Becker, A. (2009). “Children, adolescents and advertising.” Pediatrics. 118(6): 2563 – 2569.
This article by Becker is posted in the editorial section of the Pediatrics and summarizes the discussion at the National Council of Women last 2009. The article mainly talks about the importance of understanding body image during adolescence because it strengthens one’s mental health perception and appreciation for self (Becker, 2009). The discussion also talks about the role of media in terms of providing information and portrayal of self-image to the public. This article highlighted several studies showing how popular culture influence the thinking of adolescents and this is critical in shaping a more positive outlook towards mental health and mental illness.
O’ Wahl, O. & Roth, S. (2003). “Depictions of Mental Illnesses in children’s media.” Journal of Mental Health. 12(3): 249 – 258.
Majority of studies looking at how media depicts mental illness has been about the negative impacts to the general public. In American popular culture, for instance, mental illness is often linked with violence, unpredictability of the character, weak and dissociated. O’ Wahl & Roth (2003) focused on the children’s media in popular culture through review of related literature. This is relevant to our study of mental illness because the authors found mental illness is also common not only in children’s media, but also in some children’s reading materials. According to the authors, this is important to further study because the stereotypes developed by children towards mental illness can be carried over throughout their adulthood.
Phelan, J., Link, G. & Stueve, A. (2010). “Public conceptions of mental illness in 1950 and 2005: What is mental illness and is it to be feared?” Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 41(2): 188 – 207.
This article is a review of related literature from 1950s to 2005 to determine how the American culture conceptions of mental illness have evolved over time. From the time that mental illness is regarded as something to be feared, it has now developed into a more constructed form of psychiatry where interventions can be derived based on observations (Phlen, Link & Stueve, 2010). This article is of particular importance in our topic because it shows the evolution of public conceptions that paved way towards creation of interventions that can help address mental illnesses and triggering factors that might influence its development. Another important insight in this article is that the authors have several suggestions such as social acceptance of mental illness and improved portrayal of mental illness in various media outlets (Phlen, Link & Stueve, 2010).
Seiff, E. et al. (2010). “Media frames of mental illnesses: The potential impact of negative frames.” Journal of Mental Health. 20(5): 259 – 269.
This article is a peer-reviewed journal published by the Journal of Mental Health. The authors discussed the important roles that the media plays in terms of portraying mental illness to the popular culture. They defined framing as the means used by media to present, interpret and organize information (Seiff et al., 2010). Based on literatures presented, this article is a topic of interest because it strongly suggests that negative frames about mental illness should be minimized because it contributes to negative image of mentally ill patients to the general population.
Torrey, W., Mueser, K., McHugo, G. & Drake, R. (2005). “Self-Esteem as an Outcome Measure in Studies of Vocational Rehabilitation for Adults with Severe Mental Illness.” Psychiatric Services. 51(2): 229 – 233.
Self-esteem is widely used in popular culture as a measure of one’s own importance, value and worth. Because it deals with one’s perception and ideals of self-image, it is used to identify more about one’s life events and the basis for treatment intervention in some mentally ill patients (Torrey et al., 2005). The widely accepted global self-esteem scale – Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale – has been used in adult population to identify determinants affecting low self-esteem among mentally ill patients. The authors found that using the said self-esteem scale is a precursor to identify affective symptoms and develop interventions that can improve general life satisfaction (Torrey et al., 2005).
Popular/open-web sources:
Gleason, M. (2015). “‘Crazy Eyes’ & How Pop Culture Portrays Mental Illness.” Mental Health Association Oklahoma. Retrieved online on http://mhaok.org/how-pop-culture-portrays-mental-illness/
The Mental Health Association Oklahoma is a site that provides online information regarding proper promotion of mental health and proper understanding of mental illnesses across culture. In this article of Gleason (2015), the discussion focuses on the TV series “Orange is the New Black” where the main character serves a year in prison for doing nonviolent drug crime and also suffers some kind of mental illness. Unlike other media portrayals of mental illness, this particular series offers hope because there are several recovery programs and rehabilitation services that the main characters underwent to make lives better.
Rosenbaum, R. (2013). “The Mind is the Medium: Mental Illness in Popular Culture, Part 1.” Overthinking It. Retrieved online on https://www.overthinkingit.com/2013/04/23/mental-illness-legion/
The Overthinking It website offers various discussions about American Popular Culture, and in this particular article the author, Rosenbaum Richard, provides critical analysis of the cultural and historical significance of mental illness portrayed in fictional characters. He discussed that most media franchise and books where characters possess violent and criminal behaviors are associated with some sort of personality disorder. The exploration of these characters are sometimes extensive, according to the author, but there should still be in-depth assessment of the interventions or services needed (Rosenbaum 2013). The insights provided by Rosenbaum is important because further understanding of one’s mental health even in fictional characters can help avoid misconceptions and confusions among the popular culture.
Rosenbaum, R. (2013). “Mental Illness in Pop Culture, Part 2.” Overthinking It. Retrieved online on https://www.overthinkingit.com/2013/05/15/mental-illness-community-big-bang-theory/
This second part of Rosenbaum’s article discusses other mental illnesses in popular culture media, including characters from TV series and video games. Unlike in the first article, which discussed film and literary characters with mental illnesses, characters from sitcoms or video games can be watched by children, depending on how parents limit their exposure to such contents (Rosenbaum, 2013). Although depicted satirically, characters are presented as disheveled, helpless and confused. The victimization of characters are also in great emphasis, but there are lack of actions taken to address such issues. This might seem sympathetic in nature, but inaccurate representations and lack of proper explanation can make the whole idea of mental illness be perceived as negative.
Edney, D. (2004). “Mass Media and Mental Illness: A Literature Review.” Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario. 1 – 24.
The Canadian Mental Health Association promotes good well-being and mental health, and advocates change in the way mental illness is being viewed by the public. According to the author of this commentary, mass media should provide a more accurate description of mental illness both among fictional characters and real-life settings (Edney, 2004). This is important because the information that the public obtains from such mediums serve as the basis for interpreting stereotypes or stigma to mental illness. Another interesting discussion in this paper is the connection that negative pop culture impression of mental illness is associated with how the government responds to the issues of mental health (Edney, 2004).
Haines, A. (2016). “Public Displays of Depression: Mental Illness in the Current Fabric of Pop Culture.” Hypebae. Retrieved online https://hypebae.com/2016/4/public-displays-of-depression-pop-culture
Regarding the importance of providing accurate descriptions of mental illness and mental health in popular culture, Ashley Haines that there should also be fair and balance depictions of treatments, facilities and practitioners. Sometimes, the way media presents these services and professionals are unflattering and inaccurate stereotypes that add to the negative impressionism of mental illness (Haines, 2016). Another topic of interest in this article is the discussion with regards to how the field of fashion and music shows general acceptance of mental illness or “insanity.” From the lyrics of some songs to the way fashion is being sported, there are ways to show that someone is ‘weird, outcast or alone,” and even if they are part of the larger cultural society, they are being promoted to become “different” so they can be able to stand out from the others (Haines, 2016). Although this shows acceptance with mental illness or mental health, it does nothing to promote proper interventions and accurate representations of services given to such critical pop culture issues.