order to help
those who rely on the mass media to define for them.
An often misconception of mental illness is with those who suffer from
“schizophrenia” which, by definition, is a long-term disorder involving a breakdown
in the relation of though, emotion and behaviour. A stereotype often used to describe
those with schizophrenia is “violent behaviour”, a common stereotype used to
describe a large amount of mental health issues. An article found on a website named
“Psycom” talks about the stereotypes often found in mental health and how those
misconceptions can effect those who suffer from said illnesses. The article explains
one stereotype where “violence is common among individuals with
schizophrenia”. Dr. Rego, the writer of the article, states; “It’s actually rare for
someone with schizophrenia to be violent. An individual with schizophrenia is
more likely to be the victim of violent rather than the perpetrator”.
It is well known that the mass media regards mental health in a more negative light
when talking about different social issues and aspects, often labelling those with said
illnesses as ‘violent’. What’s most concerning is the disregard the media has for
mental health as a whole, treating it as though those who suffer from it are untreatable
and unable to recover. ‘verywellmind’ talks about how media can also “trivialize
mental illness” by portraying it as not as severe as people think. The article quotes;
For instance, many people with eating disorders such as anorexia could feel that
their condition is made out to be less severe than it really is”. This could lead to
problems regarding the younger generation i.e. teenagers and even children.
Considering the large majority of time the younger generation tends to spend on
social platforms it’s likely that those who suffer from conditions such as anorexia
could feel as though that their condition isn’t severe and won’t seek help, leading to
more dangers. Another danger is that because teenagers and children rely so heavily
on the mass media that it could affect their understanding of mental health as a whole,
which could lead to more stereotypes and stigmatization. These types of stereotypes
are not only common in the mass media but also in the film/television industry with
their portrayal of characters who suffer with mental illnesses.