pain-dance Posted September 1, 2007 Report Share Posted September 1, 2007 Does anyone get sick of the way that the media romanticises and glamourises mental illness as some sort of creative force or even a spiritual gift, rather than telling it straight as the tragedy that it is. Films like "A Beautiful Mind" and celebrities like Russell Brand prostitute mental problems as some sort of legitimate selling point. I recently saw an episode of "Boulderdash and Piffle" and saw Jo Brand (an ex-nurse, for God's sake!) sitting with a group of mentally ill people, playing along with their fantasies, instead of challenging them to get real.If a relative of mine were ill, I would not discuss religion, politics or amateur psychology with them, nor would I legitimise stupid behaviour (such as getting into debt or taking drugs): I would pressure them to get themselves better and get back into the real world where they belong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silkworm Posted September 1, 2007 Report Share Posted September 1, 2007 Mental illness has been swept under the rug for so long, I reckon the pendulum swinging to the other extreme isn't so bad. I agree that challenging faulty thinking is what helps people get and stay well. Also think that finding the silver lining in a chronic illness gives people hope. Sw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xoomer Posted September 2, 2007 Report Share Posted September 2, 2007 Mental illness has been swept under the rug for so long, I reckon the pendulum swinging to the other extreme isn't so bad. I agree that challenging faulty thinking is what helps people get and stay well. Also think that finding the silver lining in a chronic illness gives people hope. SwI Agree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily-Bee Posted September 2, 2007 Report Share Posted September 2, 2007 I like to think my mental probs make me more interesting so I guess I romantesize it a little too.I don´t think there is anything wrong in seeing the positives but I agree that portraying it as just glamourous and such doesnt make it clear how bad it really is and how hard to live with.Lilly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transending Posted September 2, 2007 Report Share Posted September 2, 2007 Does anyone get sick of the way that the media romanticises and glamourises mental illness as some sort of creative force or even a spiritual gift, rather than telling it straight as the tragedy that it is. Films like "A Beautiful Mind" and celebrities like Russell Brand prostitute mental problems as some sort of legitimate selling point. I recently saw an episode of "Boulderdash and Piffle" and saw Jo Brand (an ex-nurse, for God's sake!) sitting with a group of mentally ill people, playing along with their fantasies, instead of challenging them to get real.If a relative of mine were ill, I would not discuss religion, politics or amateur psychology with them, nor would I legitimise stupid behaviour (such as getting into debt or taking drugs): I would pressure them to get themselves better and get back into the real world where they belong.Im so amazed at your honest thinking This was an eye-opener to menever thought of it that wayBut Yes your rightIt is romanticised and glamourisedPeople love it and lap it up without any idea of the horror and pain that it entailsYour line of thought should be followed uptransending Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollydaydream Posted October 11, 2007 Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 theres nothing fucking romantic about the way i feel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazer34 Posted October 11, 2007 Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 theres nothing fucking romantic about the way i feelme too !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peaceduv02 Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 Yeah, that kind of pisses me off, it's a fucking tragedy, not a gift...I mean, i can understand from an artists point of view if a mentally ill patient made this beautiful picture depicting how they felt, but I don't agree in glamourizing it, and making it into the "cool" thing to be....it is not cool to be sick....why don't people get that through their heads.....The whole mental health, labeling thing, is just disgusting to me...Why can't people accept it, and just walk away, not ignore it, but also not glamorize it....That's all I have to say.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrowdown Posted December 8, 2007 Report Share Posted December 8, 2007 well its a gift to people looking from the outside sometimesthough they just see the part that makes youmarch to the beat of your own tunethus making alotta creative geniuses & outta the box kinda thinking that sometimes enlivens stagnant situations & concepts(its romanticizing poverty thats wayyyy more repellant to me, though thankfully you don't see this as often thankfully these days)but for a full on embrace of head fuckeryi dont think youll ever seeits either this extreme or thati think its something most just don't want to know too much aboutits too far out of normal peoples' frame of referenceliterally something they'll never get unless they've been thereglamorizing doesnt make me sick, mental illness is foreign, is alien, some fetishizing is normalits the half assed hollywoodattempts to 'get it'that piss me offanyone see 'Girl Interrupted'? that movie makes me sickthese kind of message movies are like an outsider's viewpointcorrect in all the facts but lacking a true understanding, and with it, nothing but trite answersand entreaties to 'get with it'these kind of works sees us all as nothing BUT a freakshowits after movies like this that i get why people who work on mental wardsseem so goddman uncaring & coldwe are martians to alot of them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmylou_1985 Posted December 11, 2007 Report Share Posted December 11, 2007 Girl Interupted was based on a real story. The book came first, she wrote it based on her experiences when she was in a hospital in the 60s. Its not a good film for learning about BPD but it is one persons account. Who are we to argue with that?People deal with their own mental illnesses in different ways. Russell Brand is a fantastic comedien who has a number of problems, of course people like him in the media are going to get stories on them just like everyone else. I agree with what was said about Jo Brand, she was a mental health nurse, she worked with a friend of mines mum. Crap at her job apparently. People like Stephen Fry (has Bi Polar) is a fantastic advocate. He has raised awareness in a tasteful way about his condition and other mental illnesses.I think the 'romanticising' of mental illnesses in magazines like Heat etc.... is on a par with them saying someones fat, then saying they are ill because they aren't eating enough. They don't care they never will. It is up to people who live with mental illnesses to raise awareness like Stephen Fry. Russell Brand hasn't gone the best way about things, but do most of us? (generally) He laughs about it because he is embarrassed, he is not responsible for the rest of us with MH issues. We are responsible for ourselves. Stephen Fry just may have more strength than Russel Brand. Caroline Ahearn has severe depression and it is reated wih ECT. She deals with it in private, her choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmylou_1985 Posted December 11, 2007 Report Share Posted December 11, 2007 I may have missed the point looking back. The media have and will go on romanticising or reporting on mental illness. Sorry to bang on about Stephen Fry here, but I think he is a good example. I remember him saying he would never change having Bi - Polar, as it made him who he is, a fantastic, well read comedien. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life is sweet Posted December 12, 2007 Report Share Posted December 12, 2007 I agree and I disagree with what you are saying. Specifically, I disagree and I thought RUSSEL CROWE did an excellent job in A Beautiful Mind. It brings mental illness into the light more, although you still have yoo-hoos who have no idea what a mental illness means and write it off as "crazy talk"! But, regardless, I think some movies to a better job than others at making mental illness more known (hopefully in positive context with the idea of HOPE and RECOVERY).I agree with you though on some levels that other movies do a down right poor job of portraying mental illness and can leave the public with a worse off view of those suffering from mental illness.Great topic and great idea to throw around. Helped me work my brain some this evening! Keep up the good thinking! M.P.S. Oh, now tell me you just LOVE to watch Lifetime Movies then, riiight?? J/K! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life is sweet Posted December 12, 2007 Report Share Posted December 12, 2007 Forgot what else I wanted to say, I have a tendency to romanticize and over play my own mental illness, have ever since I have been in therapy. One day, I know I will come to terms with that and no longer suffer from mental illness but rather simploy RECOVER from it and that's it! Ok, done now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrowdown Posted December 14, 2007 Report Share Posted December 14, 2007 [ok sure thats one person's time with BPDbut i really hated the freakshow vibe of that movie it felt so very hollywoodand Angelina jesus throw your arms around and scream and you win a little gold man blah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmylou_1985 Posted December 14, 2007 Report Share Posted December 14, 2007 Fair enough! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Secret_Suffering Posted January 12, 2008 Report Share Posted January 12, 2008 hmmm romanticizing mental illness.i think im guilty, sadly tho. *sigh*all my life. . . ever since elementary school i've been labled "crazy" or "psycho". . .to this day. i can't live it down. i hate it until a few yrs ago when i gave up n let it get to me (the labeling.) now, i won't argue it. i feel so gross/sick about it tho. like i thrive to be as mental as i am even tho in truth, i'm hurtin so much from being ill and havin it be known or like i'm lettin my illness seep thru so ppl can see or something. i dunno.i wish the stigmas weren't so hard to live with cuz it's hard enough livin w/myself.. . . i let them get to me. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightvision Posted January 12, 2008 Report Share Posted January 12, 2008 I choose romanticism over stigma every time. If the public can be educated to see that we are not all scary monsters then that's a good thing IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.