On-Screen Portrayals of Mental Illness: Extent, Nature, and Impacts

This article reviews the published literature on the extent, nature, and impacts of portrayal of mental illness in fictional films and television programs. The literature suggests that on-screen portrayals are frequent and generally negative, and have a cumulative effect on the public's percept...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of health communication 2006-07, Vol.11 (5), p.523-541
Main Authors: Pirkis, Jane, Blood, R. Warwick, Francis, Catherine, McCallum, Kerry
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitudes
Biological and medical sciences
General aspects
Health technology assessment
Humans
Media studies
Medical sciences
Medical sociology
Mental Disorders
Mental health
Mental illness
Miscellaneous
Motion Pictures
Perception
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Public Opinion
Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry
Social psychology
Television
Victoria
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Summary:This article reviews the published literature on the extent, nature, and impacts of portrayal of mental illness in fictional films and television programs. The literature suggests that on-screen portrayals are frequent and generally negative, and have a cumulative effect on the public's perception of people with mental illness and on the likelihood of people with mental illness seeking appropriate help. The article concludes that there is a need for the mental health sector and the film and television industries to collaborate to counter negative portrayals of mental illness, and to explore the potential for positive portrayals to educate and inform, as well as to entertain.
ISSN:1081-0730
1087-0415
DOI:10.1080/10810730600755889