ABSTRACT

This volume examines the shift toward positive and more accurate portrayals of mental illness in entertainment media, asking where these succeed and considering where more needs to be done. With studies that identify and analyze the characters, viewpoints, and experiences of mental illness across film and television, it considers the messages conveyed about mental illness and reflects on how the different texts reflect, reinforce, or challenge sociocultural notions regarding mental illness. Presenting chapters that explore a range of texts from film and television, covering a variety of mental health conditions, including autism, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and more, this book will appeal to scholars of sociology, cultural and media studies, and mental health.

chapter 1|10 pages

Introduction

Why depictions of mental illness matter

chapter 2|13 pages

"Remember what Dr. Lopez said"

Portrayals of mental health care in Nickelodeon's The Loud House

chapter 3|13 pages

"And I suffer from short-term memory loss"

Understanding presentations of mental health in Pixar's Finding Nemo and Finding Dory through communication theory of identity

chapter 5|13 pages

Cognitive differences in Star Trek

The case and evolution of Reginald Barclay

chapter 6|17 pages

Popular culture and the (mis)representation of Asperger's

A study on the sitcoms Community and The Big Bang Theory

chapter 7|13 pages

Psychopath, sociopath, or autistic

Labeling and framing the brilliance of Sherlock Holmes

chapter 8|14 pages

When Saga Norén meets neurotypicality

A liminal encounter along The Bridge

chapter 9|12 pages

The girl on the swing

An analysis of cues and depression in Joe Wright's Pride and Prejudice (2005)

chapter 11|15 pages

"Portraying real feelings with comedy on top" 1

Postpartum depression storylines and domestic sitcoms

chapter 12|13 pages

Ruby Wax

Comedy, celebrity capital, and (re)presentations of mental illness

chapter 13|15 pages

Post-traumatic stress disorder in the films Taxi Driver and You Were Never Really Here

A comparative progressive approach

chapter 14|17 pages

Bipolar and Shameless

Showtime's portrayal of living and working with bipolar disorder

chapter 15|13 pages

Wrestling with eating disorders

Transmedia depictions of body issues in WWE's women's professional wrestling

chapter 16|5 pages

Conclusion

Destigmatizing mental illness and neurodiversity in entertainment media