In our lifetime we encounter at least one person struggling with a mental illness. We have watched so many movies, tv shows, and even books that try to portray mental illnesses. However, what we don’t know is that watching and reading these books or films might change our viewpoint of these people. Considering all the time we spend at home watching movies or reading novels, it’s important to realize how successful literature is in portraying mental illnesses. Authors writing their stories based on mental illnesses is good when they are properly conveying an illness. However, when authors use severe mental illnesses to create a fantasy novel then it becomes an issue. The audience will most likely keep the description of what the novel or film describes but these novels usually contain incorrect information of illnesses. Students read these novels for school and educational purposes but what happens to those who read these books for fun. What happens to the people who don’t have any prior knowledge on these disorders. Although there are novels and films that may portray mental illnesses wrongfully, some of the media includes the correct portrayal of illnesses. The importance of representing mental disorders in the media is to teach the audience of the aspects of what mental disorders can be. Considering the importance, the question we should be asking ourselves is, how successful is the media in expressing mental illness and how might this affect society’s viewpoint on mental disorders? The media has a huge affect in society making it extremely important to know if movies, tv shows, books, newspapers, are giving the public correct information on mental disorders.
Many books such as The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins serve as a great example of pieces of literature that portray a mental illness. Throughout the book we see the main character suffering from postpartum depression and anxiety. Jane, the main character, shows her mental stability worsening when she gets “ unreasonably angry with John sometimes. I’m sure I never used to be so sensitive.” (Perkins, Charlotte. The Yellow Wallpaper. 1892). A typical behaviour with someone with anxiety is irritability. As her condition worsens, we see Jane experiencing symptoms of postpartum depression. The main character expresses, “It is fortunate Mary is so good with the baby. Such a dear baby! And yet I cannot be with him, it makes me so nervous.” (Perkins, Charlotte. The Yellow Wallpaper. 1892). Someone experiencing postpartum depression cannot trust themselves around their child for the fear of them. Overall, the book does a great job teaching the public the common behaviours of anxiety and postpartum depression. However, although the book does a very good job in portraying these illnesses, the treatment Jane gets from the people around her is not pleasant. Considering the time period the story was written, most of these illnesses were not yet discovered. Anxiety was first discovered by George Miller Beard in the year 1862 (PMC. “A history of anxiety: from Hippocrates to DSM.” Dialogues Clin Neurosci, vol. 17, no. 3, 2015, pp. 319-325). Jane is the wife of a physician who is trying to figure out what is wrong with her. As he tries to find a solution he decides the best way to treat her is by complete isolation. From Charlotte’s room she, “always fancy I see people walking in these numerous paths and arbors, but John has cautioned me not to give way to fancy in the least. He says that with my imaginative power and habit of story-making, a nervous weakness like mine is sure to lead to all manner of excited fancies” (Perkins, Charlotte. The Yellow Wallpaper. 1892). Jane’s husband prohibits her from doing many normal things like socializing or even writing in her journal. Jane’s husband believes that because she is suffering from a “temporary nervous depression” she isn’t stable enough to do normal things. When the public reads how Jane is treated they might believe this how someone with these behaviours should be treated. When in fact someone with anxiety can live their normal lives if they are treated by a professional. No one with postpartum depression or anxiety should be kept isolated. The Yellow Wallpaper does a great job in teaching the public the common behaviours of anxiety and postpartum depression but the treatment for the patient is nowhere near accurate. To the people around her, Jane is delicate to the point where socializing or simply journaling can affect her health.
Another piece of literature that serves as a great example for portraying illness is The One Who Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest written by Ken Kessey. The One Who Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest is narrated by a half indian named Chief Brodmen who has been hospitalized in Oregon psychiatric hospital for ten years. Chief Brodmen is diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia which is noticeable at the very beginning of the story when we see his hallucinations and delusions. All throughout the book we see many patients with different mental illnesses, treatment and symptoms, however the treatment of the patients from society is unfair. In the book we get little back stories of most of the patients. For example we know that, “I lay in bed the night before the fishing trip and thought it over, about my being deaf, about the years of not letting on. I heard what was said, and I wondered if I could ever act any other way again. But I remembered one thing: it wasn’t me that started acting deaf; it was people that first started acting like I was too dumb to hear or see or say anything at all”(Kessey, Ken. The One Who Flew over the cuckoo’s Nest. 1962). Brodmen experiences discrimination for having a rare condition that is frowned upon in Society. If we compare this scenario with today, there are more similarities than are differences. Sadly, In the world we live in today, when someone is abnormal we tend to look at them differently or view them a someone who is incapable of doing certain things, excluding them from any activities and socializing. Billy Bibbit, a patient of Oregon psychiatric hospital, also experiences disrcimination from society. Bibbit’s, “ Two authority figures, his mother and Big Nurse, dominate Billy’s life, adversely affecting everything he does. Overwhelmed by this negative influence, Billy becomes increasingly shy. His stuttering and awkward manner makes Billy seem like a meek child afraid to cause trouble.” (Donohue, Liz. “The Role of Defense Mechanism in one Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” 1984). Overall, The One Who Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, does a good job in portraying what someone with mental illnesses go through and portraying how society treats them. Ken Kessey’s book gives an accurate description of the treatment of people with mental illnesses. Reading a book like this will let the audience sympathize with the character and hopefully understand the hardships of these people.
As mental health becomes a recurring topic in many conversions between guardians and health care workers, it’s important to understand the dangers of not getting help in time. A movie that shows this concept is To The Bone written and directed by Marti Noxon. This movie is narrated through the life of a 20 year old named Ellen. Ellen suffers from anorexia bulimia and thanks to her eating disorder she can wrap her thumb and middle finger on her upper arm. As a result of her eating disorder she became skin and bone (Wherever I Look. To The Bone – Summary/ Review. Amari Allah, 2017). At the beginning of the movie we see Ellen struggling to do some pushups. Despite all the bruises she has from the exercises, her fear of gaining weight is far more bigger. One common behaviour of someone with anorexia is having an obsession with exercise and as a result over exercise (Mayo Clinic. “Anorexia nervosa.” 2018). In the next scene we see Ellen pointing out all the calories on her plate while her stepsister searches on the internet to see if Ellen is accurate with her calculations. In which they find she is correct in all of her calculations. In this same scene, we see Ellen moving her food around not eating anything off of her plate (youtube. Ellen scenes. nightbruised, 2018). People dealing with anorexia tend to count the calories of each food they are intaking that way to restrict how many calories they ingest. Patients with anorexia also move the food around in their plate to make it seem as if they were eating the food (Mayo Clinic. “Anorexia nervosa.” 2018). All throughout the movie we see the many common behaviours people with anorexia experience. However, we also see how hard it is for Ellen to get better and accept help. Which in many cases, people with eating disorders never want to admit they have a disorder. Ellen has the support of her family and friends, which is the only way she was able to overcome her illness. To The Bone does an excellent job in portraying the many symptoms of anorexia. Truthfully, the audience can learn alot from this film to the point where they can help out those who are dealing with this disorder.
There are many books and movies based on mental illnesses and it’s a fun way of learning about this issue. However, are the movies that we are watching actually helping us understand about mental health? Let’s take into consideration a recent movie that tries to teach the public about mental illness, Split directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Split is based on Kevin Wendell Crumb, a man with 23 multiple personalities, kidnaps three teenagers to sacrifice them to one of Kevin’s personalities, The Beast. (IMDb. Split Plot Summary. 2016). All throughout the movie we see Kevin’s dissociative identity disorder when he changes from person to person. While Casey Cooke is trying to escape she notices that there is a computer with different files that contains videos. As she starts playing each file she sees her kidnapper narrating his day but with different accents, wardrobes, and personalities. (Youtube. Casey Finds Other Personalities in PC Split Movie Clip. Garcia Karl, 2017). A common behaviour of someone experiencing dissociative identity disorder is having different accents or different likes with each of their personalities. In this scene we see the accurate depictions of what DID goes through however, there is also an exaggeration of what the illness is. For example, the movie shows Kevin turning this monster called the beast. The beast is one version of Kevin however, the beast is a lot bigger than Kevin, has veins popping out all over his chest, has super strength, has the ability to walk on walls and eats human flesh. This portrayal is completely wrong based on what DID is. It is true that each alter can have different sexualities or different health conditions but the physical appearance will never change. The movie shows Kevin as someone who is capable of hurting the people around him. Dissociative identity disorder is not a dangerous illness because they don’t have the impulse to hurt anyone, infact, they are more prone to hurt themselves than anyone else. Although Split does a good job in showing the public the many altars a person with DID can have, it doesn’t convey the disorder 100 percent. Patients with DID don’t believe Split recognizes the disorder as it is. After seeing Shyamalan’s movie people may think that anyone with this disorder is capable of hurting someone, making society isolate them and discriminate against them.
Although M. Night Shyamalan’s movie Split had very good feedback from viewers, people dealing with DID did not think the movie was great. As we know Split is based on a DID patient kidnapping teenagers to sacrifice to one of his personalities. This movie, as good as it is to watch, it’s a movie that stigmatizes dissociative identity disorder, impacting those who are living with it. A community of people suffering from dissociative identity disorder got together to criticize the movie in order for people to know what it is to live with dissociative identity disorder. People are, “upset about the film, she said. “They’re feeling discriminated against … but this is nothing new.”(CNN Health. “What Shyamalan’s ‘Split’ gets wrong about dissociative identity disorder.” 2017). Dissociative identity disorder is a very uncommon disorder, even some psychologists don’t believe in it. People with dissociative identity disorder already feel discriminated against. Movies like Split only worsen the stigma of this condition, making the younger generation afraid to seek help. There have been studies based on the stigma that the media has inculcated into their projects. Although there are articles and movies that accurately portray an illness there is mediaz where they make an illness seem dangerous when they aren’t. In the, “In the last 10 years, media studies have started to address the problem of the stigmatization of mental illness in the media.” (Harper, Stephen. “Media, Madness and Misrepresentation.” vol. 20, no. 4, 2005, pp. 460-483. CCNY). This issue of misrepresentation has been affecting people with mental illness for more than 10 years. It’s a recurring problem that hasn’t been able to be fixed. Movies like Split tend to give a bad reputation to DID but other mental illnesses as well. As Harper states, “ This study clearly shows that the increased risk of violence associated with mental disorder is limited to few” (Harper, Stephen. “Media, Madness and Misrepresentation.” vol. 20, no. 4, 2005, pp. 460-483. CCNY). Most people don’t know this information, all they know is what the film is showing them. Most of the time films like these use disorders to convey a horror scenery. Split is a movie that should have a warning before starting the film to show the public what they’re about to see is an exaggeration of what DID can be. What the audience needs focus on is reading books based illnesses
It’s hard to deal with a mental illness, the media is a very big resource that can either help us or make our struggle even bigger. The best way to learn about mental health is through our educators. Kathleen Deakin argues, “Our intent with these books is not to promise a happy ending, but rather to build empathy in our classrooms for all students”… “In order to balance a culturally sustained, yet academically rigorous classroom, we argue that educators must select literature that recognizes and reflects the very students they serve.” (Deakin, Kathleen and Eastman, Gloria (2019) “Where’s My Happy Ending? Fostering Empathy through
Conversations about Anxiety and Depression in Young Adult Literature,” Language Arts Journal of Michigan: Vol. 35: Iss. 1, Article 5). Depression and anxiety is very common in teengares which is why readin books that accurately represent this issue can help them relate and cope with their disorder. Even if the student is not going through a mental illness it’s important for them to acknowledge their peers struggles and maybe help them alleviate the struggle. When students read books about the illnesses they can relate and try to find a solution. For example, “As students explore the identities and problems of the characters in the books, they develop the capacity to invent understandings and solutions to the circumstances of these characters and also the ability to transfer their thinking from the book to themselves and, with practice, to the larger human community.” (Deakin, Kathleen and Eastman, Gloria (2019) “Where’s My Happy Ending? Fostering Empathy through Conversations about Anxiety and Depression in Young Adult Literature,” Language Arts Journal of Michigan: Vol. 35: Iss. 1, Article 5). For the people dealing with anxiety, reading about characters having the same disorder can motivate them to find a solution to their own problems. Reading books that make students empathize with others, help get rid of the misrepresentations that may arise from other media sources. In an interview done by Women’s Health, Gayathri Ramprasad deals with anxiety and depression, and talks about her experience dealing with her illness in her native country, India. Ramprasad remembers, “ When I was a child living in India, the diagnosis made my family and me feel we had something to be ashamed about and to hide.” (Women’s health. “An Interview About Mental Health Stigma and Healing.” 2018). Ramprasad was ashamed for having something that she could not control. This is why it’s so important for the media to accurately portray mental illness. This family was ashamed of their daughter’s illness most likely because people see or read about mental illness and automatically think it’s dangerous. Our new generation should be reading about books that contain illnesses like anxiety and depression to educate those who need it. Ramprasad believes, “ Myths and misperceptions about mental health conditions and the people who live with them are what lead to the stigma.”(Women’s health. “An Interview About Mental Health Stigma and Healing.” 2018). Myths and stigmas all begin from what we read, see or hear. Like Eastman and Deakin believe, students should be introduced to books that accurately portray characters dealing with similar issues to create a safe environment to those who need it.
All in all, the media has two sides. The side in which accurately portrays an illness, and the other side which is the one who does not represent correctly. In most of the literature and films, they represent only half of what the illness is and the other half it conveys the illness as dangerous. However in some of the media the illness is accurately portrayed while also giving a good representation of what it is like to live with such disorder. It’s important to have a correct portrayal of any illness in order for people to seek the help they need. Our new generation will hopefully receive more literature in which they can relate to the character or help sympathize with peers who may be dealing with an illness.
References
Perkins, Charlotte. The Yellow Wallpaper. 1892.
Kessey, Ken. The One Who Flew over the cuckoo’s Nest. 1962.
PMC. “A history of anxiety: from Hippocrates to DSM.” Dialogues Clin Neurosci, vol. 17, no. 3, 2015, pp. 319-325, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4610616/citedby/.
Donohue, Liz. “The Role of Defense Mechanism in one Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” 1984, https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1108&context=core_reader.
IMDb. Split Plot Summary. 2016, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4972582/plotsummary?ref_=ttkw_ql_2.
Youtube. Casey Finds Other Personalities in PC Split Movie Clip. Garcia Karl, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37QMlO0h5kk.
Wherever I Look. To The Bone – Summary/ Review. Amari Allah, 2017, https://wherever-i-look.com/movies/to-the-bone-summary-review-with-spoilers.
youtube. Ellen scenes. nightbruised, 2018,
Mayo Clinic. “Anorexia nervosa.” 2018,
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anorexia/symptoms-causes/syc-20353591?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=abstract&utm_content=Anorexia-nervosa&utm_campaign=KnoWledge-panel
CNN Health. “What Shyamalan’s ‘Split’ gets wrong about dissociative identity disorder.” 2017, https://www.cnn.com/2017/01/23/health/shyamalan-split-movie-dissociative-identity-disorder/index.html.
Harper, Stephen. “Media, Madness and Misrepresentation.” vol. 20, no. 4, 2005, pp. 460-483. CCNY, https://journals-sagepub-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/doi/pdf/10.1177/0267323105058252.
Deakin, Kathleen and Eastman, Gloria (2019) “Where’s My Happy Ending? Fostering Empathy through Conversations about Anxiety and Depression in Young Adult Literature,” Language Arts Journal of Michigan: Vol. 35: Iss. 1, Article 5.
https://doi.org/10.9707/2168-149X.2232
Women’s health. “An Interview About Mental Health Stigma and Healing.” 2018, https://www.womenshealth.gov/blog/mental-health-stigma.
