Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Theses and Dissertations Fall 2012 Depictions of Mental Disorder in Mainstream American Film 1988-2010 Catherine A. Sherman Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/etd Recommended Citation Sherman, C. (2012). Depictions of Mental Disorder in Mainstream American Film 1988-2010 (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1183 This Immediate Access is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DEPICTIONS OF MENTAL DISORDER IN MAINSTREAM AMERICAN FILM FROM 1988-2010 A Dissertation Submitted to the School of Education Duquesne University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Catherine A. Sherman, M.Ed., M.F.A. December 2012 Copyright by Catherine A. Sherman, M.Ed., M.F.A. 2012 DEPICTIONS OF MENTAL DISORDER IN MAINSTREAM AMERICAN FILM FROM 1988-2010 By Catherine A. Sherman Approved September 25, 2012 ________________________________ ________________________________ Dr. Lisa Lopez Levers Dr. Emma Mosley Professor of Counselor Education and (Committee Member) Supervision and Rev. Francis Philben, C. S. Sp. Endowed Chair in African Studies (Committee Chair) ________________________________ Dr. Jered Kolbert Associate Professor and Program Director of Counselor Education and Supervision (Committee Member) ________________________________ ________________________________ Dr. Olga Welch Dr. Tammy Hughes Dean, School of Education Chair, Department of Counseling, Professor of Education Psychology, and Special Education Professor of Education iii ABSTRACT DEPICTIONS OF MENTAL DISORDER IN MAINSTREAM AMERICAN FILM FROM 1988-2010 By Catherine A. Sherman, M.Ed., M.F.A. December 2012 Dissertation supervised by Dr. Lisa Lopez Levers The following qualitative research study examined visual and thematic depictions of mental disorder in mainstream American film from 1988 to 2010. The research was an extension of an earlier investigation on portrayals of psychological disability in Hollywood movies (Levers, 1988, 2001). The theoretical and historical grounding for the project included Sander Gilman‟s (1982) scholarship on madness in the pictorial arts, the history and treatment of mental disorder over the course of time, social constructionism and the media, and research on media depictions of mental illness. The author employed two content analysis instruments (Levers, 1988, 2001) to record the appearance of icons, stereotypes, and positive portrayals of mental illness in 14 feature-length American films, which contain scenes of psychiatric hospitalization. Each film became a case study, and for each case, the author included content analysis findings, plot and character summaries, and discussion on mental disorder representation through images, speech, and iv themes. The multiple cases culminated in a filmography, which can be a resource for individuals interested in, and concerned about, the nature in which mental disorder is portrayed in popular, contemporary movies. The results from this study indicate that iconic and stereotypical representations of mental disorder have remained consistent since Levers‟ (1988, 2001) inquiries. The author identified 60 of 61 icons listed on the Icons of Madness viewing rubric (Levers, 1988, 2001) and all stereotypes and positive portrayals on the Thematic Portrayals of Mental Disorder viewing rubric (Levers, 1988, 2001). More specifically, the four most commonly depicted icons and the top five stereotypes were the same in both the present and Levers‟ (1988, 2001) studies. The one notable difference between these and Levers‟ (1988, 2001) results was the increased frequency of positive portrayals of mental illness; more positive portrayals occurred in this investigation as compared to Levers‟ earlier research. New icons, stereotypes, and positive portrayals of mental disorder not originally listed on the viewing rubrics were identified, too. The author discusses the present findings in light of future research possibilities, counselor education, and client advocacy. v DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to my beloved family, near and afar. Your love, encouragement, and readership sustained me, as did your willingness to help me remain focused and balanced with restorative breaks—whether walking in the woods or long- distance telephone calls. Your support allowed me to stay the course and complete this dissertation. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I wish to express my sincere appreciation to the faculty associated with this project, Drs. Lisa Lopez Levers, Jered Kolbert, and Emma Mosley. I valued their unique contributions to the supervision of this study. They encouraged me to approach my research from multiple angles and perspectives, and with an eye toward social responsibility. I am especially thankful to have had the opportunity to continue the ground- breaking filmic scholarship Dr. Levers commenced during her own doctoral research. Her authority as a scholar, teacher, and writer inspired me to pursue my own research and writing to the best of my abilities. I thank her for excellent instruction in qualitative research and social science writing and documentation, as well as for sharing her DVDs. I am grateful for all the time she gave to me, too, in email correspondence, telephone calls, and consultations—for her generosity and kindness. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract .......................................................................................................................... iv Dedication...………………………………………………………………………….…...vi Acknowledgement……………………………………………………………….………vii List of Tables…………………………………………………………………….……….xi Chapter I: Introduction…....……………………………………………………………….1 Purpose of the Study………………………………………………………………1 Research Questions………………………………………………………………..4 Relevancy of Study.……………………………………………………………….5 Definition of Terms…...…………………………………………………………...9 Delimitations and Limitations.…………………………………………………...11 Summary………………………………………………………………………....13 Chapter II: Review of the Literature........………………………………………………..15 History of Madness………………………………………………………………15 Iconography of Madness…………………………………………………………24 Social Construction of Reality and Media Depictions…………………………...34 Filmic Depictions of Mental Disorder…………………………………………...41 Chapter III: Methodology...…………….………………………………………………..48 Qualitative Research Paradigm…………………………………………………..48 Research Methods………………………………………………………………..50 Purposeful Sample…………………………………………………………….....54 Procedures………………………………………………………………………..59 viii Data Analysis…………………………………………………………………….60 Limitations……………………………………………………………………….61 Chapter IV: Findings...…………………………………………………………………...63 Rain Man…………………………………………………………………………64 The Fisher King………………………………………………………………….82 Benny & Joon……………………………………………………………………98 Mr. Jones………………………………………………………………………..110 12 Monkeys……………………………………………………………………..126 Don Juan DeMarco……………………………………………………………..141 Sling Blade……………………………………………………………………...155 Girl, Interrupted………………………………………………………………...172 Quills……………………………………………………………………………189 A Beautiful Mind……………………………………………………………….208 K-PAX………………………………………………………………………….224 Changeling……………………………………………………………………...240 It‟s Kind of a Funny Story……………………………………………………...259 Shutter Island…………………………………………………………………...275 Chapter V: Discussion of Findings……..…………………………….………………...294 Icons of Madness……………………………………………………………….294 Stereotypes of Mental Disorder………………………………………………...299 Positive Portrayals of Mental Disorder…………………………………………304 Recommendations for Future Research………………………………………...307 Summary and Applicability of Findings for Counselors……………………….311 ix Final Reflections………………………………………………………………..314 References....……………………………………………………………………………317 Appendix A: Icons of Madness Viewing Rubric…….…………………………………325 Appendix B: Thematic Portrayals of Mental Disorder Viewing Rubric…...…………..326 x LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: Icons of Madness by Rank Order and Frequency of Appearance…………….295 Table 2: Comparison of Sherman‟s (2012) and Levers‟ (1988, 2001) Top Ten Icons of Madness by Rank Order………………………………………………………...297 Table 3: Newly Identified Icons of Madness by Rank Order and Frequency of Appearance……………………………………………………………………..299 Table 4: Stereotypes of Mental Disorder by Rank Order and Frequency of Appearance……………………………………………………………………..300 Table 5: Comparison of Sherman‟s (2012) and Levers‟ (1988, 2001) Top Five Stereotypes of Mental Disorder by Rank Order………………………………..304 Table 6: Positive Portrayals of Mental Disorder by Rank Order and Frequency of Appearance……………………………………………………………………..305 Table 7: Comparison of Sherman‟s (2012) and Levers‟ (1988) Top Five Positive Portrayals of Mental Disorder by Rank Order………………………………….307 xi CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION The mainstream media are our modern-day storytellers (Wahl, 2006; Nairn, 2007). We learn about ourselves, society, and the people around us through media stories and images (Wahl, 2006). The media, including Hollywood film, portray reality in ways to capture and entertain viewing audiences, not necessarily to depict the factual, often unentertaining content and circumstances of “real” people in the real world (Nairn, 2007). To this end, the media often use stereotypes and familiar, sometimes centuries-old, images and narratives to communicate to their audiences, as