Literature and its Success
We see how mental illnesses are expressed throughout the world, whether it’s movies, shows, or even in literature. When reading about mental illnesses in literature specifically, society tends to interpret them differently compared to the authors telling the story. That is because literature has its own way in expressing these mental illnesses. Readers usually then have to dig deeper in order to understand them. This means that the views of mental illnesses can change instantly after reading a certain story relating to a patient with any type of illness/disorder. However, the main question is, how has the overall representation of mental illnesses in literature, affect society’s view of the subject ? People will only be able to understand what the author said about a specific illness and therefore, if others were to explain different aspects, the reader will already have their personal views of the illness.
Many literary stories such as A Perfect Day for Bananafish, written by J.D. Salinger and The Yellow Wallpaper, written by Charlotte Perkins, serve as examples of pieces of literature where the aspects of specific disorders are expressed in their own way. The disorder introduced by Salinger is known as PTSD, and it is what the main character, Seymour, suffers from. Throughout the story, there was more attention being given to the character’s actions and his surroundings, which allows the readers to make conclusions on what he has and what it looks like. He surrounds himself with young children, such as another main character named, Sybil. The reason for this being is because it brings him a sort of peace, which is something he isn’t used to(Salinger, J.D. A Perfect Day for Bananafish. 1948). This is because of his past traumatic experiences. This teaches the readers how feeling peaceful is hard when suffering from this type of disorder. Seymour was described as a man that is capable of losing control and it can be dangerous for the ones around him. He is only calm until something occurs, that serves as a reminder of his past. Towards the end of the story, there was a use of imagery and it was a so-called bananafish, a fish that ate many bananas and died as a result (Salinger, J.D. A Perfect Day for Bananafish. 1948). He talked about this type of imaginary creature in the sea with the young girl, Sybil. The moment death came to his mind, his mood quickly changed and he left the water, asked the young girl to leave as well, and he then headed back to the hotel he was staying in ( Salinger, J.D. A Perfect Day for Bananafish. 1948). Seymour was a man that returned from war. All the actions expressed by him were due to the fact that he underwent a small situation that reminded him of a bigger one back in combat, also known as a traumatic event. PTSD is a disorder in which a person is triggered by traumatic events. One of the symptoms include traumatic flashbacks after being reminded of the traumatic event and also self-isolation (Mayo Clinic. “Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).” 2020). This meaning and the symptom connects to Seymours actions and his personality, which helps society conclude that this is what PTSD looks like and this is how a person usually acts.
In addition to Salinger’s story, introducing PTSD, Charlotte Perkins introduced postpartum depression and anxiety. This type of depression is one that women suffer from after they give birth. Postpartum depression comes with many symptoms as the female comes with many difficulties as she tries to develop a relationship with her baby. As a result of postpartum depression, this can lead onto major depression as the person gets older (Mayo Clinic.“Postpartum depression.” 2020). Throughout the story, we see Jane, the main character, show signs of this type of depression. She sees Mary being so good with the baby and she is only the babysitter, while Jane, the actual parent, gets nervous and decides not to be with him ( Perkins, Charlotte. The Yellow Wallpaper. 1892). When a mother is suffering from postpartum depression, she’s trying to protect him/her because she cannot trust herself and this is how Jane feels with her baby, therefore this story did a great job in demonstrating this type of depression. Jane also suffers from anxiety and this disorder is seen when her mental stability worsens. She becomes very sensitive and this is shown through her unreasonable anger towards John, her husband ( Perkins, Charlotte. The Yellow Wallpaper. 1892). A person that suffers from anxiety tends to get annoyed easily, which is known as being irritable. The Yellow Wallpaper gives a good representation of both postpartum depression and anxiety. However, there are false concepts regarding the treatment for anxiety. We see this through Janes’ husband’s advice for treatment. Her husband is a physician and of course one may believe he is correct. He advised her to practice self-isolation and to stay away from doing normal things such as socializing and writing in her private journal ( Perkins, Charlotte. The Yellow Wallpaper. 1892). People now tend to isolate themselves to avoid stressful situations, but that does not work, and instead can backfire and make the anxiety worse. Approaching activities and situations that trigger anxiety is actually suggested and this part of the cognitive-behavioral therapy ( American Psychological Association. “Beyond worry: How Psychologists help with anxiety disorders.” 2016). The physician is actually wrong. Writing in her journal can actually serve as a coping mechanism and socializing can even be seeing a psychologist and talking with one or even be recommended by one, in the real world, but this story fails at demonstrating this correct treatment. This can lead to the readers believing what the story says, allowing them to have false information behind the treatment of this disorder. It is more than just focusing on the symptoms and diagnosis, meaning everything regarding a disorder matters as well. Society will believe that anxiety can be treated like this, if they ever encounter a person dealing with anxiety. The behaviors of both postpartum depression and anxiety were more accurate.
The media plays a role in the representation of mental illnesses, as well. Society usually views the media as something entertaining and sometimes the people believe what they see. Examples can be shows, social media, or movies. Take the 2016 American psychological horror thriller film, Split, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, as an example. This movie does a great job of introducing DID, also known as dissociative identity disorder. However, this film also added concepts that incorrectly portray dissociative identity disorder. In the movie, the main character would change into different personas within the matter of seconds. He goes from being a beast, to Kevin Wendell Crumb, to Jade, to Dennise, to Barry, to Hedwig, and Ms. Patricia. Kevin is his original self and as soon as he gets back to his usual self, realized he has committed so many crimes, such as killing his psychologists and kidnapping three girls. Kevin then forces the girl to kill him, but his other personalities begin to take over, in order to prevent the killing. The persona that was trying to prevent the killing was Jade, but every other personality would begin to take control one after the other speaking to the three girls. However, Ms. Patricia then begins to speak and tells the girls that the beast is just starting his killings (YouTube. “Kevin Wendell Crumb.” 2017). The beast in this movie was portrayed as a dangerous killing monster and this is what was known to be a false concept about this type of disorder.
This argument about the incorrect concepts portrayed in the horror film was then emphasized by Michael Nedelman. Nedelman argued that there was a misrepresentation of this mental illness, in this horror film that led to so much criticism. The reason for this being was because patients with dissociative identity disorder then began wondering if they were violent, according to a psychiatrist Dr. Garrett Marie Deckel, after receiving an email from a patient that has watched the horror film, Split ( CNN Health. “What Shyamalan’s ‘Split’ gets wrong about dissociative identity disorder.” 2017). After watching this movie, patients and other people that do not have this disorder, viewed this disorder as a dangerous one. The representation by Shyamalan contributed to the different views of this disorder. Many patients suffering from dissociative identity disorder feel discriminated against, due to the film and people that do not suffer from DID, tend to look at DID patients as a threat now. One patient named Joubert works as a nanny, but due to the disorder she was suggested to not work around children because the “beast” can arise (CNN Health. “What Shyamalan’s ‘Split’ gets wrong about dissociative identity disorder.” 2017). The actions and characters that this film included, has shaped the views of the public.
Another media example is the 2019 American Psychological thriller film, Joker, directed and produced by Todd Phillips. This movie’s representation of mental illnesses was something psychiatrists mainly focused on. The 2019 film led to many different interpretations. Relating to literature, the media is interpreted in it’s own way, resulting in different views by society, as they finished watching this movie ( McLean Harvard Medical School Affiliate. “Plot Twist: Is ‘Joker’ Harming – or Helping – Mental Illness Stereotypes ?” 2020). Therefore, this movie’s approach to mental illnesses was more complicated. The reason for so much complication was because throughout the movie there were certain parts where society was taken into consideration to demonstrate how it feels when society makes mentally ill people feel excluded. Arthur, the main character was seen as someone not worth helping and someone not normal. Phillips shared in an interview that his goal was to educate the audience about supporting the sick and for the audience to put themselves in Arthurs shoes. ( McLean Harvard Medical School Affiliate. “Plot Twist: Is ‘Joker’ Harming – or Helping – Mental Illness Stereotypes ?” 2020). These parts were viewed as a sort of life listen for the audience, resulting in a different approach to how mental illnesses should be viewed in general, rather than only paying attention to the symptoms and coming up with a diagnosis. However, the act of violence in this movie was another topic that a man named Bryan Alexander focused on. Mental health experts argued how there has been a debate about the message this film is trying to send to the audience, due to all the violence included in this film. Aside from the audience looking at mental illnesses differently rather than just symptoms and diagnosis, other audience members viewed Arthur as a man that killed because he was crazy. This is what the movie was expressing (USA Today. “How accurate is ‘Joker’s portrayal of mental illness? The answer is complicated.” 2019). Society is more likely to have a different perspective of mental illnesses, because of the actions introduced in the film. Violence isn’t something that relates to a mentally ill person. This was supported by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services. In reality three to five percent of people with a mental illness are likely to be involved in violence. The Joker however, illustrates that violence is very common in people with mental illnesses ( USA Today. “How accurate is ‘Joker’s portrayal of mental illness? The answer is complicated.” 2019). There has been an incorrect link between mental illnesses and violence, but the audience is more likely to believe what is put on the screen and therefore now seeing mentally ill people as a threat.
Disorders such as anxiety and depression are seen as disorders that are more common in older people, yet that is wrong and Kathleen Deakin alongside Gloria Eastman support this argument in Where’s My Happy Ending? Fostering Empathy through Conversations about Anxiety and Depression in Young Adult Literature. Throughout this article, the authors emphasized the lack of attention older people show to young adolescents. Madelyn, a girl that was on top of her game, she’s never gotten complaints, had to balance five Advanced Placement classes and part of so many clubs at her school. She even had a strong support system at him, but although she had all that, she began feeling overwhelmed with everything. As a result, she began to have a panic attack and it was so confusing to her mother as to why this occurred. Well, the cause of this was severe anxiety and depression ( Deakin, Kathleen, and Gloria Eastman. “Where’s My Happy Ending? Fostering Empathy Through Conversations about Anxiety and Depression in Young Adult Literature.” 2019). These types of attacks are responses to overstimulation and an example of an anxiety disorder. The amount of pressure her academics have put on her was the main problem. The point that this article is trying to make here is that students are being stigmatized and it is something that has to change. It is as if them getting anxiety and dealing with depression is normal or simply not an issue ( Deakin, Kathleen, and Gloria Eastman. “Where’s My Happy Ending? Fostering Empathy Through Conversations about Anxiety and Depression in Young Adult Literature.” 2019). By representing these disorders like such, readers will believe it is okay for students to constantly feel overwhelmed. However, that is why Kathleen Deakin and Gloria Eastman tries to bring attention to all teachers and older people. This is an example of a misrepresentation that needs to be fixed and represented in the right way.
There are specific types of stigmas regarding mental illnesses that play a role in society such as social stigma. This is emphasized by Gregory Shafer in his approach regarding menatlly ill people, in Madness and Difference: Politicizing Insanity in Classical Literary Works. Shafer comes across the way mentally ill people feel and their experience with dealing with an illness. These people feel as if they don’t belong and society is simply excluding them because they are not “alike” and not “normal”. The social status is the reason most people with a disorder feel as if they can’t do anything, because they claim the disorder gets in the way. Shafer uses madness as a mental illness that questions the status quo and to show how being different is actually fine ( Shafer, Gregory. “Madness and Difference: Politicizing Insanity in Classical Literary Works.” 2014). Feeling different is normal but the point behind this article is for the readers to see a change rather than a threat.
Gayathri Ramprasad, a mental health advocate and the president of a nonprofit aim to help people dealing with mental health issues, has argued so much about the representation of mental illnesses. She believes there is so much stigma regarding these issues and that is why many people feel different than others. What they are being told can possibly be false, but sometimes true. The views of society depend on what they read, see or hear ( Office on Women’s Health. “Spotlight on Women’s Health.” 2018). During her interview, her focus revolved around the fight of the stigma, to change the different perspectives.
Literature alongside the media have their own ways of interpreting the mental illnesses around the world. The main focus sometimes revolves around the symptoms and then the diagnosis, but the overall background of a disorder is not taken into consideration. The representation of mental illnesses shape the view of society, but because of the way it’s interpreted. There’s information that is left out when explaining a mental disorder and most of the time society won’t notice. That is what makes literature not successful at times. However, there are pieces of literature that were known as successful. The different kinds of interpretations not only affect the view of the certain illness, but also the person dealing with it. The social status is the reason for the different views of the subject, but that’s because of the representation of mental illnesses.
References
Mayo Clinic. “Postpartum depression.” 2020, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/postpartum-depression/symptoms-causes/syc-20376617.
Mayo Clinic. “Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).” 2020, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20355967.
Salinger, J.D. A Perfect Day for Bananafish. 1948.
YouTube. “Kevin Wendell Crumb.” 2017, https://youtu.be/Jr5L1CO8hRw.
CNN Health. “What Shyamalan’s ‘Split’ gets wrong about dissociative identity disorder.” 2017, https://www.cnn.com/2017/01/23/health/shyamalan-split-movie-dissociative-identity-disorder/index.html.
McLean Harvard Medical School Affiliate. “Plot Twist: Is ‘Joker’ Harming – or Helping – Mental Illness Stereotypes ?” 2020, https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/plot-twist-joker-harmingor-helpingmental-illness-stereotypes.
USA Today. “How accurate is ‘Joker’s portrayal of mental illness? The answer is complicated.” 2019, https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2019/10/23/what-joker-movie-gets-right-wrong-about-mental-illness-violence/3978028002/.
Perkins, Charlotte. The Yellow Wallpaper. 1892
American Psychological Association. “Beyond worry: How Psychologists help with anxiety disorders.” 2016, https://www.apa.org/topics/anxiety-disorders.
Deakin, Kathleen, and Gloria Eastman. “Where’s My Happy Ending? Fostering Empathy Through Conversations about Anxiety and Depression in Young Adult Literature.” 2019, https://bbhosted.cuny.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-51083820-dt-content-rid-398544126_1/courses/CTY01_FIQWS_10008_CP9_1209_1/Wheres%20My%20Happy%20Ending_.pdf.
Office on Women’s Health. “Spotlight on Women’s Health.” 2018, https://www.womenshealth.gov/blog/mental-health-stigma.
Shafer, Gregory. “Madness and Difference: Politicizing Insanity in Classical Literary Works.” 2014, https://bbhosted.cuny.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-50929267-dt-content-rid-396872703_1/courses/CTY01_FIQWS_10008_CP9_1209_1/madness%20article.pdf.
