Mental Illnesses In Movies
Movies are not the only part of the film industry that misrepresents mental illnesses; cartoons and tv shows misrepresent them as well. By referencing mental illnesses within children’s cartoons, it allows the children to learn to stigmatize mental illnesses early in life. For example, in a study of six main cartoon characters portraying mental illnesses, three of them were comical, and the other three were the villains (Wilson par. 15) This is another example of how the entertainment industry is using the symptoms of certain serious mental illnesses in order to portray the ‘villain’ or the funny, ‘crazy’ character. Furthermore, the famous television show, ‘Dr. Phil’, is a talk show hosted by a psychologist who helps people with their problems.