Hollywood and The Bigger Picture

[Summer Rose]

My daughter asked me to watch a film with her the other day. It was one of her favourite movies that I had somehow missed called Perks of Being a Wallflower. It was a well scripted, touching, coming of age story that in my opinion dealt sensitively and fairly accurately with mental health and other tricky adolescent issues. My daughter said she loved the film because one of the main characters " is like me".

Like me. The words rolled around in my mind. It occurred to me that there are few film or TV characters that are actually like my beautiful girl, who suffers from anxiety and OCD. It also dawned on me that some of the characters currently on the screen who do have OCD are almost insulting. Take Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory, for example. He is a walking, talking billboard for the lighter side of autism and OCD but, in my opinion, his character does nothing to contribute to the community's greater understanding of what these conditions are really like to live with.

I think it's fair to estimate that the global television and movie industry makes billions of dollars annually telling stories about characters with mental health conditions. Oscar winning blockbusters such as, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ordinary People, Silver Linings Playbook and a Beautiful Mind have certainly played a role in raising awareness, but is that enough?

Given that inaccurate film representations of mental illness can profoundly contribute to stigma and the reinforcement of unhelpful stereotypes, does the industry have a community obligation to inform? Or is just entertainment? Or does anything designed to raise awareness do some good? Love to hear what you think.

[Peppermintbach]

Hi lovely Summer and all,

I feel there’s nothing to forgive so it’s all good. Seriously, please don’t worry too much about it.

I’m sorry...sometimes, as I said earlier, I can emotionally detach especially if we are talking about wanting change en masse. I sometimes lose sentimentality and start thinking more strategy, practicality, etc. I get into a totally different mindset...

If it helps, I’m an idealist deep down too so in some ways, you and I aren’t that different. But I’ve just learnt in order to make change a reality, I sometimes need to be a practical idealist instead. Sounds like a contradiction but it’s not. Not really in my opinion...

Anyway, I feel you’ve brought up a wonderful topic and have done a brilliant job trying to listen to all points of view, asked thoughtful questions, etc 🙂 It’s a testimony to your intelligence, interpersonal skills and compassion.

Great thinking. I understand that guidelines are a nice middle ground. Some film execs might think more carefully about how mental health is portrayed in films if there are better guidelines. The main drawback is guidelines are not legally enforceable so that means compliance with guidelines might vary between different production companies.

Thank you for sharing 🙂 i feel that would have been quite a lively dinner conversation. I suppose maybe some of it stems from how everyone has different expectations when it comes films. Like members of your family, some people just want escapism when they watch a movie, and don’t notice or think too deeply about some of the details that you might pay attention to...

Thanks again for your wonderful contributions and kindness 🙂 keep up the fantastic work!

Pepper xoxo

[White_Rose]

Hello Everyone

I disappear for a day or two and suddenly this thread had grown an extra two pages. Wow! What a testimony to our concerns and efforts to bring about change.

Summer I was thinking about your dinner guests and the discussion on Sheldon. OK these folk had a different point of view which is fair enough. But how great that you could have this discussion without your guests getting uncomfortable, not wanting to be involved, changing the subject etc. If we can start conversations like this and have discussions about mental health then we are raising awareness.

In the Budget tonight, and in the days preceding, we saw a number of commitments to suicide prevention funding including:
$33.8m for Lifeline Australia crisis support services over the next four years
$37.6 m for beyondblue and colleagues for the Way Back Support Service
$12.4m to strengthen the National Mental Health Commission including expanded role under Fifth National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan
$1.2m for SANE Australia’s campaign inspired by personal stories of suicide attempt survivors

How good is that? Not enough money? Maybe but so much better than nothing and certainly a response to the growing awareness of need. We can rejoice over every program and initiative that gets off the ground and into the public awareness arena. That comment was from Suicide Prevention Australia's (SPA) press release after the budget was handed down.

SPA has also written a short guide to terminology when referring to anything about suicide. Someone commented about the press having guidelines for respectfully talking about mental health. Baby steps but we will get there and conversations such as these will help.

Mary

[Summer Rose]

Hi romantic_thi3f

Your list of movies with recovery/happy endings/pursuing treatment themes was impressive. I had forgotten about As Good as it Gets but agree 100 per cent that it is an excellent film about OCD.

For anyone just picking up this thread now we are discussing the role of film and TV in shaping the public's perception of mental illness. We have been talking about the good and bad portrays of characters with mental health conditions and of the illnesses themselves. We have also been exploring whether or not Hollywood and the industry should have more of a social conscience.

Romantic_thi3f got me thinking about the film Good Will Hunting. What I really liked about this movie was the way Robin Williams played the part of Sean Maguire, the therapist who was treating the unrecognised and wayward genius character of Will Hunting. Which begs the question: does it matter how therapists, psychologists and psychiatrists are portrayed in films and on TV and why?

Consider that the characters are usually:

• a comic figure, such as Dr Alfred Bellows from I Dream of Jeannie or Dr Fraiser Krane from Cheers and Fraiser
• uptight with large dark glasses aka Dr Jennifer Melfi from The Sopranos or Dr Leo Marvin from What About Bob?
• sinister, such as Dr Lecter from Silence of the Lambs and/or creepy such as lead psychiatrist Dr John Cawley from Shutter Island

What impact do you think these stereotypes have on public perceptions? If you want to join in, this is a good spot.

Footnote: I'm at work today (ssh! don't tell) but wanted to get at least one response in. I'll be back soon. Sorry to those people waiting, cause they are great posts and I'm keen to respond. Talk soon.

[Summer Rose]

Hi Pepper

I appreciate your wisdom when you say, The main drawback is guidelines are not legally enforceable so that means compliance with guidelines might vary between different production companies. You are, of course, correct in my view.

I was thinking guidelines because we already have some legislation, for example the National Classification Code 2005 and Screen Australia Act 2008 (federal) along with various state Film Acts, but none of them really get to the heart of our concerns. I suspect this is because more specific legislation might cause an uproar in the artistic community.

Nobody can argue with guidelines because as you say they are optional. If consumers started to favour the companies following the guidelines, well, that would change the game.

[Summer Rose]

Hi Mary

Thank you for bringing up the budget. It's not on topic but it's such positive news that it's worth the digression. I would always like to see more money for mental health but I think it's pretty good. The focus on suicide prevention is critical. Others may have different views, happy to hear them all.

I didn't know that Suicide Prevention Australia's (SPA) had drafted a short guide to terminology when referring to anything about suicide. I wonder if they assisted the Australian Press Council; I would hope so. I wonder how they share the guidelines with Australia's story tellers.

I think other organisations, such as beyondblue, could also play an effective role in drafting guidelines for the responsible depiction of mental health stories and related characters and even provide an advisory service to Australian filmmakers through Screen Australia and other relevant bodies. Given stigma is the biggest problem we face and media feed the stigma in such a massive way, it would be worth the effort. Interested to know what others think.

[Peppermintbach]

Hi Summer and all,

Just a quick one from me 🙂

Summer, I like your line of thinking. You’re thinking practical. You’re thinking strategy. I really like where you’re going with this and what you’re proposing...keep up the wonderful work!

Mary: that is wonderful news. Thanks for sharing and happy to hear it 🙂

Pepper xoxo

[Summer Rose]

Hi Pepper, Sez, Paul, Mary, Pamela, Quirky and everyone else

I read today that Australia lost one of its great Indigenous actors, Tom E Lewis. Amongst many achievements, Tom was the star of a 1970s Australian film The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith. I haven't seen the film but was curious and looked up some reviews.

Apparently Tom played a half-Indigenous person who goes on a savage murder spree against whites. According to Roger Ebert, "Its story is told entirely in the moral terms of the raw Australian outback of about 1900, and the racial attitudes in the movie are firmly drawn from that period." The review goes on to say that he comitts the murders "because racism has driven him mad without even giving him the vocabulary he needs to be able to say that it is racism."

Sounds like an interesting film. Wondering if anyone has seen it? Wondering what "mad" means in this context?

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi!

Summer Rose - your question about therapists could be a whole new thread! There is so much that can be talked about. So I'll just share my answer here and see where the thread goes.

Yes yes and yes. This matters. I've been on the forums for a few years and I have seen many posts saying 'I saw one therapist and they did this so I'm not going back'. Somehow one therapist represents them all. As someone who has seen a variety of different therapists I can tell you they are not the same.

Unfortunately though, it probably comes back to the discussion of entertainment; in reality seeing a therapist and client on TV or in the movies isn't always going to be that interesting. Can you imagine watching 50 minutes of two people talking?

I guess when I think about the stereotypes there's a few things that come to mind.

- It's not always the client talking and the therapist listening. Sometimes it just feels like a conversation - the portrayals are often Freudian style of 'free association'. In sessions you'll probably find a lot of pauses too and time to reflect. In the movies/TV they know what to say and straight away. No awkward silences, no sarcasm, no humour. (Complete opposite of my own therapy!)

- The rooms! The ones in the movies are old fashioned which can seem intimidating, where as therapists can park themselves in normal offices or Doctor's rooms. Some have couches, others a few comfy seats. It's not at all like it looks like on screen.

- The approach. Most of the ones on screen reflect on your past - childhood, growing up, your parents and typical psychotherapy. Oh and don't forget the classic Roschach test! (Interpretations of random ink blots). Where as in reality there's so many different types of therapy. Some like to focus on what's on your mind now, others like to be goal orientated and future focused - and everything in between.

- What gets talked about. For the most part, therapy is about you (the client). It's your money so it's your agenda. If there's things that you're not comfortable bringing to the table, then that's okay - but yet in movies/TV's if it's considered important by the therapist then the client gets interrogated. In real life though, sometimes it just takes a little time until the client can trust their own therapist.

I'll stop now. 🙂

Hope this helps!

Sidenote: I love that you're constantly introducing the thread for newcomers 🙂

[Summer Rose]

Hi romantic_thi3f

Your post is really insightful, thank you.

I agree it is super challenging for a film/TV show to make a session with a therapist entertaining. I think that's why we often see the exaggerated therapist characters and fantastical dialogue capturing the interaction between doctor and patient. Somehow the producers and writers have to make it interesting, funny, dramatic, sad or emotionally compelling and all semblance of accuracy is lost.

To be fair, I think it's almost impossible to depict a complex discipline such as psychiatry accurately in films and on TV. So we get left with popular entertainment, and the psychiatrists get devalued. The problem for all of us is that, devaluing psychiatry simply continues the ongoing stigma of mental illnesses.

Given the vast majority of people have never been to see a psychiatrist or psychologist, it really makes you wonder how much of their understanding of treatment is actually shaped by film and TV. Kind of a scary thought, don't you think?

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi!

Yes, absolutely, I agree! Not just a scary thought but an accurate one!

I think this is why we get lots of posts like 'I saw one therapist and I didn't like them so I'm not going back' or 'I'm afraid of going to a therapist because I'll have to talk about my childhood' or 'I want to go to a therapist but I'm not ready to open up about my PTSD' or anything in between.

All of those worries and concerns are completely valid - but the sad part is a lot of them do originate from places like movies and TV. All the therapists that I have seen are vastly different. It's difficult but important to try and stress that their experience might not be like the one they're imagining.

I like that we're having this conversation, it's such an important one.