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How Accurately is Mental Illness Portrayed in Media?

One of the more recent movies, Joker, has had a rocky start involving the media and what people would fear would happen upon release of the film. It stars Joaquin Phoenix, as Arthur, a lower class mentally deficient but docile man who is the product of society. He works as a clown taking low paying jobs from whoever hires their company, and he lives in a run-down building where he takes care of his ill mother. The film makes it evident from the beginning that Arthur has a condition, pseudobulbar affect (PBA). This condition makes him laugh uncontrollably in random situations and is mainly a plot device for his character, the Joker, however it’s still important to recognize this and address how the film treats this condition, which is a real condition. Rallying back to what was mentioned earlier about Arthur being mentally deficient, he has negative thoughts as he mentions to his counselor, he is borderline illiterate and cannot write or spell very well and becomes violent to those who wrong him later in the film. Arthur needs help, real help from people who care, which there are none in the film, and this shows. Arthur eventually loses control over himself and starts a revolution in Gotham which leads others to follow him and his chaotic ideology. This is somewhat reflective on how society treats people like Arthur, the lower class or mentally ill, or both, are often overshadowed and overlooked. Sometimes nobody takes them seriously or tries to understand what they have going on in their lives.

            Something that is often problematic with the media portraying physical or mental differences is they tend to portray them inaccurately. Some of the criticisms of Joker portraying mental illnesses inaccurately, are concepts in the film such as mental illness and violence being strongly linked together. There have been recurring trends that the media is disconnected and creates manufactured versions of real-world issues and concepts, which was another criticism of this film. “There are many things, though, that networks don’t do well. Car companies sensibly use a network to organize their hundreds of suppliers, but not to design their cars” (Gladwell 10). To follow up the previous statements, it’s also evident that in a lot of movies and tv shows that depict mental or physical illnesses, these characters just want to be “normal” and sometimes that’s their top priority is to just be normal. It’s rare to see themes in films like this where everyone learns to accept the mentally/physically ill for who they are or help them when help is necessary.

The Representation Dilemma

A big controversy within media nowadays is the treatment of Star Wars under Disney’s control, and people mostly either love it or hate it. When it comes to gender representation, Star Wars really misses the mark, and let me explain why. There’s a difference between writing strong characters to root for that the audience likes, but it has to be done right. An example of a well written female protagonist could be the Bride from Kill Bill. She doesn’t lust over a man the whole time, she has understandable motives and a decent moral compass, and she’s a badass that is fun to watch on screen during the insane fight scenes. With this in mind, Rey is not a well written character, and the reason for this is because there’s not a lot of unique aspects about her (Her lightsaber, her powers, etc.) and there is no effort in trying to make her a likable protagonist, despite Daisy Ridley being a very talented actress. With this in mind, there’s a lack of representation for proper femininity with the franchise, which is a problem, because at this point it’s not good representation it’s just propaganda. If you make a character and you want to promote something, like femininity, then there are necessary precautions and steps to take, but if it’s thrown in the audiences face and forces them to accept said character and like them then it’s likely that won’t happen.

            It’s important to represent different types of people and their orientations within the media but it has to be right. It also helps if the studio is open minded and willing to change for the better, however when it comes to Star Wars the studio shifts the blame on the fans, which is a whole other issue. Getting back to the topic at hand, studios have to put in effort to represent different people. Take Marvel for example, another studio under Disney that has been wildly successful the past decade, not only because they represent their characters well for comic fans and movie fans alike, but they make enjoyable, well written films and characters. Some examples are characters like Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Black Widow, Thor, etc. that represent different genders, races, ethnicities and cultures while still keeping in mind that these characters have to be special in their own unique ways. As we all know, someone’s ethnicity/gender is not a personality, they have to have other things that make them special, especially in a film or series. Also, female superheroes still have various issues surrounding them such as hyper sexualization and objectification. “The female victim is typically delicate… What she lacks in strength and cunning she makes up for in kindness and curves” (May 2015). As a final rebuttal, it’s important to create diverse heroes that represent all types of ethnicities, genders and orientations but it’s equally important to put effort into these characters.

Representation – Do’s and Don’ts

Over the past decade or so, representation has become talked about more in media and we’ve seen changes in film and tv involving more representation for marginalized groups. This is important because media has a powerful influence over a lot of people, especially youth. Most people will believe what they see portrayed through media, so it’s important for the media to include different age, race and social classes to represent different types of people. Representation in fact is important because of historical accuracy, however it’s arguably more important in fiction as well because it tells someone a lot about the studio’s decisions, like who to cast, how they represent these characters and their underlying message involving character development and how it reflects our society today.

            It’s also important to have a wide array of diverse characters so the audience can relate to them. Take a show like ‘Family Matters’ for example, a middle-class family with a fully African American cast. Aside from lovable Steve Urkel, who unfortunately feeds the geeky nerd that lusts for a girl out of his league trope, the rest of the characters represent real people we can relate to. Carl is a cop that has a short temper with some people but overall is a nice guy that just wants the best for his family and those around him, Harriette is Carl’s wife that offers insight to every situation, Eddie is the young son of theirs who is still learning about the world and making his way through life with his inexperience, etc. From what I remember, the show might or might not have brushed on racist tropes and ideologies in America and addressed them. If it did then this is good, as Jhally states “There is very little connection between the social status of black Americans and the fabricated images of black people that Americans consume every day.”

            This statement is important because it explains how within black shows there needs to be some context and reflection on the struggles some of them go through while facing injustices within the law or the social system. The thing to avoid when representing these characters is stereotypes and false imagery. Stereotypes are obvious but false imagery can be something like a classical media trick, like making a rich white family and making them all intelligent and proper to put this false idea into people’s heads that if you work hard and you’re on top of your game, then you can make it big. This can also be applied to middle class working characters in tv and how some are portrayed as buffoonish, incompetent and lazy, showing viewers that if you don’t work hard you won’t make it, when really there are a lot of other factors in play.

A Sense of Identity Everyone can Relate to

After watching “Into the Spider-Verse” again, I noticed some themes that I hadn’t noticed before, and it made me appreciate the movie even more than before. The film portrays a strong sense of identity for Miles and tells the audience that no matter how old, how inexperienced, what your race is or where you came from socially, you can do great things. Miles is a textbook example of this too, he’s a mixed teenager with an African American father and a Hispanic mother that lives in Brooklyn and attends a prestigious school mainly because of a charter school lottery he won to get into it. Miles’ uncle Aaron is a vigilante criminal who is killed in front of him, to add to Miles’ hardships even more. When Miles acquires his new powers, he doesn’t know how to manage them or balance them with his life, and that’s when Peter B. Parker comes in, down on his luck after having gone through hell, he sets aside his self-loathing to help Miles and teaches him what it means to be Spiderman, and in turn Miles helps him follow his own advice as well.

            These two characters help each other develop in their own ways, but in the end, Miles benefits the most by learning what it takes to be a hero and to be strong despite the hardships he has to face. This film is especially unique among the other Spiderman films because it gives almost everyone a sense of identity, there’s a Spiderman to represent almost everyone, even those who aren’t perfect; a young mixed-race Spiderman, a young female Spiderman, a sad lazy Spiderman who was the victim of society, a Japanese anime variant of Spiderman, etc. Hell, even the post credit scene gives the audience a scene with a Hispanic Spiderman, Miguel O’Hara.

With a unique and diverse set of characters with amazing powers all working together, different groups of people feel a sense of identity and can relate to characters who face the same issues as them as well as overcoming the same problems as these characters. Overall, the main reason “Into the Spider-Verse” stood out from other Spiderman movies, and other superhero movies as well, was because it broke the traditional mold of what a superhero story is, it integrated various concepts about identity and personal growth and had a message that really anyone could understand, which is why this movie was special.

http://theconversation.com/what-into-the-spider-verse-can-teach-us-about-resilience-110752

Ethnicities and Their Effect on the Media

Recently I stumbled upon an article about how Asian Americans are under-represented in the media, and how that affects people’s views on them in the real world. Because of how they’re portrayed in the media they’re expected to excel in math related fields, and some characters in shows or movies are successful and talented, but lack personality and act robotic, making them generally unlikable. Not to mention, another trope most Asian American characters falsely represent is being socially inept, they are emasculated when it comes to romance in the media, and often made fun of by other characters for it, in a sense they’re like the punching bag of any group the media portrays. “The media are not only a powerful source of ideas about race. They are also one place where these ideas are articulated, worked on, transformed and elaborated” (Hall, “The Whites of Their Eyes” 20).

To make matters worse, Hollywood whitewashing is still an issue when portraying Asian or Asian American characters in a live action show or movie. It’s not often that an Asian American actor plays a character derived from Asian American culture, but instead, it’s a Caucasian male. One example is actor Mickey Rooney (a Caucasian) playing a character named Mr. Yunioshi in the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s (“Why Asians are Under-Represented In Modern Media”). Now, usually I’m not one to call out race in films, but I feel it’s only fair for Asian/Asian American characters to be played by someone of that same origin. Also, it is understandable that Hollywood wants to cast the best actors for the film, but there are plenty of talented actors of different ethnicities and nationalities out there looking for the same opportunities.

Mr. Yunioshi in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” — Yikes

When Asians or Asian Americans are portrayed in shows and films, there are a lot of stereotypes surrounding the way they act and look. In the long run, this is damaging, not only because it’s an inaccurate portrayal of this group of people, but also because there are a lot of young minds that are exposed to various types of media. I’m sure you and I could think of something we saw on tv years ago that we thought was an accurate portrayal of someone or something and then came to find out that it wasn’t. This is happening with children, teens and even some adults who digest enough media, and it needs to change. It’s disheartening to find out one of your most beloved tv shows or movies displays moderate racism or bigotry, so why not cast actors best fit for the role of a specific ethnicity or race in addition to portraying them more positively to eliminate any further biases or racism in our media.

What is a Hero?

Hero is such a broad term that so many people nowadays would be at an impasse on trying to agree universally on the definition of what a hero truly is. To me personally, a hero is someone that is selfless, and displays signs of altruism (giving and caring for others wellbeing). However, this might be different among different cultures and groups, and a hero can turn into something very subjective. For example, there are groups of people that would consider Donald Trump a hero, and there are some that would consider Greta Thunberg a hero, but are they really? It’s important to look at what makes someone a hero, and as we all know selflessness is a big factor, maybe even the idea that a hero goes out of their way to do what’s right is another factor, but the simplest way to accept someone as a hero is to look at their objectively good, and bad qualities and weigh in on them overall.

There are certain archetypes around heroes as well, and these are tied into their positive qualities in order to reinforce certain stigmas or to promote certain agendas. Take superman for example, the perfect archetype for what a comic book superhero is and look deeper into the types of messages he sends and why he does what he does and why he acts the way he does. In a sense, superman is godlike with his powers, and the idea of superman is a parallel to Jesus in some ways. For example, superman’s father sent his last son down to save Earth, he fights for truth and justice, two biblical principles, etc. We can all agree that superman is an objectively good hero because what he does benefits everyone regardless of race, orientation, social class, etc. and that’s what a good hero does.

This can also be tied to hegemony however, because many would consider superman a better hero as opposed to someone like Luke Cage, a bulletproof hero of color that seeks to help those in his struggling community in Harlem as well as battling corrupt politicians. It’s evident that the people who do the dirty work and stand up for the little guy are the ones that are overlooked in comparison to the glorified hero that everyone is familiar with. However, we should treat both with the same kind of gratitude since they’re both restoring peace and justice in different ways, for different groups. It isn’t necessarily fair to say one is more important than the other, but instead look at it as if someone is helping others in selfless acts and expecting nothing in return, they are by definition, a true hero.