Media representations are just a reflections of reality, not construction or distortions.

Discuss
with reference to one or more groups of people
Mental illnesses have various representations in media, although it is more stereotypical for
characters who suffer from mental illness to be shown negatively as evidenced in 1980s thriller
movie Fatal Attraction; the character Alex Forrest was presented as the jealous and unstable
mistress of the main character which several psychologists and film critics have remarked as
someone who resembled traits of a borderline personality disorder, which Glenn Close (the
actress playing Forrest) regret assisting on the stigma; this may be due to the fact that the
mentally ill were believed to be dangerous and violent at that time. However this archaic
mindset have been proven to be incorrect with modern research which can be seen through
contemporary media, such as the portrayal of bipolar disorder in TV series Shameless which
has been praised for being accurate and realistic.
Pluralists believe modern societies to be democratic and that the representations in media
reflects the views of society, in a pluralist approach depictions of the mentally ill are reflective of
reality. It could be considered that the progressive portrayal of the mentally ill in contemporary
media can be related to audiences views on the group, an example would be the portrayal of
the character Steve Mcdonald dealing with depression on TV soap Coronation S0 treet, the
show writers were determined to reflect a realistic depiction of depression and its effects. This
was achieved through the support of mental health experts from Time to Change who help
improve the depiction of people suffering with mental health problems and ensure authenticity
and accuracy. A study by the Department of Mental Health found almost half of all mentally ill
characters were negatively portrayed with violent and dangerous behaviour however a report by
the charity Time to Change and GUMG found mental health have been increased in coverage
as well as a decline of violent mentally ill characters, from audience feedback 48 percent say
that mental health storylines have reformed their opinion of the types of people that could
develop mental health problems.
Conversely according to Ward news reports involving mental illness connected with criminality
and violence receive more exposure than positive stories which argues that perhaps mental
health representations could be constructed as Ward insinuates that journalists avert media
attention to a negative perspective of mental illness. Such as the negative spectacle of mental
illness sufferers in particularly notable media personalities, for example Amanda Bynes after
showing troubling behaviour and making absurd statements on social media platform Twitter.
Throughout this episode the media have sensationalised her meltdown and mock her struggle
with her mental health they simply ignore the troubles she is going through and transform
mental illness as a performance, as a celebrity there is a lack of privacy and due to this factor
she is dehumanized and labelled as crazy. Therefore how could media representations of
mental illness be realistic when majority of news reports on mental illness focus on negative
characteristics related to people with the disorder and disregard positive stories that highlighting
recovery, as explained by Wahl. Although Allen and Nairn criticise this notion as they believe
journalists may not have an extensive knowledge on mental health issues and their aim is to
produce stories that can grasp the readers attention which either way reveals that the stories

are tailored to attract masses rather inform audiences of the realities of being mentally ill or
dealing with mental illness.
Mental illness in games have been used as an accessory to the plot and usually the portrayals
have been problematic, certain elements such as haunted asylums and insane villains
perpetuates the stigma and limited understanding of mental illness. The video game Outlast
centers around a corrupt psychiatric hospital rumored to carry out inhumane experiments on
criminal patients unsurprisingly its of the horror genre, most common genre of video games that
deal with the theme of mental illness are likely to be horror. According to the hypodermic syringe
model the media has an immediate and direct effect on audiences, audiences are passive in
their consumption of media messages, this kind of portrayal can discourage people who may
benefit from these institutions however decides against it due to internalizing the attitude this
game has on psychiatric hospitals also contrary to the homicidal patients of the asylum the vast
majority of people who are violent do not suffer from mental illnesses as explained by the
American Psychiatric Association. The demonization of mental illness and therapy in Outlast are
exaggerated and more frightening than reality, it ignores positive outcomes of therapy and
expresses radical misconceptions of mental institutions. As stated by New Freedom
Commission, stigma on mental health leads others to avoid living, socializing, working with or
employing people with mental disorders.