Alexandra Busbin Busbin 1

Mrs. DeBock

English IV Honors

9 March 2017

Fictionalize and Stigmatize: Media and the Misrepresentation of Mental Illness

The stigmatization of people living with mental illness is made from misinformation and

misrepresentation. However, the public isnt getting their information from poorly researched

documentaries, they are getting it from overly dramatic television shows and films where the

writers and directors know just as much as the public does. The concept that mentally ill people

are more dangerous than the rest of the public is a misguided statement because there has been

no coherent understanding of the connection between violence and mental illness; in fact it is

suggested that the likelihood for violence in mentally ill individuals is just as assorted as the rest

of the population (Parrot & Parrot). This likelihood for brutality in mental health consumers is

exaggerated ten to twenty times more in prime time television compared to the actual U.S.

population (Parrot & Parrot). As Wahl has stated the unsavory public opinions toward mental

illness has hindered the recovery and daily lives of the people who live with mental illness. In

Mental Illness in Childrens Media, Wahl used a line from a book written by T. Rockwell

stating Crazy people are like dogs. If they see youre afraid they attack. This quote came from

a childrens novel. Many individuals thoughts about people with mental illness are exclusively

shaped by mass media because of a void of interaction with mentally ill (Sieff). Sieff states even

though the understanding of disorders and treatment have greatly advanced, perceptions of
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mental illness remain sour and most of society remains ignorant to the lack of danger that the

majority of the mentally ill pose. Though there have been films and entertainment programs

where the protagonist has some form of a mental illness the portrayal of symptoms are usually

inaccurate or unduly exaggerated. If mass media is going to write characters with real world

illnesses then the characters should have real world symptoms.

Entertainment programming plays a heavy hand in the stigmatization of mental illness.

Stuart studied that of television shows feature mental illness in some form or another, of

mentally ill characters murder someone, and harm another character. Shows even use different

camera angles for mentally ill characters than neurotypical ones; usually framed to make

mentally ill characters seem dislodged from society (Stuart).

 Works Cited

Anderson, M. "One Flew over the Psychiatric Unit: Mental Illness and the Media." Journal

of Psychiatric & Mental Health Nursing, vol. 10, no. 3, June 2003, pp. 297-306.

EBSCOhost.

Mullins, James. "The Power of the Media to Shape Perceptions of Mental Ill." Mental Health

Practice, vol. 17, no. 8, May 2014, p. 34. EBSCOhost.

Parrott, Scott and Caroline T. Parrott. "Law & Disorder: The Portrayal of Mental Illness in U.S.

Crime Dramas." Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, vol. 59, no. 4, Dec. 2015,

pp. 640-657. EBSCOhost.

Sieff, Elaine. "Media Frames of Mental Illnesses: The Potential Impact of Negative Frames."

Journal of Mental Health, vol. 12, no. 3, June 2003, p. 259. EBSCOhost.

Stuart, Heather. "Media Portrayal of Mental Illness and Its Treatments: What Effect Does It Have

on People with Mental Illness?." CNS Drugs, vol. 20, no. 2, 15 Jan. 2006, pp. 99-106.

EBSCOhost.

Wahl, Otto. "Depictions of Mental Illnesses in Children's Media." Journal of Mental Health, vol.

12, no. 3, June 2003, p. 249. EBSCOhost.