A Selected Annotated Bibliography on Portrayal of Schizophrenia in Film

Cross, Simon. “Visualizing Madness: Mental Illness and Public Representation.” Television and New Media. 2004 http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=23&hid=106&sid=0b1c3a10-d0da-4835-a312-a6a077b24944%40sessionmgr115. Simon Cross at University of Lincoln explores images of madness and mental illness through television program makers. He suggests to television consumers that the mentally ill whom are depicted in TV programs are usually shown as being “dangerous.” Cross suggests an approach to public representation of mental illness with television programs holding social responsibility of accurate depiction. Cross’s research helps to explain to television consumers the extremely identifiable figures depicted as mentally ill. These findings will help support my research about the portrayal of mentally ill in the media.

Heinrichs, R. Walter. “Historical Origins of Schizophrenia: Two Early Madmen and their Illness.” Journal of the History of Behavioral Science. 2003 http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=20&hid=22&sid=9c7ef2c8-a64c-4000-9f63-0f4adc3c6c01%40sessionmgr15R. Walter Heinrichs discuss historical accounts of Schizophrenia in the eighteenth and fourteenth centuries. He suggests these two cases to historians in order to discuss the past in relationship to the present in regards to Schizophrenia. These cases may suggest that Schizophrenia, although seen as a “new” illness, has been around longer than historians and medical experts thought. Heinrichs findings are very helpful in the medical and historical fields of research. These findings will help in my research to provide an origin and historical background of Schizophrenia.

Kondo, Naomi. “Speaking Out: Mental Illness in Film.” Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal 2007 https://blackboard.unh.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp.

Noami Kondo of Wesleyan University, suggests to the public at large about the incorrect and negative portrayals of Mental Illness in film, being a Schizophrenic herself. Kondo draws on personal experience to support her findings. Film, says Kondo, being such a powerful avenue of information, adds stigma to an already misunderstood disease. She draws on examples of Hollywood movie portrayals of mental illness, specifically Schizophrenia, and explains how they are inaccurate, stigmatized and even insulting to patients with this disease. Kondo gives personal insight on the topic of depictions of mental illness in film which will give me a greater understanding of inaccurate portrayals of Schizophrenia in movies such as A Beautiful Mind.

Owen, Patricia. “Dispelling Myths About Schizophrenia Using Film.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology. Jan. 2007 http://web.ebscohost.com.libproxy.unh.edu/ehost/detail?vid=8&hid=110&sid=70fa74cc-f2a4-44b4-ac7e-f88fe0d9be04%40sessionmgr114. Patricia Owen, from St. Mary’s University at San Antonio, suggests to educators about dispelling myths about Schizophrenia using film to teach students. Owen conducts a study to examine the effectiveness of a visually based format to disband misinformation about schizophrenia. She uses past studies to show that the negatively stereotyped and inaccurate movie portrayals of Schizophrenia fall parallel to the public’s knowledge of Schizophrenia. Owen’s (2007) main question is, “Can this same medium be used to educate?” Following the study, Owen found that there was improvement of knowledge about Schizophrenia after a short film, but it was gender based. She found that film increased the knowledge of students about Schizophrenia, but more so in females. This article by Patricia Owen will be helpful in my research because it gives many examples of negative stereotypes and inaccurate information about Schizophrenia which will help to support my argument.

Wahl, Otto F. “Mass Media Images of Mental Illness: A Review of the Literature.” Journal of Community Psychology. Oct. 1992 http://web.ebscohost.com.libproxy.unh.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=12&hid=110&sid=70fa74cc-f2a4-44b4-ac7e-f88fe0d9be04%40sessionmgr114. Otto F. Wahl of George Mason University reviews the frequency, accuracy and impact of mass media portrayals of mental illness. Wahl (1992) concludes that mass media portrayals of mental illness “have significant effects on attitudes toward mental illness and treatment” and “that their depictions of mental illness are characteristically inaccurate and unfavorable.” Wahl’s research provides his audience with examples and explanations of inaccurate depictions of mental health in films. This will aid me in my research because many of Wahl’s arguments are backed by past research findings.

 

 

Alexis Pauline Gumbs

Alexis Pauline Gumbs

On Tuesday, November 9th, Alexis Pauline Gumbs was invited to our school by many co sponsors of the university. Alexis is a feminist writer and poet. She focuses on technology in many of her writings which is why this presentation/interview was relevant to our Cyberbodies class. I went to this event on Tuesday and found it very interesting. Alexis started out with something that she wrote for her cousin and for us. It was a short speech on technology and humans and how the two are seeming to blend as one the more advanced we get as a society. Her main point was that we are humans and we can make decisions because we are not technology, and our opinion matters and we can make decisions on our own with out the influence of technology. She ended her speech with a poem that she wrote which I loved. I even asked her for a copy of it. It focused on the same idea her speech did, about humans in connection with technology and it was all about Alexis making decision; yes, no, this and not that. I found this poem so amazing and the way she read it was extremely moving.

After her speech, Courtney Marshall interviewed her and asked her guiding questions that turned into more of a group discussion with the audience. The discussion focused on our reliance on technology as a community. Blogs were mentioned a lot and this is where I felt least involved because I don't blog besides the blog I have for this class. It was hard for me to understand what people were talking about, but I learned a lot about the ways people blog, the emotions that go into it, and the reactions that people get through blogging.

I really enjoyed Alexis Pauline Gumbs and I found her to be one of the most intelligent people I've ever heard speak. She is so involved and passionate about what she does and I think it's incredible the effort and time she puts into her work.

Equality Now

I have never really gone to any specific feminist websites, but as I was browsing the web, I came across a website that really struck me. It's called Equality Now and it's goal is to end violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world through mobilization and public pressures. Specific issues this website focuses on are rape, domestic violence, trafficking, FGM (Female Genital Mutilation), reproductive rights and gender discrimination. Equality Now has created many different campaigns for different public issues related to women. Equality Now works to help protect and promote human rights around the world.

Following Alexis Pauline Gumbs article, "Virtual Togetherness," Equality Now creates an online community for women who have gone through similar experiences as the women shown or talked about on the website. The majority of this website refers to women in less developed countries, Africa, India and Afghanistan for example. Although this website refers mostly to women outside of the United States, having a website that makes these kind of women's issues public, helps other women because they can relate to them. This website has so much information on ways to campaign, promote women's rights, and many facts that bring these "women's issues" to the forefront of human right issues. It allows people who feel very strongly about these issues to become part of this community and take part in campaigns, networks and projects so they feel part of something. Being part of something, anything, provides people with a sense of community. It allows people to be an info-sumer, simply just taking in facts that are put on the website. It allows people to be a communitarian which means they can go to this website and become very much a part of Equality Now. There are several ways that someone can become part of Equality Now including organizing events, fundraising, writing letters and circulating petitions. These are ways in which someone can really become a communitarian, becoming part of the Equality Now community.