Mental Illness in Fiction - Motion Pictures

Motion Pictures

Many motion pictures portray mental illness in inaccurate ways, leading to misunderstanding and heightened stigmatization of the mentally ill. However, some movies 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)

• Psycho, a 1960 American film which features a man who exhibits multiple personality-disorder (includes several prequels or sequels or remakes)
• Marnie, a 1964 American film which features a woman with obsessive fear and distrust
• Oil Lamps, a 1971 film by Juraj Herz, based on the same named novel by Jaroslav Havlíček, describing the life of vivacious girl and her matrimony with a sardonic man, who suffer from emerging paralytic dementia
• Benny & Joon, a 1993 American film which features a schizophrenic woman
• Memento, a 2000 psychological thriller film which is about a man with anterograde amnesia which renders his brain unable to store new memories.
• A Beautiful Mind, a 2001 film which is a fictionalised account of the schizophrenic mathematician, John Nash
• The Soloist, a 2009 film depicting the true story of Nathaniel Ayers, a musical prodigy who develops schizophrenia during his second year at Juilliard School, becomes homeless and plays a 2 two stringed violin in the streets of Downtown Los Angeles