{"id":1351,"date":"2014-12-11T16:38:10","date_gmt":"2014-12-11T16:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/gps\/?p=1351"},"modified":"2014-11-19T16:52:41","modified_gmt":"2014-11-19T16:52:41","slug":"schizophrenia-in-the-media-vs-real-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/gps\/2014\/12\/11\/schizophrenia-in-the-media-vs-real-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Schizophrenia in the Media vs. Real Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post is part of a series of guest posts on GPS by the graduate students in my\u00a0Psychopathology<\/a>\u00a0course during Fall\u00a02014. As part of their work for the course, each student had to demonstrate mastery of the skill of \u201cEducating the Public about Mental Health.\u201d To that end, each student has to prepare two 1,000ish word posts on a particular class of mental disorders.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Schizophrenia in\u00a0the Media vs. Real Life\u00a0<\/b>by Alexandra Logan<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

There you are, watching your favorite psychological thriller, eating popcorn and sipping on soda. You\u2019re enticed by the plot and the characters as they dramatically interact with each other. Odds are you\u2019re not thinking \u201cis this really what a psychological disorder is like?\u201d or \u201care the symptoms of this disorder always present or do they fluctuate?\u201d No, you\u2019re probably too mesmerized by the characters and what violent act they\u2019re going to do next, which is great…unless you work in mental health and are worried about negative stereotypes.<\/p>\n

One disorder that is often misconstrued in Hollywood is Schizophrenia and the\u00a0other psychotic disorders on the schizophrenia spectrum. In fact, movie portrayals of people with mental illness often perpetuate negative stereotypes. A review of 41 movies <\/a>(released between 1990 and 2010) that featured at least one main character with schizophrenia found that most characters engaged in dangerous or violent behaviors toward themselves or others, and nearly a third engaged in homicidal behavior. When most people on the street are asked what they know about Schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders, they answer with some kind of negative portrayal that Hollywood has implemented in our minds. Some common myths that are perpetrated\u00a0in the media are that people with mental illness are violent, unpredictable, untreatable and they\u2019re evil.<\/p>\n

Why is this? Why does the entertainment industry\u00a0feel\u00a0the need to entertain us with false representations of a real disorder that is negatively impacting\u00a0people\u2019s lives? Nobody would ever think of cancer as a disease that turns someone into a villain or frightening murderer. Schizophrenia is just as much a disease as cancer, but the horrific twist the media places on it makes it seem ominous. We as a society eat this up. We love seeing mentally unstable characters in movies chase \u201cnormal\u201d characters around with a chainsaw. This is why the media continues to feed us these misconstrued stories. What some see as enjoyment and entertainment can actually put a great deal of distress on those who have schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is certainly alarming that many media representations of schizophrenia are sensationalized, suggesting the risk is far greater than in reality,” as\u00a0Ms. Hocking<\/a> said. Such irresponsible media reporting causes unnecessary distress to the majority of people with schizophrenia who lead peaceful lives, having a negative effect on how they feel about themselves and how well they are accepted by others. The fear of negative stigma can prevent individuals from seeking the treatment they need. The social constructs, which the media and Hollywood profit off of, makes the reality of the disorder worse for those who are suffering from it.<\/p>\n

Violence and crime are the biggest misconceptions that the media relates to schizophrenia. In fact, \u201cone in one hundred people will experience schizophrenia but the lifetime risk of someone with schizophrenia seriously harming or killing another person is calculated to be just .005%<\/a>\u201d. We tend to stigmatize the mentally ill as violent, murderous or criminal because that is what we have been conditioned to believe.<\/p>\n

\"2339951454_84e3900bf4_z\"<\/a>Don\u2019t believe me? Think about movies where certain characters have schizophrenia or another psychotic disorder. Here are a few examples to help you out: Black Swan, Shutter Island, Obsessed, and Friday the 13th<\/sup>.<\/em> Are the characters in these movies violent and\/or frightening? Yes, yes they are. These are just a few of the many films and TV shows that display violent and terrifying mentally ill characters. In reality, \u201cresearch suggests that mentally ill people are more likely to be victims<\/a> than perpetrators of violence.\u201d Individuals suffering from schizophrenia or another mental illness are almost automatically seen as threats and therefore are usually the victims of violence, and undeserved violence at that.<\/p>\n

Characters in the media who have schizophrenia are typically portrayed as unpredictable. In a sense they can and will \u201cgo crazy\u201d at any moment. Everyone around these individuals must be on guard in order to stay safe and not get attacked. This is, again, not realistic. In fact, the vast majority of people with schizophrenia, when undergoing treatment, lead pretty ordinary lives.<\/p>\n

Another misconception is that characters with schizophrenia or a related disorder don\u2019t get better. No matter how much love their family gives or how hard their therapist works, there will be no progress. Of course, not all movies or shows depict this belief, but it is a popular trope\u00a0in the media. However, even people with a severe disorder like schizophrenia can be treated effectively and can fit\u00a0in well with their community<\/a> if they are allowed to. Even though\u00a0the disorder is not curable, it is usually\u00a0treatable and, when utilizing the correct treatment, individuals can reduce their symptom severity. They can lead pretty normal lives and can be contributors to their communities.<\/p>\n

So, this leads us the myth that all schizophrenic individuals\u2019 are evil. Obviously, when we see a character that is violent, has a criminal nature, is unpredictable in their attacks and is untreatable, this would lead us to believe that they are all-together evil. Just thinking about the character of Mike Myers explains this. He is believed to have schizophrenia with catatonia. Myers is definitely a character that is portrayed as evil. Not just evil but supernaturally skilled. He can catch up with his victims every time even though he\u2019s only walking and they are running! This is purely a delusion that the media has concocted. The truth of the matter is individuals living with schizophrenia, and any other mental disorder, are not evil…but the way they\u2019re portrayed by the media is.<\/p>\n

So, next time you go to see the new Hollywood thriller and a character in it has schizophrenia, just remember that what you\u2019re viewing is more than likely a false portrayal It is a misconception fabricated by Hollywood to give the average customer a thrill. Those misconceptions that you\u2019re paying for could also be harmful to the livelihood of someone actually living with this disorder. I\u2019m not saying to avoid all movies and shows that incorrectly depict schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders but be more knowledgeable about the lies and don\u2019t buy into Hollywood\u2019s ideas.<\/p>\n

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In which one of my students takes a look at how schizophrenia is misportrayed in the movies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,12,14,52],"tags":[453,760,480,758,759,481,285,266],"class_list":["post-1351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mental-health","category-psychology","category-skepticism","category-teaching","tag-accuracy","tag-inaccurate","tag-media","tag-movie","tag-movies","tag-portrayal","tag-research","tag-schizophrenia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/gps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/gps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/gps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/gps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/gps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/gps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1351\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/gps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/gps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/gps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}