Title: The attraction of Mental Illness
Course: Psychology in Cinema > Section: Analysis > Forum: Course discussion

All three films depict mental illness and all three were very successful. Why do you think people find films dealing with mental illness appealing to watch?

The curiosity - Peeping Tom - value. Mental illness is weird; it's often taboo in discussions and so when we have the opportunity to experience it at a "safe distance", ie from the comfort of a cinema seat, it allows us to find out more without actually having to come into face to face contact with the sufferers. I guess it's similar to those "Embarrassing bodies" TV shows in that respect. We wouldn't really want to be in close quarters with three legged people but we're fascinated from afar....

It's pure sensationalism, over-dramatisation to make big bucks and especially when the films are based on true stories (and are then romanticised, as with ABM) This article by Everyday Feminism discusses how the media, including the Film industry, contributes to the stigma of mental illness. Sadly, by paying to watch these films, we're just prolonging the myths:-/

I guess that films like A Beautiful Mind and Spider offer us a different viewpoint on life. People forget that mental illness doesn’t just mean introverted suffering, but can offer some insightful things as well. Spider seems to be creative. He likes making webs around his room and sees the world in a more fractured way. Maybe he would make a good artist. In the same way John Nash, Jr. is really good at maths. Perhaps the seeds of his illness were present when he was younger, but manifested in a different way i.e. in a way which helped him succeed with numbers. It’s always interesting and useful to see how others experience the world. The films on this course help us to do that.

We only need to look at the huge media interest following the sad demise of film star Robin Williams to see the voyeuristic value of mental illness.

I agree.

Josh- I think you are going to have to write more than just "I agree" to get any credit on this;-)

I agree:-D