Hollywood Still Stigmatizes Mental Health Issues, USC Study Says

thewrap.com:

Dr. Stacy L. Smith and New York Times best-selling author and the Initiative’s newly appointed Chief Well-Being Advisor Jay Shetty, in conjunction with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention — examined the 100 top-grossing movies of 2019 and compared the findings with the Initiative’s last report, which was conducted with the same number of films in 2016.

The update revealed no significant change, with 1.7% of speaking or named characters in film experiencing mental illness in 2016.

Despite this, around a fifth of the U.S. population live with a mental health condition, according to such organizations as the National Institute of Mental Health.“Stories can provide a window into different worlds and experiences, but the results of this study demonstrate that mental health is rarely a focal point in popular film,” Smith said. “With the growing need for mental health care in the U.S., and the ongoing concern about well-being, storytellers and creatives are missing critical opportunities to educate audiences.”In general, more than 50% of 2019 movies didn’t feature a single character with a mental health condition, and 30% had only one character with a mental health condition.

Across films, seven mental illnesses were depicted, including addiction, anxiety and/or PTSD, depression and/or mood disorders, suicide, significant disturbances in thinking, cognitive impairment and obsessive-compulsive disorder.Specifically, mental health portrayals are failing marginalized audiences, including those who are LGBTQ+, disabled or people of color.