Mental disorders in art
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Mental disorders have often been featured in art and literature.
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Books
- An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison
- Touched with Fire by Kay Redfield Jamison
- A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nassar
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
- Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy
- The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
- The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
- Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
- Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
- The Green Mile by Stephen King
- She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb
- I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb
- Effie's Burning by Valerie Windsor
- Englar Alheimsins" by Einar Már Guðmundsson
- I Never Promised You a Rose Garden by Joanne Greenberg
- * Diving into the Wreck by Adrienne Rich
- Sorrows of Werther by Goethe
- Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
- Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust
- Swann's Way by Marcel Proust
- The Outsider by Albert Camus
- Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes
- 'Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Knots by R.D. Laing
- Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
- Amnesia by Douglas Cooper
- Howl by Allen Ginsberg
- Hello, Serotonin by Jon Paul Fiorentino
- Bloodletting by Victoria Leatham
- Darkness Visible by William Styron
- Earth Abides by George Stewart
- To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- Myst: The Book of Atrus by Rand and Robyn Miller with Dave Wingrove
- Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command by Timothy Zahn
- Ward No. 6 by Anton Chekhov
Stories
- Ward Number Six by Anton Chekhov (1892)
- "... 'Palata No. 6' (1892, Ward Number Six) is Chekhov's classical story of the abuse of psychiatry. Gromov is convinced that anyone can be imprisoned. He develops a persecution mania and is incarcerated in a horrific asylum, where he meets Doctor Ragin. Their relationship attracts attention and the doctor is tricked into becoming a patient in his own ward. He dies after being beaten by a charge hand. - The symmetrical story has much similarities with such works as Samuel Fuller's film The Shock Corridor (1963), and Ken Kesey's novel One Flew Over Cockoo's Nest (1975). ..." [1]. An online version of the story can be found at Project Gutenberg. [2]
Motion pictures
Many motion pictures portray mental illness in inaccurate ways, leading to misunderstanding and heightened stigmatization of the mentally ill. Some movies, however, are lauded for dispelling stereotypes and providing insight into mental illness. In a study by George Gerbner, it was determined that 5 percent of 'normal' television characters are murderers, while 20% of 'mentally-ill' characters are murderers. 40% of normal characters are violent, while 70% of mentally-ill characters are violent. Contrary to what is portrayed in films and television, Henry J. Steadman, Ph.D., and his colleagues at Policy Research Associates found that, overall, formal mental patients did not have a higher rate of violence than the control group of people who were not formal mental patients. In both groups, however, substance abuse was linked to a higher rate of violence. (Hockenbury and Hockenbury, 2004)
Television
Many popular television shows feature characters with a mental health condition. Often these portrayals are inaccurate and reinforce existing stereotypes, thereby increasing stigma associated with having a mental health condition. Common ways that television shows can generate misunderstanding and fear are by depicting people with these conditions as medically noncompliant, violent, and/or intellectually challenged. However, in recent years certain organizations have begun to advocate for accurate portrayals of mental health conditions in the media, and certain television shows have been applauded by mental health organizations for helping to dispel myths of these conditions...
One show, Wonderland, went on the air in 2000 and only lasted several episodes. It was largely critically acclaimed, but pressure from mental health advocates and people with mental health conditions who felt that the show perpetuated stereotypes and contributed to the stigma attached to them led to the show's cancellation.
In 2005, the shows Huff, Monk, Scrubs and ER all won Voice Awards from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for their positive portrayal of people who manage mental health conditions. Neal Baer, executive producer of ER and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit also won a lifetime achievement award for his work in incorporating mental health issues into these two shows.
See also
