Mental Health and Illness in Film: A Public Mental Health Perspective on Mental Health and Illness in the Movies Jenny Hansen, MHS Email: jennylhansen1@gmail.com Course Learning Objectives Be critical consumers of film and media in their portrayal of mental illness. Discuss and identify how film and media s portrayal of mental illness influences public mental health Learn about and be able to intelligibly discuss common mental illnesses and mental health problems Logistics The course will meet for 105 minutes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays Grading Attendance - 30%: Please turn in one of your attendance cards (tan) with your name on it each day before taking your seat. There are a total of five with submissions beginning on Wednesday 1/10/2018. Attendance is mandatory. Excused absences will be granted only in the case of a doctor s note or family emergency. Attendance cards handed in 5 minutes after the class period starts will be considered as late and you will only earn half credit for that day. Participation - 30%: Each time you participate, you are to turn in one of your participation cards (blue) with your name on it. Weekly Reflection - (2 x 20%): 350-500 word paper including your thoughts and insights on the content of the movies, discussion, and/or readings from the week. Note This class is meant to stimulate thought and discussion about the limitations of our understanding of mental illness based on its portrayal in movies and TV shows. You will be introduced to several relevant mental health issues, but by no means all of them. Unlike your other professors, I am not an expert in this field. I am merely invested in making sure our generation is conscientious in our consumption and subsequent integration of what we glean from the heightened TV and movie exposure of our time. Because of the importance of this topic, I worked to make the class accessible to as many students as possible. As such, the class is much larger than the originally anticipated 25 students. Nevertheless, I expect (and require) everyone to actively participate despite the larger class size. As you will soon learn, mental health issues come in many different forms, in varying degrees of severity, and are more prevalent
than you might think. The class is of course an open forum and will reflect diverse thoughts, opinions, and experiences. In your participation, all I ask is that you approach the topics with the sensitivity and respect that they deserve. General Questions to Think About While Watching the Movies/Writing Reflections What elements of the public mental health wheel do we see throughout the film? How does this film inform the public? How does this film misinform the public? What is the public health impact/burden of this disorder? How do you think society in general views these disorders or particular situations? How do you think the movie/show has reinforced or contradicted that view? Counseling Services/Crisis Management: College can be a very fun but stressful experience. Sometimes classes pertaining to mental health and illness stir up old issues for people or cause them to become more aware of issues that they may want to deal with. If you would like to talk about life stressors or issues with a professional, there are lots of resources available to you. The JHU Counseling Center provides free and confidential counseling and referral services. More information is available at: http://web.jhu.edu/counselingcenter/services/. If you or a friend needs help, do not hesitate to call (Taken verbatim from 321 Child and Adolescent Psychopathology Syllabus Fall 2015 rev 4 taught by Dr. Papadakis). Readings All of the readings are recommended but optional, but will help to make the class a richer and more fulfilling experience. I may ask questions based on opinions expressed in the readings, but you will not have to have read them in order to answer. **Denotes a reading available via E-Reserves ^Denotes a reading accessible by copy-pasting the link into your web browser Readings relevant to all course content Narrative Processing of Entertainment Media and Mental Illness Stigma by Nicole Mossing Caputo and Donna Rouner ** Fighting Against Stigma Attached to People Suffering from Mental Illness Using Entertainment Education Strategy by Ute Ritterfeld and A. Jin Seung ** https://aeon.co/essays/why-can-t-we-treat-mental-illness-by-fixing-the-brain ^
http://www.vulture.com/2016/09/what-tv-gets-wrong-about-mental-illness.html ^ http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/12/21/mental_illness_finally_got_respect_ on _tv_in_2015.html ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/portraying-mental-health-ontv_us_56799f08e4b0b958f6583e21 ^ http://www.mtv.com/news/2284490/tv-shows-mental-health-issues-wrong/ ^ Watching the Movies and Shows You are expected to come to class having watched at least one of the movies listed. All movies and episodes that are listed will be available but you need only watch one of them before class that day. We will watch brief clips of each in class and then discuss, compare, and contrast as a class. that we will view and discuss for that day. The movies and TV shows are available on Blackboard under e- Reserves and provided by Swank. There are hundreds of movies and TV shows that we could have looked at. While this list is by no means comprehensive, I believe it should offer a sufficient overview even if it leaves out some classics (like One Flew Over the Cuckoo s Nest). Schedule Class 1 Introduction, Course Overview, Mental Health in General: From Science to Society John Oliver s Clip on Mental Health Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Class 2 TV Shows: Skins, Monk, Girls, Hoarders, Scrubs, Big Bang Theory Movies: The Aviator, As Good As It Gets Substance Use and Abuse Class 3 TV Shows: Gossip Girl, House Movies: 28 Days, Requiem for a Dream, Flight Anxiety Class 4 TV Shows: Suits, This Is Us Movies: Inside Out, The King s Speech, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Bipolar Class 5 TV Shows: Empire, Homeland, Wilfred Movies: Silver Linings Playbook, Mad Love, Touched With Fire Clinical Depression Class 6 TV Shows: You re the Worst, Bojack Horseman, 13 Reasons Why Movies: Silver Linings Playbook, Anomalisa, Cake Schizophrenia Class 7 TV Shows: Orange Is The New Black, Perception, The Sopranos Movies: A Beautiful Mind, The Soloist, Shutter Island, Black Swan Autism/Asperger s Class 8 TV Shows: Parenthood, Grey s Anatomy, The Good Doctor Movies: Rain Man, The Story of Luke, What s Eating Gilbert Grape? Eating Disorders Class 9 TV Shows: Pretty Little Liars, Gossip Girl, Degrassi Movies: Girl Interrupted, To The Bone Academic Ethics: You have an obligation to yourself, your classmates, and instructors to conduct yourself with integrity and in an ethical manner. The strength of your education, your academic and professional reputation, and of the University as a whole rest on your integrity. You are expected to know and uphold the standards of academic ethics as stated in the Constitution of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, specifically the section describing the Undergraduate Academic Ethics Board (http://ecatalog.jhu.edu/undergrad-students/student-life-policies/). Ethical violations include, but are not limited to: failure to cite sources properly, cheating, plagiarism, reuse of part or all of your own or others work, receiving or providing unauthorized assistance or collaboration, improper use of sources (including electronic devices), lying, forgery and falsification, unfair competition, and facilitating academic dishonesty (including failure to report violations of which you are aware). Please report any violations to the instructor. All suspected violations will be handled and adjudicated following the policies of the
Academic Ethics Board ( http://web.jhu.edu/studentlife/policies/judicial.html ). Penalties for violations may include, but are not limited to: failure of the assignment/exam, a lowered course grade, failure of the course, a notation on your permanent transcript, suspension, or expulsion. If you have questions regarding what is permissible in this course, consult with the professor. Accommodation of Disabilities: To request academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact the Office of Student Disability Services (http://web.jhu.edu/disabilities, 385 Garland Hall, 410-516- 4720, studentdisabilityservices@jhu.edu). If you have a registered disability and would like to request accommodations in this course, please share an accommodation letter with me, and schedule a brief meeting to discuss the accommodations. Please do so well in advance of when you will require the accommodation (e.g., assignment, exam).