Depictions of mental illness in television is not something particularly new or innovative. However, recent years have seen a spike in the number of shows that represent mental illness in a better light. This may be in part because of push from mental health advocates and audiences a like. Celebrities like Demi Lovato have been incredibly vocal in recent years about how important it is to accurately portray mental illness. When researching for this project, we found it sometimes difficult to define when a character was being portrayed as having a mental illness and when they were just “quirky.” A perfect example of this is Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory. Fans of the show have debated for years whether Sheldon is autistic or not. This is
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In today’s world, people are becoming more and more focused on inclusion and diversity on television. I think that this should also apply to mental illness. Television is a great medium to entertain and inform audiences. The Amazon show Transparent has received critical and commercial success for it’s depiction of a transgender man.
Despite the need for representation of mental illness on tv, there are certainly challenges that it faces. Number one is the inherent use of drama that comes with tv and movies. Stories are sensationalized and made prettier for the screen. This is problem when showing really any story on tv. With mental illness, tv could take out the less dramatic or darker parts of mental illness in favor of a picture that is more audience friendly story.
Another problem is one that was brought up in class. Would tv executives really want to invest in stories about mental illness. While they might not right now, it’s important that we push for it in the future. Twenty years ago tv executives didn’t want to show gay characters on tv but because of push from the LGBTQ community, gay characters on tv are becoming the norm. It is looking to head this way for mental illness as well. Just recently, Target created an ad campaign with a Down Syndrome model at the fore front. This is becoming a trend among other companies as well including McDonalds, A.C. Moore and
In today’s world, people are becoming more and more focused on inclusion and diversity on television. I think that this should also apply to mental illness. Television is a great medium to entertain and inform audiences. The Amazon show Transparent has received critical and commercial success for it’s depiction of a transgender man.
Despite the need for representation of mental illness on tv, there are certainly challenges that it faces. Number one is the inherent use of drama that comes with tv and movies. Stories are sensationalized and made prettier for the screen. This is problem when showing really any story on tv. With mental illness, tv could take out the less dramatic or darker parts of mental illness in favor of a picture that is more audience friendly story.
Another problem is one that was brought up in class. Would tv executives really want to invest in stories about mental illness. While they might not right now, it’s important that we push for it in the future. Twenty years ago tv executives didn’t want to show gay characters on tv but because of push from the LGBTQ community, gay characters on tv are becoming the norm. It is looking to head this way for mental illness as well. Just recently, Target created an ad campaign with a Down Syndrome model at the fore front. This is becoming a trend among other companies as well including McDonalds, A.C. Moore and