The Representation of Mental Illness in Contemporary Film Thematic content analysis of fictional and based-on-a-true-story films

At the core of this research paper was the aim to explore the representation of mental illness in contemporary film. The research placed focus upon examining whether these portrayals are still largely negative or whether there is a general trend towards representing mental illness in a more humanizing and empathizing manner. Additionally, the study attempted to determine whether mental illness was represented differently within based on a true story and fictional films. A total of four films in English that were released between 2008 and 2020 were selected as a part of the sample – two fictional and two based on a true story films about individuals with a mental illness. Previous findings suggest that overall, the portrayal of mental illness within film is largely negative and therefore contributes to the persistence of a vast majority of stereotypes and stigmas surrounding mental illness. Since media, especially films, are one of the primary sources of knowledge about mental illness for individuals who have never had direct contact with someone who has a mental illness, it is crucial that these portrayals within film do not continuously foster negative stereotypes. Moreover, according to the disability rhetoric, an individual should never be defined solely through his/her medical diagnosis, but rather through who this individual is as a person beyond the diagnosis. Therefore, through qualitative content and thematic analysis, this research explores the encoding process of contemporary films and provides an insight into what elements are most used when portraying mental illness. A total of four themes emerged throughout the analysis process – (1) Stereotypical representation, (2) Overcoming adversity, (3) Personal experiences of the individual with mental illness and (4) Separating the individual from the diagnosis. The findings of the research show that even though the representation of mental illness within contemporary film is still largely dominated by negative and inaccurate portrayals, there is a general trend towards depicting mental illness in a more accurate manner, specifically, within fictional films. Moreover, the findings suggest that there were in fact some challenging representations and two out of the four films depicted a conflict between two opposing ways of perceiving mental illness – social and medical model of disability. Lastly, even though the films analysed include a lot of negative stereotypes, they also try to represent the individuals beyond their mental illness.