Mental Health Representations in Film

Mental health appears a lot in film and often gives a twist to the story line when the viewer is least expecting it. The axe wielding psychopath is a very inaccurate representation of personality disorder in real life, but it appears a lot in films by them taking the condition to the extreme case of where the person want to go on a mass murdering spree.

There are many types of mental health that are displayed in film such as OCD and depression, but the main two that frequently appear seem to be schizophrenia and personality disorders. Stereotypes are created for these disorders and as described by time-to-change, mental health discrimination organisation...

"Characters with mental health problems are being depicted as more demonic and crueler than at any time in movie history"

The reasoning for this is because it offers a more entertaining viewing experience and gives a reasoning why the person is killing people or acting in a way that isn't seen to be 'normal', in film. The depiction of every psychopath being a killer may be affecting people in real life too, as seen in the quote...

"A YouGov survey commissioned for the report found that almost 50 per cent (49 per cent) of the public have seen people with a mental illness acting violently in films. The survey also found that almost half of people polled (44 per cent) believe that people with a mental illness will act violently."

http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/news/mental-health-stereotypes-movies-crueler-ever-new-report-claims