ABSTRACT
This book has looked in depth at the way in which attitudes and feelings about mental illness are influenced and shaped through the range of portrayals across a range of media sources. The resultant view is largely dependent upon a number of factors that include a person's prior experience and degree of knowledge with regard to mental health issues. It is also influenced by the potency of messages attached to various media products and the type of engagement an individual has with them. One of the main concerns relates to the types of message accessible and the sense of imbalance that is apparent with predominantly negative portrayals being found. The overly dramatic and sensational style of depiction found in many media examples has an insidious and unsettling effect upon those exposed to them and might be hard to shake off, even following access to educational and health promotional material. One of the core problems here is that mental health promotional material appears on the surface far less enticing or dramatically engaging compared to that which carries stigmatising or stereotypical content. Our reading of messages is therefore heavily influenced by negative depictions as accurate and realistic portrayals are undermined by the more familiar stereotypes that link mental illness with aspects such as violence or eccentric behaviour. In order to tackle this, initiatives or approaches are needed to challenge and restrict the range of negative products on offer and to replace them with a greater selection of realistic and accurate examples.
