Reception
Andy Bell, of the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, criticised TV and films for portraying schizophrenia patients as a stereotype of a person who is in a hopeless situation, but said EastEnders "broke the mould", saying "It was an excellent storyline, and, importantly for us, was very well-handled."
The storyline prompted thousands of calls from sufferers and their families to the National Schizophrenia Fellowship, who said that the story broke society's taboo on talking about the illness and praised the sensitive way in which the illness was portrayed. The fellowship said the story did more to break the stigma attached to schizophrenia than any number of worthy media appeals. The fellowship's chief executive Bharat Mehta, said that EastEnders helped to destroy the myths that schizophrenia meant that a person had a split personality and that the illness was likely to make them violent.
Matthew Bayliss of The Guardian said that Joe's schizophrenia earnt EastEnders much acclaim because he was David's son and Pat's grandson: "His illness affected people we knew and cared about, so its key scenes were charged with emotion." Nicholls' role as Joe saw him nominated 'Most Popular Newcomer' in the 1996 National Television Awards, and 'Most Popular Actor' the following year.
The character's exit from the soap was viewed by 22 million people.
Read more about this topic: Joe Wicks
Famous quotes containing the word reception:
“Aesthetic emotion puts man in a state favorable to the reception of erotic emotion.... Art is the accomplice of love. Take love away and there is no longer art.”
—Rémy De Gourmont (1858–1915)
“I gave a speech in Omaha. After the speech I went to a reception elsewhere in town. A sweet old lady came up to me, put her gloved hand in mine, and said, “I hear you spoke here tonight.” “Oh, it was nothing,” I replied modestly. “Yes,” the little old lady nodded, “that’s what I heard.””
—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)
“Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own; which is the chief reason for that kind of reception it meets in the world, and that so very few are offended with it.”
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)