Mental Illness Depictions in Hollywood Films

Mental illness has become a hot topic of recent conversation in part because of ongoing debates over universal health care and gun control. A major call to action from the left has been to treat mental illness, and to point out that many people with mental illnesses are not violent. Someone should really tell that to Hollywood, which has used this topic as fodder for genre pictures since the silent era. After perusing my own film viewing for the past year, I found that I had seen 16 films that dealt with mental illness, and of those only four of them dealt with the symptoms and personal issues, attributed to these disorders and diseases, with any kind of care or introspection. It made me realize that in films the mentally ill are only used as plot devices or uplifting symbols of progress, and that’s truly a shame.

In Steven Hyler’s 2008 article “Stigma Continues in Hollywood” for Psychiatric Today, he outlines five major kinds of mentally ill characters in film: homicidal maniac, narcissistic parasite, female patient as seductress, rebellious free spirit, and specially gifted. In tandem with this assessment I have identified four kinds of films dedicated to mentally ill characters, which I will now explain:

1. Mystery/Thrillers

This is definitely the genre of film that uses mentally ill characters as plot devices the most. Sometimes the depictions are realistic, but for the most part they create a dichotomy between the reality of how certain illnesses work (amnesia, delusional disorder, disassociative personality disorder, PTSD etc.) and fiction. By including mentally ill characters in the story there is the inclusion of doubt or the actions of a mentally ill person furthers the plot by muddying the waters. Take Spellbound, a Hitchcock thriller that starts with a case of mistaken identity and quickly evolves into a murder mystery. While the film takes care to handle the symptoms of amnesia in a polite and authentic way, it is by the subpar standards of 1945, which is further evidenced from the constant maligning of Ingrid Bergman’s gender when it comes to her work as a psychoanalyst (she is also given an unwanted kiss by a colleague, which is pretty gross). Gregory Peck is never sure of what, or who, he is, and this choice was made in order to create a feeling that permeates many of these films:

· Ambiguity

This is the main reason amnesia, and many other types of disorders, are used in mystery/thrillers. Examples of ambiguous mental states in film include Shutter Island, Memento, and The Bourne Identity. Amnesia is definitely the most effective mental disorder to bestow, because it creates room for doubt, lends to the mystery of who the person is, what they’ve done, and why they can’t remember what happened, and creates a blank slate whose personality can be changed when their identity is revealed. Sometimes amnesia comes from emotional trauma, other times from physical violence. Whatever use amnesia serves, there is one thing that cannot be argued: amnesia doesn’t occur as often as films suggests. A recent study of 20th century fictional works found that two percent of characters (especially soap operas) have had amnesia, while in reality it is immensely rare. Setting the story in a mental institution is also an ambiguous plot device in and of itself, as the motives of the main character can be suspect by their mere presence there.

2. Biopic

The most faithful and prominent examples of mental illness generally come from biopics about famous people, who have a struggled up against these obstacles. The best known would probably be A Beautiful Mind which, though not completely honest about the life of John Nash, is used countlessly to illustrate a genuine portrayal of mental illness. Before this film we had very few biographical films about mental illness, besides Shine, Lust for Life, and the completely false Frances. Instead of being about persecution, murder, or self-harm, A Beautiful Mind was solely about the complexities and irreverence of mental illness, and how it can be manageable.

Other biopics that tackle issues solely relating to mental illness include Prozac Nation, Running with Scissors, and A Dangerous Method. These films focus on the issues and varying problems of living with major depression and anxiety disorders, without relying on the social accomplishments of its subjects. Other great biographical films relating to mental illness include Love & Mercy, The Soloist, The Aviator, and Temple Grandin.

3. Social Issue Film

Most of these films are based on best-selling books: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Girl, Interrupted, Silver Linings Playbook, Sibyl, and Ordinary People are just some of the many examples of a social justice film. This genre tackles issues that stem from mental illness, including mental institution reform, long held depression, and the repression of grief, while trying to either humanize someone dealing with said issues, or creating melodrama. These are the more faithful and understated examples of fictionalized work to create a truthful narrative. The films that are the most realistic about mental illness all have one thing in common: the acting is good. One misplaced stutter, one bit of over-acting and an entire film can be ruined, probably best parodied in this scene from Tropic Thunder:

As an example, Sean Penn in I Am Sam is personifying a mentally handicapped adult man. The film does not serve to elucidate us about the complexities of the disorder and all the problems stemming from it, but to pity the main protagonist and cry at the problems he faces. This, and many more hack films, was clearly only made to serve as Oscar bait or to sell an idea that has already been long held.

4. Horror

While the other three can be somewhat detrimental to public opinion, horror is the leading genre in forming inappropriate and untrue stereotypes about the mentally ill. It’s films like Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Psycho that jeopardize any semblance of understanding about mental illness. Here’s the thing though: I love all of these films. The Silence of the Lambs is one of my all-time favorites, and it earned that distinction because it is a great film that deconstructs many psychological tenets to create a maddeningly tense thrill ride. Of course, it’s not the horror genre’s fault for creating the idea that all mentally ill people are violent, but their depictions are sometimes the only ones in film, and when a mass audience only knows the mentally ill as violent, psychopathic monsters, it’s difficult to convince them of anything else.

Horror is an amazing genre, along with science fiction, in that it subverts truths about our society and makes monsters into heroes, or in the very least gives them something akin to empathy. The Universal movie monsters stand in for a multitude of American phobias and fears, but they are the protagonists. While Jason Voorhees becomes an all-powerful god-like figure in later sequels, in the original film he’s simply a drowned little boy who misses his mother. Jack Torrance eventually turns violent, but at one time he was a lovable father and teacher. The problem is that we can’t humanize with Jack Torrance when there is a clear connection between his alcoholism and murderous rage.

Many studies have suggested that Americans learn the most about mental illness from the media, which is dangerous. Whether you’re learning about sociopathy from the news, or the movie Gone Girl, you’re still taking the word of a depiction as truth. It’s especially bad to link mental illness in general with psychopathy, sociopathy, psychotic behavior, or violence, because the term mental illness is actually very broad. Mental illness can mean depression, anxiety, agoraphobia, PTSD, or even something as rare as apotemnophilia (a body integrity identity disorder characterized by an overwhelming desire to amputate healthy parts of [the] body). By pigeonholing all mentally ill people you are painting with a broad brush, which has real world implications. Not everyone who has taken Valium will chop off people’s heads with machetes, or stalk their half-sisters through an Illinois suburb, or shoot up a public place with an AR-15.

In conclusion, film does not do a very good job of depicting mentally ill people. Nearly 1 in 5 Americans suffer from some form of mental illness, and yet we are seen in terms of archetypal figures and monsters, rather than individuals. Whether we’re being hunted in our own homes (Intruders), bullied by our peers (Carrie), or dealing with intense depression in the midst of the world’s end (Melancholia) we’re still just people, trying to do our best.