It is not possible to diagnose a character in a film with a mental health problem, partly because we don’t have all the information of what is going on but also the actions they take will be made for purposes of storytelling, not accurate descriptions of health conditions. So when the 1960 classic horror movie Psycho used that word to describe the film and its villain, what were they trying to say? Most of the conversation of Norman Bates’ diagnosis seems to suggest Dissociative Identity Disorder, DID, previously known as Multiple Personality Disorder. The term “psycho”, or even psychopath, is not present in either of those conditions. “Psycho” was simply a word used to denote a dangerous and “crazy” person. The audience does not need any understanding of mental health to know what the title is suggesting. An academic article in The European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation argued that portrayals in media of people with DID were prone to over-the-top displays of switching of personalities and they were violent, dangerous and engaged in criminal behaviour, despite “that the vast majority of individuals with DDs (dissociative disorders) do not perpetrate violent crime; instead, they are more likely to be victims of it”.

The word “psycho” is a shortened form of the clinical term psychopath, this is someone felt to have a severe form of Antisocial Personality Disorder. There is also the term “psychosis” which is when someone suffers from a break from reality. Many, many horror villains would probably fall under the umbrella term of suffering a psychosis, but again those suffering from psychosis are more likely to be a danger to themselves than others. It is safe to say that the portrayal of DID, psychopaths, and those suffering with psychosis in the film Psycho is an inaccurate and negative one.

Halloween

Another horror movie considered a classic which leans heavily on mental health tropes is Halloween. The killer Michael Myers murdered his family as a six-year-old and has been held in a secure hospital ever since. There is a very vague explanation of any mental health problems Michael Myers has and more relies on the fact that he is a dangerous violent person who escaped from “lunatic asylum”. There are assertions about Myers being pure evil and even in the first film suggestions of superhuman or supernatural abilities. The clinical psychologist in charge of Myer’s care refers to him as “it”. Halloween is not trying to make a nuanced film about mental health, and neither would most of the audience accept this as a realistic portrayal but it further feeds into extremely negative views on mental health.

Split is a relatively recent addition to the horror genre and again focuses on Dissociative Identity Disorder. James McAvoy plays the villain, a serial killer with 23 distinct identities, some of whom are violent and dangerous and often seem to have abilities beyond normal humans. There was a negative response to the film from those working in mental health, stating that it sensationalised aspects of the disorder and showed that someone suffering from DID as inherently dangerous. In the movie the villain’s psychiatrist is pushing the medical community to move from a model of incarceration to treatment for people suffering from DID, many of her former patients have been incarcerated rather than treated. Now given that the villain is her patient, and is in fact a very dangerous individual who is actively harming people is Dr. Fletcher simply a naïve patsy? A message that for all doctors talking of treatment, understanding, and compassion are misguided, even though the actual real-world reality shows the view of people with DID as violent is incorrect.

The Babadook

Not all films handle mental health in such a negative way. Horror masterpiece The Babadook has a lot to say about depression, grief and the genuinely soul-destroying exhaustion a parent can go through, dealing with incredibly dark thoughts and feelings of negative thoughts a parent could have of their own child. Hereditary, widely considered a modern horror classic, is largely about grief and family trauma. This is not new – Don’t Look Now released in 1973 while dealing with typical horror ideas of the occult and murder is about parents grieving the loss of their child. What is notable about these films and their relationship to mental health is that the horror is a metaphor for the problems they are going through, it is not that a person who is suffering from depression and grief is murdering people but rather the supernatural danger they are dealing with represents that.

The criticism of how these films handle mental health is not to say they’re bad movies but that they could have made other choices, and portrayed things differently. Almost inevitably if the villain of a horror movie is identified as having a mental illness…then that will be the driver behind their actions and routinely misrepresented and sensationalized.

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The Study’s Aims

The second Looking Glass survey was conducted in 2021 by Brightpurpose on behalf of the Film and TV Charity. The charity focuses on promoting diversity and inclusivity within the industry. As well as helping people facing financial hardship and promoting physical, mental, and social wellbeing.

In 2019 the first Looking Glass survey was conducted. It investigated how mental health problems within the media industry compared to national levels. As well as how workers could be supported, and what aspects of the industry posed the biggest challenges to the management of workers’ mental health. The 2021 survey continued this research by looking into how the COVID-19 pandemic and other underlying industry issues e.g. racism, affected industry practitioners.

Key Findings

One of the report’s encouraging findings was that despite the two-year gap and the impact of the pandemic the industry’s wellbeing score (19.3) and the number of people who reported having “good” or “very good” mental health (32%) has remained largely unchanged from 2019s survey (wellbeing score – 19.4 and 35% reporting “good” or “very good” mental health). There is even growing optimism that the industry is starting to move toward positive change regarding workers’ mental healthcare. Certainly good news. However, the report also contains some concerning statistics.

78% of 2021s survey respondents said that the workload intensity common in the industry had negatively affected their mental health. A jump from 63% in 2019. 46% of participants also said that working under covid restrictions badly impacted them. Covid restrictions limited the amount of socialisation permitted during filming, as well as cutting many workers off from the support of family or friends. Which made work less friendly. And workers were less able to get emotional support from sources outside of work.

57% also experienced some form of abuse in the 12 months prior to the survey. Including bullying, sexual and racial harassment, or discrimination. All of which have serious consequences on a person’s mental comfort. 39% of Black, Asian, and minority ethnic respondents reportedly experienced racist abuse in the past year. This caused 43% to consider leaving the industry. Among all respondents, 65% considered leaving the industry in the past year over mental wellbeing concerns. And this number reached 74% for disabled workers.

We Must Do Better

One big contributing factor to some of these statistics is the sector’s culture and attitudes towards mental health. 51% of respondents hold these factors responsible for harming their mental wellbeing. Additionally, many workers fear being judged for talking about their mental health because of the topic’s stigmatisation (42% of people said they would not talk about their mental health with industry colleagues for this reason). And of the respondents that spoke out only 23% felt their situation improved afterwards.

This shows that the industry is not doing enough to create an atmosphere where people feel comfortable talking about their mental health struggles. Equally, it is not doing much to combat various elements that cause mental health strain on workers. Indeed many people think the industry is only paying lip service to doing more about mental health struggles right now.

Conclusion

The Looking Glass 2021 report shows that despite the industry’s average wellness score and the number of workers in a positive place with their mental health not changing significantly since 2019, the culture fostered within the industry has overwhelmingly hurt participants’ mental health. A lack of help during Covid restrictions did not help matters. But the various forms of bullying, intense workloads, and the lack of genuine commitment to listening and responding to people with mental health struggles show that the industry’s shortcomings have been present for a while. And it needs to change fast.

If you are suffering from any of the problems mentioned above, please use some of the resources provided here: Film and TV Charity, Mind, NHS. 

Also Read: How Film Changed Me: On Millennial Comedies

The post Looking Glass: Report Shows Bullying & Harassment Still Prevalent In The UK’s Film & TV Industry appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Aims

This study’s purpose was to identify how cinematic-therapy (use of cinema and/or movies to help with mental health issues) affected the personal development (namely the anxiety levels) of young participants. The study’s other purpose was building, enacting, and adapting a personal development cinema-therapy program to help its participants. But how did they plan on doing this and measuring the results?

Methods

This study used 60 subjects selected using cluster sampling. 30 participants were used in an experimental sample (focusing on using cinema therapy). 30 were used in a control sample (separate from the influence of the cinema therapy study). The participants were all between 19 and 22 years old.

The experimental sample divided into 3 groups of 10. They then met for 10 4 hour sessions across 3 months. The participants helped select the study’s movies based on how they generated reflection, identification, differentiation, and self-awareness in them. The films were further sorted into categories based on the issues they dealt with. Including childhood and family universes, couple relationships, social relationships, and relationships with yourself. And they used the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale Questionnaires, to rate how severe their anxiety was. The Hamilton questionnaire asks participants to rate the severity of certain feelings e.g. tension or depression on a 0 (none present) to 4 (very severe) scale.

Dumtrache then began the study, at the initial meeting before the cinema sessions, the experimental groups discussed the types of films they wanted to see as well as games they could use to test each other’s inter-knowledge and find out their problems and needs. There were then 10 cinema group sessions. These sessions began with the therapists instructing the participants to focus attention on one’s own inner moods and experiences. Then they watched the movies and afterwards looked at personal analysis and group awareness. The final session focused on feedback and used the Hamilton Anxiety Questionnaires to attain the group’s final anxiety levels.

Results

After the researchers collected the data from the control and experimental groups, they used the “t-test statistical procedure” to test for the differences between the samples. And they found there was a more significant drop in anxiety levels with the experimental group than the Control group. Thus, showing that the use of films in therapy helped to reduce the participants’ anxiety.

Conclusion

The study’s research and methodology are somewhat hard to follow. But further research supports its findings. For example, Lee Powell said that group cinematherapy intervention is statistically and clinically effective at improving hope and optimism. Even individuals like our own Laura Huckle can attest to the healing power that cinema can have on our mental health.

Whether you’re watching films with a cinema audience or your friends and family at home, movies are a powerful force that can restructure and transform our lives. And especially with everything the world is going through, we need movies to help us relax. Now more than ever.

Also Read: Films That Have Supported My Mental Health

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The first time I felt truly aware, was during my first year of university. I slept too little or too long, I didn’t leave my room for fear of bumping into any other person, I flipped my mattress several times a night to check for creatures and I didn’t eat until my body was desperate. I kept everything hidden, as best as I could (minus a few sobbing phone calls to friends and family).

Since that year, and since my official diagnosis, I have worked hard to not let myself get into that position again. Focusing on writing when I feel like I could tackle it. Staying on top of cleaning as best as I can, pushing myself to do the washing when the pile is too high. There are days though where all I can do, is watch something comforting and try again tomorrow.

These are the films that have helped me through my toughest times.

Almost Famous

I remember watching this once when I was younger and never managing to remember the name of the film. It spent years in the back of my mind until one day I saw an advert where at the end, Zooey Deschanel is looking into the main character’s eyes and saying ‘Anywhere you want to go. Anywhere in the world‘. That’s where I rediscovered what I class as my favourite individual film.

Based on real-life experiences by director Cameron Crowe, the story follows a teenager called William and his futile attempt to get an interview with fictional band Stillwater for Rolling Stone magazine. For me, this is a story of how a family can be the one you’re given and the one you make along the way. It’s a love letter to music and how it can connect you to the most unexpected people. How sometimes, even when it doesn’t seem like it, life will find a way to make it up to you.

There is a comfort I have when watching this film. It reminded me of home, how my friend and I used to sing along to the infamous Tiny Dancer scene (is there a better scene in that film?) when I was far away. As Kate Hudson utters the line ‘It’s all happening‘ with such ease, it reminded me that life was continuing on without me and it was time to start living it, even if that meant putting on something other than pyjamas.

Legally Blonde

Let me preface this by saying, I am not ashamed of my love for Legally Blonde and feminist icon (you can’t tell me otherwise) Elle Woods. What you think starts off as a usual romantic comedy, complete with upbeat pop music as the opening credits roll, ends with the best kind of vengeance – Elle outgrowing the person she thought she would spend her life with and becoming successful in her own right.

A supposed trope of the ‘dumb blonde’, Elle Woods (played by Reese Witherspoon) turns that stereotype upside down. Okay, so she follows her ex-boyfriend Warner to Harvard Law school in the hopes of winning him back – but she stays focused on her goals throughout. She quickly moves past wanting to be with Warner, and aims to show up those who thinks of her as less than. She works hard and never deviates from the goals she sets herself.

This film inspires me to push myself beyond the boundaries I set myself. Beyond the comfort zones I can become easily accustomed to. To not change myself to fit into others expectations. Every time I watch this film, I feel like it’s time to be productive, to start trying again.

Lord of the Rings

Sometimes, you need to be removed far from reality as possible. Sometimes, you need to find comfort in a story that couldn’t happen (really) in the life you’re living. Sometimes, you need to be immersed in a story that you’ve loved since childhood. For some, that’s Star Wars or Harry Potter. For me, it’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Maybe it’s the familiarity – how I know the lines, the music, the characters before Cate Blanchett has a chance to speak in the opening prologue. Maybe it’s the idyllic Shire – how bright it is, how peaceful it seems, how even I seem to want to go home to it. Maybe it’s the moment when Aragorn arrives at Helm’s Deep and opens the door with such a flourish that everyone does a tiny swoon. Something brings me back to Middle-Earth each time I feel like I need a true escape.

It brings a sense of comfort that no other film can bring me. I still cry at the scenes I’ve always cried at, get angry at the scenes I’ve always yelled at (you’re right next to Mount Doom Frodo, you know Samwise won’t make it home, you monster), and continue to watch the battle scenes with such hope for the heroes, even when I know the outcome. I become so engrossed in the film, that for the next three (or nine, depending on if I’m watching them all) hours, nothing else matters – all that matters is this ragtag Fellowship destroying the One Ring and stopping evil from taking over their homes.

At the end of the day, isn’t that what we’re all trying to do? Stop ourselves from being overwhelmed by the negativity and focus on the things that make us appreciative. For Frodo, it’s Gandalf’s fireworks and the lights in the Party Tree. For Samwise, it’s Rosie Cotton dancing. For me, it’s this trilogy of films that have been there for me in the worst of times.

Also Read: Cinema Therapy: How Movies Can Heal

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Watch the full interview below

You can support Dr Parvinder Shergill’s next film “Phantoms” via the film’s Indiegogo Campaign

Also Read: Almost 9 in 10 People in the Film & TV Industry Have Experienced A Mental Health Problem

The post Interview: Dr Parvinder Shergill Talks Mental Health & Movies appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Alarming results

The survey of Film and TV Charity was filled in by 9,399 respondents. Based on the big amount of participation, it’s clear that people working in the creative industry want to address mental health issues. After analysing the responses, it becomes clear why.

According to the survey, 87% of the people working in film, television, and cinema had to deal with a mental health problem. This is 22% more than all the people across the UK (65%). The amount of people who experienced depression is lower but equally devastating. While 42% of the people nation-wide already had to deal with it, 65% of people working in the creative industry had to overcome depression. What’s even more worrying is the number of people that deliberately harmed themselves (24% people working in the creative industry versus 7% nationwide) or tried to take their own life (55% of the respondents versus 20% of people nationally).

Worrisome working conditions

The biggest element that contributes to the shocking numbers are the working conditions. As mentioned before, the long hours are one of the factors. The survey concludes that more than 1 in 8 respondents work more than 60 hours per week (versus in other 1 out of 50 in other industries). 57% of them also mentioned that they don’t have enough control over their working hours and that it harms their wellbeing and mental health. The work-life balance is also a significant problem. People can’t spend time with family or can’t have a relaxing day. According to the survey, the stress increased immensely during the last few years due to the intensifying of the workload.

Other frightening triggers

There are also other aspects that cause mental health issues. One of those is the working environment aka the culture. Probably one of the most disturbing results is that 56% of the people already experienced bullying and intimidating behaviour. On top of that, it’s difficult to speak out against inappropriate behaviour or to ask for help because of the power imbalance between the people. Another reason why it’s hard to speak up is that people (43%) are afraid to be judged by others if they know that they were experiencing mental health problems.

Another trigger is that people feel that they can’t get the right support to grow and learn.  This is causing even more stress, especially because of the lack of recognition. It becomes worse if people in the creative industry have to deal with vulnerable contributors or distressing or challenging content. In both cases, they don’t get the mental support they need to look after their wellbeing.

Three main solutions to help out

Based on the survey, there would be many solutions to decrease the number of people having to deal with mental problems. The three main solutions would be one-on-one support, support at work and peer support. The reason why one-on-one support isn’t functioning as it should be is the cost. To decrease the cost, the survey identified solutions such as the possibility of therapy co-located at studios, post houses and other large employers and also digital options (video calls, computer-based CBT, etc). It’s incredibly important the people can get support at work. This can be getting access to resources both managers and employees could use to have a conversation about mental health issues. The most important resource that’s already available is the Wellness Action Plans by the mental health charity, Mind. Having more peer support would result in acceptance, the increase of self-confidence and the development of more skills.

Also Read: Netflix By The Numbers

The post Almost 9 in 10 People in the Film & TV industry Have Experienced A Mental Health Problem appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Friends of BPFC, director Tim Porter and actor Kadeem Boyce give us the lowdown on holding down jobs whilst manoeuvring through the film industry, Haven – Tim’s film screened at one of our earlier screenings, and the issue of mental health within the entertainment industry.

Listen on our Soundcloud channel and don’t forget to like, follow and share!

Episode 004 ft Tim Porter & Kadeem Boyce

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