MENTAL ILLNESS

REPRESENTATION
IN THE MEDIA
Alma Carrillo
CC: My research topic is on the different ways that mental illness is represented in the
media and the different consequences that it can have.
 WHAT? WHY?

In recent years, there has been more mental illness representation in media like music, movies,
shows, etc. With this representation also comes criticism. Is the way that we portray people with
mental illnesses potentially harmful? In this presentation, I will analyze different media
portrayals and their significance
MENTAL ILLNESS
Subtle:
Up to the audience’s perception.
Defined:
Clearly stated by the media source.

CC: When I talk about mental illness I am referring to various portrayals in media. Some of
them are subtle and up to the viewer’s interpretations and perceptions while others are very
clearly stated.
WHY SHOULD WE CARE?

Accurate Inaccurate
Representation Representation
•Educational •Stigma
•Empathy •Misconceptions
•Diversity •Danger
CC: Mental illness representation in the media serves to educate people on the different
struggles and trials that people face. Accurate representation gives the viewers a means to
empathize with people who have these illnesses. Inaccurate representation can lead to
stigmatization, misconceptions, and potentially dangerous scenarios.
 POSITIVE EXAMPLE
”Orange is the New Black” – Suzanne Warren AKA “Crazy
Eyes”
• Personality traits:
• Violent Outbursts
• Delusions
• Irrational Decision Making
• Presumed Mental Disorder: borderline personality
disorder.
CC: One example that I think is positive is the character Suzanne Warren from “Orange is the New Black”
Due to her personality traits it is presumed that she has borderline personality disorder, but it is not clearly
stated in he show.
Description of Video: Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” wants to play with a boy from the park.
Suzanne perceives the boy to be her friend and sees nothing wrong with taking him to her
apartment. The boy gets scared and calls the police. Before the police arrive, he tries to
escape and falls off the balcony, presumably killing/seriously injuring the boy.
WHY IS IT POSITIVE?
• Empathy
• Accurate portrayal
• Shines light on a societal problem
• Mental illness & incarceration

CC: This show provides the audience with a sense of empathy for the character as well as brings
up a very serious problem in our society. It shines a light on the issue of people with severe
mental issues being incarcerated instead of getting proper help.
 NEGATIVE EXAMPLE

“Split” 2017 Film “Kevin Wendell Crumb”

• Portrays Dissociative Identity Disorder
• Aka Multiple Personality Disorder
• Traits shown in the film
• Switching between identities
• Violent tendencies
• Superhuman abilities
CC: One portrayal that has caused a lot of controversies is the 2017 film
“Split. The main character is supposed to have Dissociative Identity
Disorder or Multiple Personality Disorder. The main character has 23
different identities and kidnaps three girls.
CRITICISMS
• Inaccurate portrayal
• Creates misconceptions
• Stigmatizes DID
• The BEAST

CC: The criticism about this movie is that is portrays people with Dissociative Identity Disorder
as violent, scary, and potentially harmful people who have superhuman abilities as shown in the
personality known as the “Beast”
 THE BEAST
• Truth
• Physical characteristics can
change between identities
• Fiction
• The extent that is
represented in the movie is
not accurate
CC: The Beast is the 24th identity who wishes to rid the world of “impurity.” this character can increase
muscle size, has superhuman strength, and “consumes” people. It is true that people with DID can
have physical changes to their appearance like their voices or eye color but not to the extent shown in
the film.
 WHAT’S THE POINT?
CC: I use these two examples to depict how the accuracy of portraying people with mental
illness can have a variety of consequences. Accurate portrayals can show us a little about what
it is like to have these disorders while an inaccurate can lead to misunderstandings.
 TAKEAWAY
CC: As frequent consumers of media, I urge everyone to challenge what we see and hear and instead
of taking everything at face value, to dig deeper and make sure that we are not spreading
misinformation and misconceptions.