Addison Leverett

A Look into Sophia Nemeth’s “The Harmful Impacts of Mental Illness Representation in Television”

Why you should read it

This article does an excellent job of explaining how TV shows and films perpetuate negative stereotypes about mental illness by analyzing a single episode from Law and Order: SVU in which a ‘psychiatrist’ diagnoses an abusive mother with borderline personality disorder and attaches her abusive behavior to her illness. Included is an excerpt from an individual with BPD and her reaction to the episode and how it impacted her own thoughts regarding her mental illness. This shows how much a harmful portrayal of mental illness can impact an individual suffering from that same one. What makes this article so great for learning about how the media perpetuates stereotypes about mental illness is this: the media usually inaccurately and irresponsibly portray extremely complicated disorders, such as schizophrenia, dissociative identity disorder, and personality disorders, that usually require at least a Bachelor’s in psychology to fully understand.

What to look at

One of the most important points of this article is how these harmful depictions of mental illness can impact those suffering from them in real life. These stigmas can be internalized and “translate to negative self-esteem and a sense of unworthiness” which is often overlooked when discussing stigmas and stereotypes in the field of psychology. In the world TV and film, however, there seems to be an easy solution to this problem: writers and directors and producers need to actually talk to individuals who suffer from the mental illnesses they want to depict and/or a professional who actually understands them. 

Entertainment and Mental Illness in the USA

Television and film are a part of everyday life in America. Some of us host watching parties for the Oscars and Emmys to see if our favorites won. We live vicariously through characters and plot lines. We connect to characters on a spiritual level, especially if they share the same struggles as us. If you’re someone who struggles with mental illness (and if you’re reading this post, you probably do) then it’s particularly personal when you hear a character shares the same mental illness as you. Then you watch the film or show and you think to yourself, “What in the actual heck are they talking about?” Granted, the television industry has done a better job of depicting mental illness in recent years, especially with shows like Euphoria and Bojack Horseman. But there’s still the question of how the media’s portrayal of mental illness impacts an audience’s understanding and perceptions of mental illness and the stigmas associated with it. 

Audience + Narratives about mental illness=?

We connect to characters on a spiritual level, especially if they share the same struggles as us. If you’re someone who struggles with mental illness (and if you’re reading this post, you probably do) then it’s particularly personal when you hear a character shares the same mental illness as you. Then you watch the film or show and you think to yourself, “What in the actual heck are they talking about?”  Granted, the television industry has done a better job of depicting mental illness in recent years, especially with shows like Euphoria and Bojack Horseman. However, it’s the inaccurate, romanticized portrayal of mental illness that poses a big threat to audiences.  

It has been estimated that one in four Americans suffer from some sort of mental illness. For an issue that so affects so many people in the United States, you would think that the film and entertainment industry would do a better job of accurately depicting mental illness. One of the biggest gaps in research regarding mental illness in the media is how audiences are impacted by narratives surrounding mental illness.

“Narrative Processing of Entertainment Media and Mental Illness”

In 2011, Nicole Mossing Caputo conducted a study to address the primary processes in an audience’s perception on a film’s depiction of mental illness. Stigmas were defined in terms of behavioral avoidance, namely social distancing. This study was conducted before the world got flipped upside down with COVID, so social distancing is not referring to the tw years where we could only see our closest friends and family (and when we all went a little insane). She centered her study around a concept called transportation theory and how it affects audience’s perception of mental illness and the subsequent stigmatization of mentally ill people. Caputo’s study investigated the relationship between transportation into a narrative and perceived mental illness stigma based on genre (fiction or nonfiction) and character identification. 

Transportation Theory

In her study, Caputo used a transportation theory approach. This is a fancy way of saying that according to transportation theory, people process the message of films (and all media) differently based on how strongly they relate to the content and message. Hence the name: the more an individual feels ‘transported’ in a story, the stronger of a reaction they’ll have. The mental process of transportation is an “integrative melding of attention, imagery and feeling, focused on story events” which is connected to how immersed an individual is in a story. Most importantly is the fact that transportation can lead to belief change. While most people know the feeling of when you get so engrossed in a book or movie that you don’t notice anything that’s happening in your environment, you never forget your past or who you are. This is why prior experience, or familiarity, is so important when it comes to how transportation can shape.

It’s no surprise that the majority of people have a negative stereotype about mental illness based on how it’s projected by the media. Most characters in TV/film that have a mental illness are often presented based on the existing stereotypes surrounding the specific mental illness. For example, characters with schizophrenia are almost always presented as extremely violent and dangerous when in reality individuals who suffer from schizophrenia are not all violent. However, because of this enduring presentation of schizophrenia in TV, film, and media in general, the majority of people equate schizophrenia with violence. While we do know that the media’s portrayal of mental illness causes the audience to believe and internalize the stereotypes about mental illness, there’s a lot more that’s unknown.

What did this study find out?

The results of this study showed that there was no significant difference in social distancing stigmatization between the fiction and nonfiction groups. However, participants who thought the narrative was relatable to their own life showed less social distancing than viewers who were not transported. This aspect of relevance and relatability to the narrative was the strongest impact of the study, with character identification being next.

Self-stigmatization: How the media perpetuates it

Television and film have always been an escape from reality for me and many others. As most people know, there’s a sense of relief when we see a character struggle with issues we thought were unique to us- it sends the message that ‘You’re not alone’. I watch shows and movies in an effort to better understand myself; I yearn to connect and relate to characters that share the same experiences as I do. After being diagnosed with ADHD when I was eight, I turned towards TV and film to help me understand why I was the way I was. Big mistake. In Hollywood’s mind, I’m hyperactive to the point of mania, unintelligent, and unable to focus on anything at all whose only redeeming quality was humor, usually based on the assumption that the character is an idiot. Oh, and apparently in Hollywood, women can’t have ADHD. The one ADHD character that I could actually relate to was Jake Peralta from Brooklyn Nine-Nine, another man. Hollywood’s projection of stereotypical ADHD characters was ingrained into my parents’ minds- their gifted, quiet, creative daughter couldn’t have a mental illness like that. I thought I couldn’t either: I wasn’t disruptive or hyperactive, but I was a daydreamer and bounced from task to task like a pinball machine. That’s why I got tested and diagnosed again when I was twelve. It made no sense- I wasn’t anything like those characters I saw on TV and in movies. At least I didn’t think I was. Maybe I was the dumb, funny friend

It’s not just ADHD that gets misrepresented and romanticized in the entertainment industry- it’s every mental illness. Granted, Hollywood has made strides with shows like Euphoria, Bojack Horseman, and, my personal favorite, Ted Lasso. But that still doesn’t negate the inaccurate and harmful portrayals of mental illness that have run rampant through the media for decades and still somehow find their way to the screens to this day. 

Portrayals of Mental Illness

Accurate depictions

One of the most accurate depictions of mental illness is found in the show Ted Lasso. Ted is an upbeat, optimistic, fun-loving guy who also suffers from panic attacks. The panic attacks in the show are the most realistic ones I’ve seen on television: it comes when he least expects it, he has shaking and numb hands, not being able to breathe, and uncontrollable crying. Additionally, the writers of the show did an incredible job of making sure Ted seemed like the last person on earth who would have panic attacks, but he still does. They make sure to emphasize the fact that his optimistic, upbeat persona is just a coping mechanism. This sheds light on the fact that even the people you least expect to struggle with mental illness do; it reminds us to check in on everyone.

Another show that has taken an issue that is far too glamorized in the media and has made sure it’s portrayed realistically is Euphoria, which follows several high school students and their struggles with mental health, gender identity, trauma, and show the gritty reality of what it’s like to be a Gen-Z adolescent. The narrator, Rue, is a 17 year old who struggles with anxiety and opioid addiction, which the writer of the show, Sam Levinson, struggled with too. Viewers who struggle with these issues found the show to be depicted realistically, mainly because it shows the raw reality of drug addiction and mental illness. 

Inaccurate/harmful depictions

However, we all know that there are far more inaccurate depictions of mental illness in the media. One of the most recent and notable examples is the 2019 film Joker which just reiterates the misconception that mental illness leads to violence. 

A more recent trend in the media is the romanticization of mental illness. The first work that comes to mind is the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, which follows the aftermath of the suicide of a high school girl and the cassette tapes she leaves behind. The show dramatized and glorified suicide, along with showing very graphic and realistic scenes depicting suicide. In the three months after it was released, there was a sharp increase in suicide in kids ages 10-19, the target audience for the show. 

Impact on Audience

Self stigmatization

Perhaps the group most affected by the media’s portrayal of mental illness is that of the mentally ill population. When you see a character that has the mental illness you have, you immediately feel connected with them, even if it doesn’t describe you whatsoever. Self stigmatization is the internalized shame and negative attitudes people with mental illness have about their condition. Essentially, it’s when an individual internalizes the stereotypes of their mental illness that are perpetuated by the media. This creates a series of issues, such as low self-esteem and self-efficacy, along with being less likely to ask/receive help due to the stigma attached to mental illness. When I was first diagnosed with ADHD, I felt extreme levels of self-stigmatization. Maybe I was just the dumb, funny, kind of obnoxious friend; maybe I didn’t even have ADHD, because I didn’t act like anyone on TV with ADHD, and I really was just lazy and incompetent. Obviously, this isn’t true, but I still struggle with these thoughts every day. 

What to do about it.

The solution to this issue is simple: hire writers who actually know what they’re talking about. Work with psychiatrists and psychologists to get a professional, diagnostic grasp on characters with mental illness and the presentation of a character’s symptoms. And, most importantly, talk to people who have actually experienced whatever mental illness you’re depicting. Not just one person, but multiple people because anyone who knows a lick about mental illness will tell you that nobody’s presentation of mental illness is identical, nor is the degree to which they experience it.