Hi! My name is Varnika and Screen Stigma: Media and Mental Illness is my first-ever blog, where I share my thoughts on how movies and tv shows portray various mental illnesses and their treatments. Such portrayals are often distorted and exaggerated "to enhance the plot" at the cost of misinforming their audiences. However, exceptions to this case also seem to be rising in number.
I review the good, the bad and the ugly through the eyes of a 17-year-old high schooler, a sociology + psychology student and an aspiring psychologist.
So, What exactly is 'Screen Stigma' and why is the word 'stigma' so common and why am I even doing this?
If you haven't already guessed - I'm no professional movie critic and I definitely don't have any experience being a screenwriter - so why am I doing this?
It's quite simple actually.
I am a consumer. You are a consumer too. Every time we interact with any medium other than ourselves, we use (or in some sense, consume) that medium. Sometimes, we tend to overlook or misinterpret bits and pieces of what we consume. This is most commonly observed in television media, where not every representation is 'true' or authentic to real life.
Often, this results in the passive internalization of such representations which are absorbed into our ideology unconsciously, and manifest in our daily life (often in the form of microaggressions or obvious discrimination).
This stigma can be dissected into structural stigma, public stigma, and self-stigma. All three are influenced by society's values and norms. In fact, many of the factors that affect structural stigma also influence public stigma. Self-stigma occurs when a person with mental or substance use disorder internalizes negative stereotypes and the public and structural stigma directed at these disorders. I am sure most of us have experienced some form of self-stigma, irrespective of whether we are diagnosed with a mental disorder or not. Addressing these factors can help reduce these stigmas and promote a more inclusive society.
So I, as an avid consumer, am testing my skills and abilities in recognizing these misrepresentations to address the personal and interpersonal factors that contribute to screen stigma.
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Posts coming soon!
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