Silver Linings Playbook Mental Illness

There are two mass communication theories that work together to influence the construction of mental illness stigma. The two theories are; Cultivation Theory and Social Learning Theory. Cultivation theory suggests that people who spend more time living in virtual world watching television, are more likely to adopt the television worldview of mental illness. They perceive the real world in accordance with what is being presented on the screen.

The theory of Social Learning proposes that understanding the mental illness disorder is not only through experience but also through observation.

People obtain their knowledge about behaviours of mentally ill from watching the television. The two theories indicate that television has a massive power on people who have never had any previous experience with mentally unwell people therefore, members of public believe and spread the misinformation of media. Case Study and Mental Disorder in Films The movie Shutter Island is an American Mystery/ Thriller directed by Martin Scorsese and which was released in 2010.

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The film is set in the 1950s on Shutter Island near Boston. In this inaccessible place, there is an institution that resembles a hospital-prison for mentally ill criminals. Escaping from the Island is impossible. However, one of the patients succeeded, Rachel . In order to find her and solve this mysterious puzzle, a veteran of the Second World War, currently federal sheriff, Teddy (Leonardo DiCaprio) arrives with his partner Chuck . After continuous investigation Teddy discovers that one of the patients is responsible for the death of his wife, who he swore to take revenge on.

Teddy suffers from Delusional Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and is unaware that his wife has killed their three children and Teddy has killed her. Teddy has been suffering from this condition for the past two years therefore, the doctors have decided to role- play to get Teddy to understand the truth. As a result of his condition, Teddy has been erasing everything he has done wrong in the past in attempt to make him look as a hero thus, he had made up the name Teddy and the whole investigation as part of his fantasy world.

Delusional Disorder is a mental disorder in which symptoms such as; non bizarre delusions, confused and disturbed thoughts, lack of insight and hallucinations occur. Main causes of Delusional Disorder are related to; traumatic experiences, alcohol abuse, schizophrenia, stress and many more. People who suffer from delusional disorder usually don’t seek help. Moreover, individuals who suffer from Delusional Disorder do not indicate any odd or aggressive however, their beliefs focus on something that is not real. In the Shutter Island movie, we can see delusional disorder being revealed in the middle of the film, when Teddy sees Rachel in the cave. However, the woman he saw was only his hallucination as Rachel has never existed and she was made up as a replacement of Teddys wife. Teddy has also developed Dissociative Identity Disorder because of his traumatic experiences when he was serving in the army during the World War II.

The upsetting experiences from the army and from his life had an impact on his brake down and therefore the Delusional Disorder has occurred . Moreover, Teddy was not the only person that was suffering from Mental Illness, his wife Dolores had developed a Manic Depression Disorder because of her husbands (Teddys) absence and alcohol addiction. Therefore, she has killed their three children, Dolores did not seek any help and her condition was strongly advanced with occurring hallucinations. The movie Shutter Island portrays the main actor Teddy as a healthy man who undertook an investigation about a missing woman. Throughout, the film it is very hard to understand that Teddy is a patient of the actual psychiatric hospital until the very end. The entire film is based on Teddys mental disorder and presents how a mentally unwell person perceives the world and how they behave. Moreover, at the very end Teddy has a flashback to when he kills his wife and viewers can perceive this act as a result of his mental disorder. When in fact, he kills his wife out of frustration and sadness, he then becomes schizophrenic and suffers through his entire life. Media platforms through such films try to show the audience that the behaviour among mentally ill people is abnormal and instead can be very harmful. Relationship between mental disorder and crime Previous studies indicate that there might be a small connection between mental disorder and crime however, in many cases individuals’ which commit crimes come from low socioeconomic class, lower education level and high rank of unemployment. Combined factors such as, alcohol abuse, biologic factors and social factors like; ethnicity, age or race contribute to the violent and aggressive behaviour of an individual.

Mental illness may increase the likelihood of committing a crime in some individuals however, the chances are higher for a mentally ill person to be violent if they had aggression problems before becoming mentally ill. Mental disorder is being linked with violence because of some of the symptoms a psychotic person has however, mentally ill people are more likely to harm themselves than anyone else. In many cases, mentally ill individuals use aggression only towards the people they know rather than strangers. Mentally ill people are more likely to be victims of crime rather than the offenders. In many cases, kids are bullied and discriminated in schools due to their illness and this has a negative effect on their development. Mental disorder and violence are rare events however, in some cases they might still occur. Substance abuse is one of the biggest causes of violence among members of public and the mentally ill. There are many myths about mentally ill people that people believe and agree with them throughout their entire lives. Some of the Myths include: Children do not experience mental health problems. Children do experience mental health problems and less than 20% of children receive the treatment they should. When, in fact children should receive the treatment to their mental disorder on an early stage as late treatment might interfere problems with development.Another very common Myth among people’s beliefs is that, people with mental health condition are unable to tolerate the stress of undertaking a job. This is another untruthful myth because many mentally ill people are as productive as any other employee. Employers who hire mentally ill people admit that they are punctual, complete a good piece of work, are motivated and are as good as any other employee .Members of public who had never had any previous experience with mental disorder are fully convinced that individuals who suffer from mental illness will never recover. However, previous studies report that mentally ill people can recover completely, they are able to work, learn and participate in their communities. There are many treatments and services that help mentally ill people to recover however, it might take a long time. There are many different myths about mental disorder, some include violence and other include children however, only a small number of mental ill people has ever committed a crime or indicated an aggressive or violent behaviour.

Mental disorder is a health condition which can affect anyone, members of public should seek help immediately as fast reaction to symptoms can result in faster recovery. Myths have been and always will be among people however, members of public should take careful consideration in what they believe. Not all myths are true, and some are created to raise fear and awareness. Positive Portrayal and Cinematherapy In many cases, movie directors are trying to portrayal mental disorder in a positive way rather than stereotyping and relating mental health disorder with violence. For example, in the movie “Silver Linings Playbook” mental illness showed in the main character has a bipolar disorder and has been released from a mental health facility after eight months of treatment however, he still has not fully recovered. Pat has been hospitalized after a violent reaction towards his wife’s lover.

Many people with no mental illness would have done the same therefore, the audience had a positive perspective on Pat and his behaviour from the beginning. The movie has truly explained and defined the characters symptoms and proposed that recovery of any mental illness is possible. Moreover, the movie has indicated that people with mental illness are able to become positive and unharmful members of society therefore, members of public should not treat them as criminals. Movies similar to “Silver Linings Playbook” increase the acceptance of mental disorder among the society and likewise have a positive impact on people who are mentally ill themselves. Until recently, cinematherapy has been underestimated by many experts and doctors in the context of treating patients with various mental illnesses. Cinematherapy, is used as self-help and it has the ability to change people thoughts and feelings and can help many mentally ill people to handle their disorder in normal and the most difficult moments. Recent studies propose that cinematherapy is very helpful for mentally ill people and in some cases, it helps them to completely recover. Mentally ill people should select films that work best for them and not select what their peers have chosen. This is because, a film can work for one person yet someone else might not feel the same about a specific film. One of the main factors that participates in changes and indicates positive effects is the equate of the mentally unwell individual with a certain character that determines the same symptoms and disorder. This way mentally ill people do not feel alone and observe the behaviour, activities and routines of their character and try to behave the same. On the other hand, cinematherapy can have a negative impact on people with mental disorders, because if the character in the film would indicate negative or aggressive behavior, a mentally ill person would do the same. Thus, choosing a wrong film can have negative consequences. For instance, if a person with mental disorders chooses a movie that involves alcohol abuse and that is not their health issue, they are more likely to try alcohol.

In conclusion, publication of media about mentally unwell people is always negative therefore, mentally people are being stereotyped and labelled as the dangerous by the society. To avoid stigmatisations and stereotyping media should use more appropriate language when relating to a mentally ill person, rather than naming them crazy or monsters. In addition, the case study has identified that mentally unwell people are more likely to be victims of crime or to harm themselves than to commit a crime. Members of public should provide more help towards mentally ill people and stop stereotyping, attacking and discriminating them as this only worsens their mental disorder. Promoting positive mental health in media and workplaces would decrease the stigmatisations of the mentally ill, more people would gain accurate knowledge and understand the mental disorder can occur to anyone and in some cases, it cannot be avoided.