Accurate Representation of Mental Illness in Film

In the last two installments in our series about the media and its representation of mental illness. We began by discussing some examples of harmful representation and displaying how, oftentimes, the media spreads misinformation by both trivializing and oversimplifying mental illness. This has been an issue since long before any of us were alive. As discussed in our second post, this type of misinformation can be extremely harmful to those who suffer with mental illness, because it drastically decreases their chances of getting the help they may need. Although, not all representation is poor representation. Over the past decade or so, we have, in fact, seen some improvements in the ways that the media portrays mental illness. In this post, we will discuss some examples of this positive change, which, if continued and increased in practice, can decrease social stigma of mental illness, and thus, self stigma, as well. 

Before going into this section of the series, I would like to note how difficult it was for me to think of positive examples of mental illness representation in film. Most of the times that we have seen it in the media, it does stay true to its generally harmful and inaccurate portrayal. So, the point of this series is not necessarily to say, “look at how much this has improved! We had a problem, and now it’s fixed!” Not at all. There is still a giant problem within both newsmedia and the entertainment industry that does a lot of harm to the large community of people with mental illnesses. But, there are a few noteworthy examples of stories that have used the medium of film to shine a more realistic, complex light on the issue of mental health. 

The first example I want to discuss is that of a movie which depicts major depressive disorder in a way that many movies have not been brave enough to show prior. The movie The Skeleton Twins (2014), starring Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig, shows the life of two adult twins, who are both struggling with depression. The film, rather than try to simplify depression, displays these characters as complex, and uses their dynamic with each other and the people around them to show a tragic, uncomfortable, and honest depiction of mental illness. I feel that this movie allows for interesting, complex conversation surrounding major depressive disorder, and shows it in a way in which the audience, even if not suffering from depression themselves, can relate to the characters and their dynamics, in some way or another. This kind of portrayal, even if quite painful to watch at times, only allows for more openness about mental illness. It allows for people to be kinder to themselves, and to recognize that these things can happen to people, and they are fixable. 

Secondly, the movie Silver Linings Playbook (2012), starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, shows a story about a man diagnosed with bipolar disorder, who was recently released from a mental institution. He soon meets a young, complicated woman, recently suffering from depression after becoming widowed. The dynamic relationship of the two characters does not use their mental illnesses as a character quirk (as we have discussed in the first post) but displays them as two deeply complex, interesting, and very real people, each struggling with their own issues as they get to know each other. The story is beautiful, messy, and heart wrenching, without making light of real issues people face in the world. My personal favorite quote from the movie is when Jennifer Lawrence’s character tells Cooper’s, “There’s always gonna be a part of me that’s messy and dirty, but I like that, with all the other parts of myself”. In many ways, this story teaches the audience about self-love and putting oneself first, which is an extremely important therapeutic lesson, which can help a lot of people. 

Looking at these two examples of accurate portrayals of mental illness in the media, it is clear that there is so much possibility to do even more. By representing mental illness in an accurate, complex way, that can allow people’s minds to become more open, accepting, and understanding of those who struggle. Through this medium, mental illness can become so much less stigmatized, and more people will reach out to receive professional help. There is no reason to continue to produce media that harms people. There is already plenty of that in the world. With such a large platform, the entertainment industry can make real change in the way that people view mental health care. I just hope that, if someone decides to write a blog post about this topic in ten years, they will have more luck finding examples of positive representation of mental illness than I have had in my search.