1. Movies for Mental Health
California State University, Channel Islands
February 22, 2017
@artwithimpact
#Movies4MentalHealth
2. Here’s the Plan
I. Quick Introduction
II. Set the Stage Together
III. Watch Short Films & Discuss Them
IV. Make it Personal with Our Panel
3. Brought to You by
• Monthly Short Film
Competition
• Campus Workshops
• Global Community
(blog, IG, Twitter, FB) • Mental Health Services Act (2004)
• 1% tax on people earning >$1m/year
• 25% to prevention and early intervention
4. Heads Up
• Mental health is personal - YOU are the
expert of your own experience.
• This is a public space - not therapy.
• We’re here for connection, questions and
creating change!
• Films might trigger big emotions - that’s OK!
• Please ask for help if you need support.
5. Some Movies that Show Mental Illness:
Split
Shutter Island
Beautiful Mind
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Silver Linings Playbook
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
Fatal Attraction
48 Days
Anger Management
Girl Interrupted
Prozac Nation
Nuts
Bing Bang Theory (Sheldon)
Monk
6. Characters with Mental Illness Are Portrayed as:
Dangerous
Chaotic
Dysfunctional
Sad
Mockery
Draining
Awkward
Complicated
8. What is mental illness?
Maladaptive
Unstable
Difficult
Unpredictable
Expensive
Unique
Misunderstanding
Complicated
Challenging
Rewarding
9. What is mental wellness?
Set aside time for yourself*
Be positive
See/k family and friends that support you
Be open minded
Smile
Meditation
Rest
Recreation
Hobbies
Nutrition
Exercise
Personal Hygiene
11. What is stigma?
If she seeks help, she’ll be one of the “crazy people.”
The perception that seeking help will shame you in public.
She could be perceived as “weak”.
Stereotype (potentially positive)
Judgment
Labeling
Misunderstanding
Assumption
12. How does stigma feel?
Embarrassing
Hurtful
Ostracism
Hopeless
Powerless
Shameful
Frustrating
14. In Groups of Three
• What did you think?
• What did you feel?
15. What did you think? What did you feel?
Thoughts
Culture of Appeasing
Other People’s Feelings
Helpless – wanted help
but couldn’t ask for
it/seek it out
Being herself, but not
Feelings
Intense
Raw
Relatable (Good and
Bad Days)
Keeping in what goes
on with you – don’t want
to appear weak or
troubled
Anxiety
17. In Groups of Three
• What did you think?
• What did you feel?
• What have you learned?
18. What did you think… feel… learn?
Thoughts Feelings
Tearing
up/Emotional
touchpoint
Sympathetic
Hope
Sadness -
universal
New Insights
Sadness can
have funny
elements
Ultimately there
is more than
your internal
battle/thoughts
21. What did you think… feel… learn?
Thoughts
Need routine to
function, but it
is not the
same as living
or having
purpose
Insights
Never take
anything for
granted
Do what you
love
Frame of
reference
Increase
smiles
Feelings
Hope
23. Meet the Panel
• Jonathan Fox - CSUCI Student
• Christine Tolman - CSUCI Student
• Zosimo Gelez - CSUCI Student
• Norma Lopez Magaña - CSUCI CAPS
Counselor
• Jaime Martinez - Behavioral Health
Clinician, Ventura County Behavioral Health
Transitions Program
24. AWI Ambassadors
• You’re invited! Continue the conversation, be
a leader!
• Join the AWI Ambassadors FB group and
connect with students across North America:
www.facebook.com/groups/awiambassadors/
• Blog, be a juror for the film competition, run
campaigns, and much more!
25. Thank you for coming!
• Contact us: info@artwithimpact.org
• Follow us!
• Submit a film!
https://www.artwithimpact.org/films/submit-a-film/
Editor's Notes
Campus organizer (may) introduce facilitator
Brief introduction – welcome, name
Encourage people to come closer
Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter and document this event - we’d love to see your photos!
Brief agenda review:
- will give you a brief summary of AWI
- set the stage together, which really means that as a group we’ll have a discussion and provide a context for the topics
- we have four short films from our library to show you, together we’ll discuss the themes
- Make it personal with a panel of campus and community resources to connect you with
- You’ll be doing most of the talking today!
Mention photos - if you would prefer not to have your face in photos please inform us after the event
Leslie - you don’t need to name the CSUCI sponsors individually - you can just say something like “thank you to all the CSUCI sponsors, we so appreciate you making it possible for us to come to your campus each year.” Then talk about AWI and Prop 63 as you normally do. Thanks! -Maya
Who is AWI?
- we are a charity dedicated to reducing the stigma of mental illness with transition-aged youth, work in regions throughout North America
- we have been working primarily in California since 2011 and in the last year and a half expanded to three areas of Canada, as well as the New England area in the U.S. (if applicable)
- We host an ongoing monthly short film competition where filmmakers anywhere in the world can submit a film on the topic of mental health, these are juried and monthly winners receive $1,000 cash prize (will tell you more about that at the end of our time together)
- We then take these winning films and facilitate discussions in our postsecondary Movies for Mental Health program (you’ll see what this is all about today) and run a high school program that teaches media literacy to youth and allows them to make their own short films on mental health
- Also a part of a larger global community, release blogs twice a week on feature length films, or film festivals related to themes of mental illness
Brought to you by:
- mention any nonprofit partners or corporate sponsors
Want to explain what I mean about this statement…
Mental health is personal and our experiences are different, we all come from different backgrounds and cultures – you are the experts on YOU and know yourself better than anyone else
We don’t often talk about mental health; as a society we don’t tend to talk about issues/experiences related to this theme, so sometimes we don’t know HOW to talk about these topics. First and foremost keep yourself safe today, don’t feel compelled to share anything you’re not comfortable with. This is a new space and you might feel ready to share but might not know what responses you’ll have, and it is a public space with no guaranteed confidentially so be mindful of the space that we are in before you disclose.
Some of the films might be triggering, meaning they might elicit an emotional reaction. The films are very powerful and it’s completely normal to feel overwhelmed, so take the time you need to re-group and be present here. I encourage you to take note of how you’re feeling and investigate that / nurture that after the workshop. We have counsellors in the room today that are here to help you if you need to step out (say names of counsellors, have them raise their hands in the audience).
Pre-slide: With that in mind, let’s get started by providing a context and setting the stage for the messages we receive in the media.
Silver Linings Playbook, Split, The Soloist, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, A Beautiful Mind, Benny & Joon, Black Swan, Girl Interrupted, Rain Man, Fight Club, American Psycho, Momento, What’s Easting Gilbert Grape, Shutter Island, What About Bob, Inside Out, Skeleton Twins, The Perks of Being a Wallflower;, Still Alice
Ask Q
Think about the characters in the films you shared, what are some adjectives you’d use to describe those characters, how have the characters been portrayed?
We see a lot of extremes here, ie. Really special, really problematic
1 in 5 of us, 20% of us have a diagnosable mental illness each year (1 in 3 or even 1 in 2 have a MI in our lifetime), consider how these labels influence us. (Optional to save until next slides)
Mental Health is a big topic, and can include so many different things. Today, we’ll be exploring two topics that fall under the umbrella of Mental Health.
We use the term often, let’s work together to craft definitions according to your thoughts
For us in this room at this workshop it doesn’t matter what anyone says, we don’t need clinical definitions but how do we define and what does it feel like for us.
This is a term that we might not hear as often. What might it mean? What are some mental wellness practices? How does mental wellness relate to mental illness? Can you have a mental illness and still be mentally well?
Helping think about themselves as more than a disease.
5 in 5 of us have mental health, it is a universal experience, something we can agree we need to nourish and take care of, influences all aspects of our lives.
Mention brief blurb about the film – won our competition in late 2013, Jessica Jones is an independent media maker who specializes in documentary film productions; she has a background in works rights and nonprofit advocacy. Diana Di Battista is a freelance video producer and translator who believes bridging language barriers is key to social change. You can find them dianadibattista.com and jenoesica.com.
Segue theme of film – stigma- into next slide
What the film really addressed here is stigma. We know stigma exists and we talk a lot about it in relation to mental illness, but how would you really define it?
THOUGHTS: She is constantly out of focus but insular or “close up”; Stigma – negative assumptions: Talking to someone makes you “crazy” like someone on the street; It’s sharing dirty laundry outside of one’s family – a big cultural taboo or “no-no”; Domestic violence is better to be endured than to be shown to the world and “misinterpreted” or even correctly interpreted.; What kind of mother needs this kind of help?; Can’t sleep and is thus getting sicker.
Discuss stereotypes v. stigma - stereotypes can be negative or positive, stigma is always negative
Stigma is false
Stigma easily internalized and we believe them about ourselves
Ie. all girls are bad at sports v. all boys are good at sports (neither is true but one is positive)
Stigma can be experienced in a number of ways, and not solely related to mental illness…
Knowing that this is something we have all experienced in some shape or form, how does stigma feel?
Comments/ Questions that can be added about stigma specifically:
- stigma creates barriers to understanding
- stigma defines someone as only one aspect of who they are, when this label doesn’t fit who you are it’s a frustrating feeling
- If someone mentions stereotypes; difference between stereotypes and stigma is stereotypes can be positive or negative, sometimes funny, however stigma is always negative and feels awful, dehumanizing
- There are various types of stigma – cultural and self-stigma; this can snowball and create really negative experiences
- Believing the self-stigma (and it’s completely human to do so) can be dangerous when we internalize, become very hard on ourselves.
- It’s not a true/false, it’s a societal construct
- Impact of stigma in accessing resources (what is?)
Segue into films:
We are here today taking the first step by talking about these experiences, learning through films to combat stigma and learn from one another. These feelings, these byproducts of being stigmatized is why it’s so important to have these supportive and compassionate conversations / listening to one another is an incredibly powerful way to battle stigma
We’re fighting the feelings that stigma brings out in humans that makes people feel they can’t reach out, can’t get help...really hard to break through. This is something that we can work together to fight.
So, on that note, let’s watch the first film!
A more recent winner, Saida Saetgareeva is a motion graphic designer and illustrator based in Vancouver, CA. She immigrated to Canada from Russia and this film showcases how she believes images have the power to encourage others to action or create empathy,
When watching the film encourage you to remain aware of how the film makes you feel, and what the film makes you think and we’ll break into groups afterward to discuss.
In an academic environment it can be challenging to discuss feelings and emotions where thoughts are more abstract, but encourage students to challenge themselves
Feelings represent important feedback and it’s important to listen to them.
Turn to your neighbours in small groups and discuss these questions, we will come back together in a few minutes.
Communicate a signal for getting students’ attention?
Can provide an example of a thought and/or feeling to get the group started.
Live document responses, paraphrasing and summarizing
One of our winners from about a year and half ago, Brian left Eastern Kentucky to pursue a career in film and tv and ultimately wrote for programs on multiple networks, won a Best Drama for a web series he created called Big Country Blues and currently produces the MTV show Ridiculousness.
Invite audience to divide into groups again (maybe encourage new groups?), allow 5 minutes for discussion before coming back together.
Live document responses, paraphrasing and summarizing
Our final winner of last year, Victor Okoye hails from Nigeria and was a medical doctor who has since become a filmmaker based his realization that many of the people he treated for physical sickness in the hospital would have saved themselves a trip if they were in a better mindset before they got sick. He believes that changing your mind can change your life.
Invite audience to divide into groups again (maybe encourage new groups?), allow 5 minutes for discussion before coming back together.
Transition directly into large group responses, no small group discussions
Thank audience for participation.
After having these conversations and processing new and/or complicated information we can feel a little lost, and here is when we want to provide concrete opportunities to engage and continue this discussion. We don’t often talk this in-depth, we have people here for you to help digest this information and provide information about services.
Fortunate enough to have students sharing stories, panelist experts from your campus, and mental health professionals/ resources in your community here today to inform you of ways you can support your mental health.
Will tell you about ways you can engage with us (AWI) just before we break for good.
Now will invite our panelists to come up, and in the meantime will hand out evaluations which are really valuable to us for improving our programming and keeping it relevant. Will also assist your school in knowing how to better serve you.
Moderate the panel discussion – Introduce all panelists when inviting them up.
Students typically speaking first (check in with them to ensure this is okay for them), indicate which panelist will speak next throughout.
Q&A
Invite students to ask questions to panelists while monitoring time.
Encourage students to view booths or resource tables before leaving
Close out the panel and give (or have volunteer hand-out) panelist thank you gifts
AWI exists to create a community of students, artists, advocates, who want to have these conversations...if you’re interested in staying in touch with us and becoming a part of a larger community of students across N. America who believe in the power of art to subvert stigma
Mention ways students can reach out, contact us with feedback or comments.
Encourage film submissions – we’d love to see your films, competition is ongoing
We are on many forms of social media, reach out!
We have a sign-up list here if you’re interested in learning about other events and workshops, reading our blogs, etc.
I’ll be here if you have any questions for me specifically.
Thank the group again and close out discussion