Preview
Creation Date
2013
Description
Project Advisors: Julie Lindemann and John Shimon
Year of Graduation: 2013
Medium
Photography
Rights
Copyright for this work is held by the artist.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
COinS
Artist Statement
The film business is meant to entertain, and this motivation has led to extreme, sensationalized portrayals of the mentally ill. This exaggerated perspective, when viewed and adopted by the public, can lead to intolerant attitudes and create significant stigma. Mental illness has remained a common theme in many films, and imagery presented to moviegoers commonly implies that the mentally ill are unable to function in society and often dangerous. In reality, one in every four Americans may suffer from some type of mental illness, and many sufferers are hesitant to seek help due to the media-perpetuated stigma surrounding their condition. Individuals are forced to choose against improving their quality of life so that they are viewed by society as “normal”.
This body of work addresses the discrepancy between film portrayals of mental illness and real life situations. Through the juxtaposition of scenes featuring the appearance and behavior of a film stereotype with mundane scenes from everyday life, this body of work is meant to critique the exaggerated, fictitious nature of media portrayals of the mentally ill and provide an opportunity for reflection.