Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Media effects on stereotypes
Media effects on stereotypes
Media effects on stereotypes
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Media effects on stereotypes
There are approximately 450 million people suffering from a mental disorder worldwide at any given time. These patients are often described with adjectives such as “unstable” and “violent”, even though these words may not be spoken out loud in society. In fact, a research conducted by BMC Health Services Research on 14-year-old students in England, states that the top three words used to describe them are “disturbed”, “nuts” and “confused”. (Rose and Thornicroft et al. 97) This may have partly stemmed from media industries, such as Hollywood. Hollywood has “benefitted from long-standing and lurid fascination with psychiatric illness” by choosing to portray people with mental illnesses such as Norman Bates, in Alfred Hitchcock’s movie “Psycho”, as a psychotic killer and Dr. Hannibal Lecter, in Jonathan Demme’s movie “Silence of the Lamb” as a cannibalistic psychiatrist. (Friedman)
In Singapore alone, 1 of every 10 people suffers from a mental illness, with the most common illness being depression. It was estimated to happen to 170,000 adults with a ratio of more woman than men. Other less common but significant illnesses are alcohol abuse as well as Obsessive Compulsion Disorder (OCD).
In the early years of Singapore, when she was a part of the British colony, taking care of the mentally ill was not a matter of great importance. The first ever request that a mental institution is to be built in Singapore was sent to John Hanson, whom had been staying in this country for five years, in 1828. Prior to that, the medical needs of the natives in Singapore were not of priority to the British colony. However, even after the request was sent, no institution for the mentally ill was set up and the system of putting the more dangerous ...
... middle of paper ...
...ian." Citizenhistorian.com, 2013. Web. 10 Dec 2013. .
"The Institute Of Mental Health (IMH): Mental Health Woes In Singapore." guanyinmiao's musings, 2011. Web. 13 Dec 2013. .
Ng, Beng Yeong. HISTORY OF PSYCHIATRY IN SINGAPORE. n.d. 1. E-book.
Rose, Diana, Graham Thornicroft, Vanessa Pinfold and Aliya Kassam. "250 labels used to stigmatise people with mental illness." BMC Health Services Research, 7. 1 (2007): 97. Web. 12 Dec 2013.
Unknown. "Eight Floor Death Jump." The Straits Times, 25 December. 1970: 17. Print.
"Institute of Mental Health (Singapore)." Wikipedia, 2013. Web. 13 Dec 2013. .
The traditional approach to the care of the mentally ill during the last 200 years was custodial, rather than therapeutic. This approach to “Psychiatric Care Delivery System” was introduced in India from Britain . Mental hospitals were established in isolated areas, often on the outskirts with the object of segregating the patient as troublesome and dangerous to their neighbors. The overriding concern was to protect the citizens without regard for appropriate care and cure of the ailing patients. As a consequence of this objective of the mental hospitals, the quality of care in such hospitals had been very poor. The inmates were subjected to indignity and humiliation for an indefinite period, and once admitted never recovered, or rehabilitated back in their family, but doomed to the inevitable end. The stigma of mental illness thus prevailed.
..., Rossiter, K.R. and Verdun-Jones, S.N., 2011, ‘“Forensic” labelling: An empirical assessment of its effects on self-stigma for people with severe mental illness’, Psychiatry Research, vol. 188, no. 1, pp.115-122.
Mental illness has been around as long as people have been. However, the movement really started in the 19th century during industrialization. The Western countries saw an immense increase in the number and size of insane asylums, during what was known as “the great confinement” or the “asylum era” (Torrey, Stieber, Ezekiel, Wolfe, Sharfstein, Noble, Flynn Criminalizing the Seriously Mentally Ill). Laws were starting to be made to pressure authorities to face the people who were deemed insane by family members and hospital administrators. Because of the overpopulation in the institutions, treatment became more impersonal and had a complex mix of mental and social-economic problems. During this time the term “psychiatry” was identified as the medical specialty for the people who had the job as asylum superintendents. These superintendents assumed managerial roles in asylums for people who were considered “alienated” from society; people with less serious conditions wer...
The Modified Labelling Theory, created by Link et al., (1989) hypothesized that individuals who were labeled as mentally ill, would manage the stigma they faced through three coping mechanisms; education, withdrawal and secrecy (as cited in Ray & Brooks Dollar, 2014). The Modified Labelling Theory is a credible theory that has been used to approach not only the repercussions of stigma in mental illness, but also to explain behaviours of those who smoke, live with HIV/AIDS, or have a child with a disability (Ray & Brooks Dollar,
Purpose: The stigma of mental disorders continues to dissolve, however it remains clear that we need take control of the issue, spread awareness, and educate the public on detecting mental illness and equipping the public with tools on how to be resilient. This purpose paper taps into brain disorders, mental health stigmas and how early detection along with mindfulness contributes to the enhancement of overall well-being.
Thoit, Link, Bruce G., and Jo C. Phelan. "Labeling and Stigma." Handbook of the sociology of mental health. Springer Netherlands, 2013. 525-541.
Throughout her presentation, she explains how public stigmas, once again, cause label avoidance pushing many who need help away from treatment. She then goes on to explain how these stereotyped behaviors cause discrimination towards people with a mental illness from employment to housing which only leads to the creation of more stigmas. Finally, she states how the impact of stigmas is associated with the reduction of self-esteem, overall poor health, and problems with interpersonal relationships (Willits). By using this presentation I am able to connect what we have learned about mental health stigmas to my article. First off, for example, Morris explains how psychiatric units invoke people to imagine a frightening place where insane patients are strapped down and poked and prodded for care (Morris). This stereotypical idea relates to how Willits described general stereotypes associated with mental illness such as crazy and dangerous (Willits). On top of that, Willits explained how these stigmas have negative consequences for patients (Willits). This relates to Morris’s explanation on how the stigma around institutions has caused these units to shut down forcing many people to be homeless or live in jail
Dorothea Dix, in 1841, began to lobby to move inmates with mental illness out of the jail system, which was not suited for them, and into an asylum. Within a short amount of time, she was successful in her mission. Many mentally ill were moved into hospitals which were able to treat their specific needs better than the jail system was able to. But the problem resurfaced again, this time in a different form. The mental health facilities were being to become overcrowded and abusive their patients. This is when the thinking changed to move the mentally ill out of asylums and into more of a community setting facility. This movement was called deinstitutionalization and was popular in the 1950’ and 1960’s. Its goal was to replace the psychiatric hospitals which required long stays and were often overpopulated, with community mental health services which were less isolated. It accomplished this by releasing many patients and thus reducing the population size and helping the patients become less dependent by shorting stays and enforcing positive behaviors.
However, local and national news also produces negativity towards mental illness by “portraying people with mental illness as threats to themselves and to others” (Anaya 4). In the past two years, the news features stories such as a man who has schizophrenia, running on a shooting spree then killing himself; or a mother with depression who murders her children, then kills herself (Anaya 4). Anaya explains that television programs use mental illness as a headline to grab the attention of views and ultimately implies to respond with fear (5). Highlighting that mental illnesses are the reason for the evil in society, hurting those who suffer with mental illnesses. Therefore, the population begin to believe mental illness is bad, so do the people who suffer with mental
Mental illness is very common in the United States society. The World Health Organization, the World Bank, and Harvard University have conducted the massive Global Burden of Disease study showing that “mental illness, including suicide, accounts for more than 15 percent of the burden of disease in first world countries such as the United States” (as cited
So with this the number for mental health and suicide is much higher then what is reported. Mental health is a worldwide issue that no one understands and an issue that In the article Issues and Controversies says, "Throughout most of human history, people with mental illness were ostracized, isolated, and persecuted. " ( Infobase,1) This belief system can give causation of mental illness in different cultures and such influences in a community will always be in a negative manner. Various societies struggle with the notion of mental health.
Most people gather what they know about mental illnesses from television and film. Unfortunately these media portrayals are inaccurate and create stigma. They depict people suffering from mental illnesses as different, dangerous and laughable. Characters are often addicted to drugs or alcohol, are violent, dangerous, or out of control. Horror film characters like Norman Bates in Psycho, Jack Torrance in the Shining, or Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs associate the typical 'psycho- killer' with people who suffer from a mental illness. But dramas and horror films are not the only film genres that create stigma. Comedies like What About Bob and many others not only stigmatize, they also make fun of mental illnesses and the people who suffer from them. This paper will discuss how the film Me, Myself & Irene is an inaccurate, offensive and stigmatizing portrayal of an individual suffering from schizophrenia. It also discusses what can be done to counteract the stigma created by these types of films.
Shutter Island, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is a frightening film full of twists and turns that presents a highly dramatized depiction of mental health and psychiatric treatment. It fulfills a checklist of the classic elements of Hollywood’s psychological horror genre: foreboding asylums, psychiatric experimentation, dangerous mental afflictions, multiple personalities, intense hallucinations, and even lobotomy. The media’s portrayal of psychiatric disorders and treatment is an important contributor to the continued stigmatization of mental illness in our society. This paper will analyze which aspects of Shutter Island portray
The biggest obstacle in the goal to eradicate mental health stigma is that many people aren’t aware of what a mental disorders are, and how commonly they occur. Many people associate people with mental illness (also called psychological disorders) as “crazy” or “insane”. However, these disorders can be as simple as attention and hyperactivity problems (ADHD), stress disorders, and depression. There are of course more serious issues like bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, but even those can be handled with proper methods of medication and therapeutic assistance. These disorders can also vary in intensity, doctors will often use words like extreme, or mild to identify the effect of the disorder on the person. Also, more often than not, people’s experiences with these disorders vary.
Mental and behavioural disorders (expressed in disability adjusted life years, or DALY'S) represented 11% of the total disease burden in 1990, and this is likely to rise to 15% by 2020. Five of the 10 leading causes of disability worldwide in 1990 were mental or behavioural disorders. Depression was the fourth largest contributor to the disease burden in 1990 and is expected to rank second after ischaemic heart disease by 2020. It is estimated that one in four people will develop one or more mental or behavioural disorders in their life-time and that one in four families has one member suffering from a mental or behavioural disorder (Murray et al., 1996; WHO,