The media discussing social mental illness

Maria Begonia Gonzalez Q

Unidad Educativa Bilingüe Delta

I Baccalaureate Section C

2018 – 2019
 THE MEDIA DISCUSSING MENTAL ILLNESS

There should be more positive representation of mental illness in the media (TV shows,

books, songs) because its depiction causes teenagers to reach out for help, destroy

prejudices or stereotypes they might have against the mental ill and understand things can

get better.

Outline:

I. Introduction

A. Background

B. Thesis Statement

II. Reach out for help

A. Statistics and background

B. It’s importance

III. Destroy Stereotypes

A. Influence of the negative depiction

B. The mentally ill as good role models

IV. Things can get better

A. No happy endings

B. There are happy endings

V. Conclusion

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 INTRODUCTION

“I can relate to that movie with so much intensity...Being hospitalized so many times

throughout my life...this resonates in so many ways that the first time I saw it, I felt myself

there.”(2017) Mighty Community member Christa O. relates her experience watching the

movie Girl, Interrupted (1999). A movie that follows a woman diagnosed with Borderline

Personality Disorder (BPD) staying at a psychiatric medical facility after she attempts suicide.

The realistic and humanizing portrayal of mental illness in the movie along with a few others

is a key role in the process of promoting a better understanding of the topic among the

public, but it’s not very common to see it, even though the presence the ailment is. According

to the National Institute of Mental Health, “mental disorders are common throughout the

United States, affecting tens of millions of people each year...” (2017). Nevertheless the

statistics, the subject is still considered a taboo. On an interview with Bridget Minamore, a

recognized journalist and specialist on the topic, she was asked “what are some of the

biggest barriers to people accessing good mental health care?” (Barker 2012) to what she

responded “I would say the stigma around mental health is still a massive barrier. People can

be scared to acknowledge any struggles to themselves and others.” (Minamore, 2012). Over

time, there have been a few attempts to break the silence through of TV shows, movies,

books, etc., although not so “good” ones. Mental illness would be thrown into a storyline as a

plot device or character motive in order to fill blank spaces that the lack of creativity of a lazy

writer would leave, making their characters extremely violent and evil while blaming it on their

mental sickness and creating stereotypes that make it look bad to the public eye. That's why

there needs to be more positive representation. So, how does the positive representation of

mental illness in the media affects teenager’s mindset? There should be more positive

representation of mental illness in the media (TV shows, books, songs) because its depiction

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is influencing teenagers by making them want to reach out for help, destroy prejudices or

stereotypes they might have against the mental ill and understand things can get better.

REACHING OUT FOR HELP

Statistics speak on why the talk on mental health is necessary in today's media. Gayathri

Ramprasad, who is a mental health advocate, was interviewed and asked about why it is

important to talk about it nowadays, she answered “If we talk about them more, we have

a better chance of breaking the cycle of stigma, prejudice, and discrimination”

(Ramprasad, 2018). On August 27 of 2017, the MTV Video Music Awards took place in

Inglewood, California. It is a very important ceremony awards in the music industry, and

very popular among the youth, more specifically teenagers. Various artists saw this event

as an opportunity to spread awareness on the topic of mental illness knowing the large

audience the show has. Examples of this are Logic, an American rapper and songwriter,

Alessia Cara, a Canadian singer and songwriter and Khalid, an American singer and also

producer. Together, they performed 1-800-273-8255, a song about how suicide is never

the answer to anyone’s problem. The powerful song and speech the artists gave had an

apparent impact on the audience, because the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

encountered a 50% rise in calls because of the show, according to Frances Gonzalez,

the Lifeline's Director of Communications (2017) "Sharing that healing and hope are

possible, helps individuals in crisis, [and] as changes the conversation around suicide

from one of isolation to one of hope and connection." Not only the performance of the

song helped, on April 28 of last year, its release assisted the Lifeline in acquiring the

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“second-highest daily call volume ever at that time” (Armstrong 2017) almost 4500 calls.

This statistics are indeed proof that representation in the media about taboo topics such

as mental illness can open a healthy conversation for those who struggle with it in

silence; it shows them they can always reach out for help. It reinforces the idea that the

mainstream media has big influence in the molding of young people's mindset and

attitudes and, in consequence of this, should use it in a positive way and spread real

information about topics that people tend to throw under a rug.

In the last paragraph, the good and realistic portrayal of a subject was mentioned while

indicating how it fills people's minds with knowledge and the wish to open up to others

about their struggles, which is very necessary in the path to overcome mental illness. It is

extremely crucial that those affected, realize they cannot deal with this issue on their own

and that fortunately, the sickness is treatable. The amount of people experiencing mental

health disorders is unbelievably high. In fact, according to the National Alliance on Mental

Illness (2016), “one in four adults — approximately 57.7 million Americans — experience

a mental health disorder in a given year.” Nevertheless, there is a positive side to this.

The NAMI (2016) also estimated that “between 70 and 90 percent of the individuals who

are treated for their illness have a reduction in symptoms and improved quality of life.”

The media makes sure that the message of the importance of seeking for help is

received by making campaigns raising awareness such as “#HereForYou (Instagram),

among from many others. It has had an impactful message on the youth, who according

to a poll made on January 2018 to distribute instagram users in age groups, are the

predominant age group in between users (Statista 2018). Recuperating from a

psychological disease involves more than just feeling better, it is about feeling full

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satisfaction regarding life. A significant number of people confirm that their path through

recovering has had its ups and downs along the way, making it a journey of self-

discovering. Looking back at where they started, they feel proud to see how far they have

come, in spite all the stumbling process and the discomforts. All of that was possible

because of the positive response the media has given to thousands of teens out there.

Providing them with hope and the support and services needed to ease the recovery

process and reaching out for help. It takes quite some time, but hopefully, it will all turn

for the best at the end.

DESTROY STEREOTYPES

Substantial investigation has supported the argument that the media is the public’s most

notable source of data and statistics in regards to mental illness. As a matter of fact, one

research found “that media representations of mental sickness are so powerful that they

can override people’s own personal experiences in relation to how they view mental

illness” (Dr. Alexander 2009). Television plays a significant act in this, as the most

popular form of media nowadays, with its large variety shows, films, news reporting and

many other form of entertainment. These often make the mistake to accentuate people

with psychological disorders as outcasts of society, individuals who should be looked

down upon. Another common inaccuracy is its polarizing depiction, either glamorizing or

demonizing it. The issue of all of this is the repercussion bad representation of the topic

has on teenagers. It creates prejudice and stereotypes. Skins, a British TV show is an

example of how bad representation of mental illness while glorifying it gives a false

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definition of the topic and influences teenager’s mindset and actions. Even 10 years after

the show’s release, it’s remarkable character Cassie Ainsworth, a young suffering with an

eating disorder, still has an impact on young generations. On Tumblr, Instagram and

Twitter, you can even find posts with some of Cassie’s iconic but also problematic quotes

like “I didn’t eat for three days so I could be lovely” or “I stopped eating and then

everyone had to do what I said, but I had to stop before I died, because otherwise it

wasn’t fun.” A girl named Harriet (24) who used to be fan of the show back in 2007 when

she was a teen relates her experience. She was asked about how that character

influenced her and how she wanted to be just like Cassie; a smart, odd and beautiful girl.

How at lunch she wouldn’t eat a single thing while her friends did because it made her

feel good about herself. Cassie gave her the impression that anorexia made you a thin

and interesting person. Looking back on Skins now, it is easy to find its flaws, however, it

is important to keep in mind that, although the generalization and stereotypes of

psychological disorders are bad, back in 2007 it was rare to see any representation and

the show was called “progressive” for having that character.

After discussing the media’s failed attempts of portraying the matter, it is important to

acknowledge its successful ones, their importance and the reason why there should be

more. Why should there be more if just the risk of it being bad and affecting teens is

already higher? Because representation matters. According to Google, representation is

defined as “the description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way or as

being of a certain nature” by. What the media needs is more of this been done correctly

because it brings a wide range of diverse portrayal of people, which would mean giving

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others a more authentic depiction of mental illness. That is exactly what Rebecca Sugar

hoping to do with her show Steven Universe, putting characters who deal with mental

health issues in the spotlight while at the same time depicting them as good role models.

The cartoon relates the story of a war between a fictional world populated by humanoid

gems and the defenders of the planet Earth, who are also gems but rebelled against their

home. But, I’d like to focus on a particular character, Lapis Lazuli, who’s a gem that got

stuck in between this fight and left forgotten in the planet Earth trapped in a mirror. This

traumatic experience made her develop PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) which she

manifests throughout the series. However, the show doesn't portray her as an evil villain

whose malevolent actions are driven solely by her mental health issues like most TV

shows do. She’s written as a good yet flawed character who at the end of the day is just

like any other person. “I have PTSD and I really appreciate Lapis Lazuli because she is

an accurate representation of a PTSD survivor.” says an anonymous user on Reddit and

others say they don’t have the illness themselves but this character made them

comprehend those who do better. Lapis was written to show good representation on the

media is important.

THINGS CAN GET BETTER

There had been many examples mentioned all throughout the essay, but there are that

more that need to be talked about. Life is Strange and Until Dawn are very similar games.

They both came out on the same year (2015), both are choice based games and both

have bad written mentally ill characters who no matter what your choices are throughout

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the game, suffer a terrible ending with no redemption. Josh (Until Dawn) and Nathan

(LiS) play an antagonistic role in their respective games and had been described as

“psychotic” by other characters due to their violent manners. The game blames their

mental illness as the main reason for their behavior. It is important to keep in mind that

although some people with mental health problems might experience aggressive

episodes because of their condition, this depiction is only strengthening the stereotype

that mentally ill people are violent. As previously mentioned, neither Josh nor Nathan get

a proper redemption. Some might argue that, in some kind of way they do, but even if

that was true, it is given to them right before being killed off without a proper reason as to

why. In fact, Josh is the only playable character in Until Dawn who can’t be saved at the

end, he dies being hated by all of his friends and with them not mourning his death even

a little bit. Nathan’s case is also similar. In Life is Strange there are only two endings, the

first one involves the player finding a voicemail left by Nathan before his death, he

addresses the game’s protagonist, Max, telling her that he is sorry for what he did to her

and everybody else, and that he doesn't have much time left before his killer returns and

finally warns her that somebody wants to hurt her. Many Lis players got really upset

about his death because it was off screen and rushed and felt that the voicemail just

opened more questions about his character than answers.

Both characters contribute to the media trope that mentally ill characters do not deserve a

happy ending that has been going around for quite some time in the online community.

The killing of minorities, based on race, sexual orientation, mental sickness or religious

belief in the media has become more noticeable for the community all throughout the

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years. A writer's job is to fully develop and build their character's story, give them the

potential needed to evolve and most importantly let them do so. If a creator crafts their

show including a character representing a minority group they must know how much of a

big responsibility that carries. How the development that character will affect those who

follow its story. Teenagers are the main consumers of shows like this. According to

Global Web Index (2015), more than 58% of teens ranging from the age of 16 to 19

watch Netflix, one of the biggest entertainment companies and a main source of shows

made for teens. Netflix is filled with a wide variety in shows and films and it is important

that if they include a mentally ill character they do it in the right way. Teens need to get

rid of the stereotype that there are no happy endings for people with mental diseases.

Writers need stop letting their lack of creativity and laziness stop them from doing justice

to their own character and help teenagers realize that even with a struggle of that

magnitude you can still achieve happiness. However, it is still important that the depiction

of the topic also shows them not everybody experiences the same. The process varies

and that is normal. Sometimes people find cures, whether they are permanent or

temporary or sometimes they don’t find one and have to learn how to deal with it on their

own. Whatever it is that someone may go through, they must know they won’t always feel

this way.

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 CONCLUSION

So in conclusion, over the years the media has been responsible for people’s

misinterpretation of mental illnesses since it is one of the biggest world’s influential. It is

known for doing a very poor job at representing selective minority’ groups - in this case;

people with mental health issues. To this very day it is much rare to see any songs,

shows, films, or video games portraying the topic, but —based on previous shown

evidence— forms of media regarding the subject are still available for others to see, and

a few creators are working so that there can be more. In that way, stereotypes,

prejudices and the stigma that surrounds the topic might go away.

“I feel like the world that isn't affected by mental illness doesn't hear me, and on top of

that, doesn't care.” (Latifi 2016). That statement describes accurately how the mentally ill

feels rejected by society. What society’s view on subjects that are not portrayed on the

media. They are not welled inform and being misinformed leads to misunderstandings;

these can grow stronger when they come from multiple sources, forming the stigma that

was mentioned earlier. Bad representation is the result of being misinformed. The essay

has already addressed that the media is responsible for this, and that is why it has to

improve. As mentioned before, people are working on that improvement but they need to

be supported.

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