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Title: Myths about madness: changing attitudes and challenging stigma Rating: 3.1 out of 4 References: Director, Nancy Platt; producer, Karen
Mattison. Library of Congress subjects: Mental illness--England--Public opinion Mentally ill--Care--England. Sociology subjects: Community activism Disability Media/text analysis Reviews and Numerical Ratings 3 I would show this to undergraduate students. It had a very good beginning that caught attention and turned stereotypical thinking on its head [quite literally as they used blondes as an example of a threatening group]. Although I would show this I would do so only with critical comment. So, this would be a teaching tool for what it portrayed and what it did not. This video had a major flaw, not surprisingly the same flaw, or the same overlooking, unlooking we find in health & illness in general, specifically re this thing we call “mental health”. What is it? What isn’t it? Where do our ideas about it come from? While the video did a nice job showing “mentally ill” people as “normal” by many criteria, and it did a pretty good job outlining stigmas & some stereotypes, its focus was something called “serious mental illness” or “severe mental difficulties”. These terms were never defined or differentiated from non-severe “mental illness”. The only criteria one could assume from the stories portrayed was that hospitalization was involved. “Mental illnesses” described included, for example, depression & schizophrenia. A significant proportion of the population is treated for depression, are we a society of “mentally ill” people, then? Funding cuts [here and in Britain where the video is made] as well as social standing, affect hospitalization. Does that mean that these cases are or are not “severe”?. What are differences between severe & not severe...and on and on. Why do we distinguish “mental” illness from “illness”, for example? Just what ARE we talking about and WHY? No mention of these concerns here. This video would be suitable for several lecture topics, health & illness, stereotyping, norms, deviance, health policy, social policy, social organization, media, discourse, to name a few. (For this to be used as a “feminist” video, significant comment from the instructor would need to be included as there was no apparent evidence of any feminist analysis in the video.) Deborah Davidson 3 Polished & cleverly done, especially with regard to the viewers’ & narrators’ standpoints. E.g., authorities on mental illness gradually reveal that they have mental illnesses. This keeps the viewer alert. It’s a little long though. Lecture topics: health, media, communications, social psychology of prejudice. Kathy Bischoping & Riley Olstead 2.5 Good testimony from ordinary people. Good introduction to mental illness - would definitely need supplementary material. Short & sweet. Lecture topics: stigma, mental health. Pnina Ginzberg & Mervyn Horgan 3 Narrated by activists, doctors, the public, the mentally ill, and their families, this video reveals how the stereotypes about mental illness lead to prejudice & discrimination against the mentally ill. The video also exposes the myth about the mentally ill as crazy and dangerous to the public, by demonstrating that mentally ill people are normal people who can function in public. By having watched this video I was forced to reconsider my own prejudices regarding the mentally ill and furthermore, saw that people characterized as “normal” may, in fact, have some form of mental illness. The video also shows the role of the media in fostering negative stereotypes. An excellent source for courses dealing with prejudice & discrimination, particularly in the disciplines of psychology, sociology, & health. For students at any level. Kisrene McKenzie (undergraduate) 4 This video is powerful because it seeks to unveil
the experiences and discriminatory treatment of a distinct population.
It demonstrates the multifaceted nature of mental illness and the diversity
of mental health patients, and challenges positively the myths that
persons suffering from a mental illness are “crazy all the time”
and that mental illness is synonymous with enactments of violence. Mental
health patients are shown to be anyone, including persons in powerful
& responsible professions such as teaching. The mentally ill are
shown to commonly be functional and competent. Negative stigmas, labelling,
prejudices, discrimination and a lack of empathy towards the mentally
ill are well articulated. Persons with these disorders describe feeling
debilitated, not only by their illness, but also by society’s
devaluing perception of them. Resistance is a compelling theme of this
video, which illustrates an adamant desire of the mentally ill to challenge
their socially constructed images & treatment. For students at any
level. Belinda Godwin
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