Madness through the Lens of the Beholder: the representation of mental illness in documentary films

Abstract

Mental illness has long been stigmatized in society, not helped by generic and negative representations in the media. Previous studies have shown the printing press, broadcasting media, and popular cinema to largely depict the mentally ill as violent, dangerous, dysfunctional, and worst of all, mad. The purpose of this study is to determine if documentary films are any different in reproducing such images, or if they instead subvert the prejudices of mental illness. Through a qualitative content analysis of 70 scenes, taken from 6 observational documentaries, the results find that the sample of films expose the failings of institutional care and psychiatric practices. Rather than focusing on how mental illness functions, these films separate the behavior of persons with mental illness from their condition, showing them to be both mistreated and misunderstood.