Morgan wrote a short story entitled “Black Mold.” Although the story will not be published on this website, she has written a Note to Reader that provides insight into the value of her story, her writing process, and the research that went into writing her story.
Note to Reader
Dear reader,
Welcome to the end. It could be the end, but it could also be another beginning. Maybe we are in the middle. Who really knows? But we are here. Stories will continue on, and here we are in them and around them. This story is particularly special, I have had the opportunity to craft an accurate representation of mental illness informed by research. Many other forms of media create a representation of mental illness that insists those who struggle are bound to be violent or have a dramatic emotional break. Even the news can add to the stigma surrounding mental health. The representation of mental illness tends to be dramatized but, in real life, it can be subtle, and pervasive, just like the growth of mold on a window. Through the crafting of my story, I created a space that holds an accurate representation of mental health, specifically in terms of its subtlety. The goal of this project is to create a piece of media that is still engaging but accurate, leading to the education of the reality of life with a mental illness.
Although I wished to create this story for a large general audience, I landed my focus on an adult audience. This story could be enjoyed by young adults and adolescents; however, the main character is created to be most relatable to the target audience. Directing the audience towards that of adults was both a practical and artistic choice. Although this story could have centered around a younger main character, I saw it as more valuable to target an adult audience. Centering the story around an adult main character who is educated, married, and has a career emphasizes how no one is immune to mental illness, even when society deems one as productive and successful.
Deciding what to focus my topic on was difficult, due to the broad scope of mental health. Looking into the representation of mental illness within the media, I noticed how stigmatized it is. This inspired me to create a piece of media with guidance from the critiques and discoveries within my research. Some of the articles I looked at examined the representation of fictional characters and mental illnesses (Beirne, 2019; Carmichael, & Whitley, 2018; Carter, 2015; Goodwin, & Tajjudin, 2016). Beirne (2019) discusses the concept of “superpowered supercrip” commonly seen in television shows (p. 235). This phenomenon stigmatizes mental illnesses by discouraging these characters within television shows to seek help because it will diminish their superpowers, rendering them unable to fulfill their superhero duties, meaning they become useless. Carmichael, & Whitley (2018), examine the perception of Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why in mainstream news sources. Hannah Baker was seen as a starting point for discussions of mental illness, however, there were several problems with the television show depicting suicide so graphically and allowing the audience to see Hannah come back after she had died in consecutive seasons of the show. Carter (2015) provides a clear critique of how mental health is often misrepresented through overdramatization and stereotyping. Carter (2015) mentions how in many shows depicting depression, the character struggling has some sort of breakdown. Goodwin & Tajjudin (2016) focus on representations of the Joker and the mental illnesses connected to the character. Surprisingly, the Joker does not fit the diagnostic criteria for many of the mental disorders he is associated with, and having these disorders associated with a supervillain has only been more stigmatizing for those suffering from these disorders . These articles provided a road map on what to avoid in terms of stigmatization of mental health within fictional characters.
Although these articles provided a road map, I did still struggle with how to avoid unintentionally adding to mental health stigma. I had concerns about leaving the ending so ambiguous, but after taking time and consulting others, this ending seems to align with the reality of mental illness. Each day can be an unknown for what will happen next. Having this ambiguous ending also allows the reader to create their own interpretation of what really happens next, and the truth is, there is no wrong answer. Every ending a reader interprets could have been a reality.
Another selection of articles focuses on news and social media perceptions of mental health (Whitley, & Wang, 2016; Robinson, et al., 2019; Carmichael, et al., 2019). These articles discuss how both social media and news broadcasting are perpetuating mental health stigma. After reading through these articles, I decided to include in my story a scene where the main character is consuming news broadcasting, subtly hinting that she is being exposed to the stigmatization of her mental illness in a variety of ways.
Through the research for my topic, I was able to ground my story as being informative, engaging, and an accurate representation of mental illness. The perpetuation of mental health stigma creates additional barriers for those struggling with mental illness. This stigma prevents people who need help from reaching out due to the fear of being outcasted. In my story, I created an ordinary adult, who happened to be struggling with her mental health. I wanted to have this character be representative in the most ordinary of ways because it is some of the most ordinary of people who struggle with mental illness.
References
Beirne, R. C. (2019). Extraordinary minds, impossible choices: mental health, special skills and television. Medical Humanities, 45(3), 235-239. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/medhum-2017-011410
Carmichael, V., Adamson, G., Sitter, K. C., & Whitley, R. (2019). Media coverage of mental illness: a comparison of citizen journalism vs. professional journalism portrayals. Journal of Mental Health, 28(5). https://doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2019.1608934
Carmichael, V., & Whitley, R. (2018). Suicide portrayal in the Canadian media: examining newspaper coverage of the popular Netflix series ‘13 Reasons Why’. BMC Public Health, 18(1086). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5987-3
Carter, R. (2015). How to stop making a crisis out of a drama: towards better portrayal of mental ill health in television and film. BMJ, 350. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h2307
Goodwin, J., & Tajjudin, I. (2016). “What Do You Think I Am? Crazy?”: The Joker and Stigmatizing Representations of Mental Ill-Health. The Journal of Popular Culture, 49(2), 385-402. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpcu.12402
Hegerl, U., Koburger, N., Rummel-Kluge, C., Gravert, C., Walden, M., & Mergl, R. (2013). One followed by many?—Long-term effects of a celebrity suicide on the number of suicidal acts on the German railway net. Journal of Affective Disorders, 146(1), 39-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2012.08.032
Kimmerle, J., & Cress, U. (2013). The effects of TV and film exposure on knowledge about and attitudes toward mental disorders. Journal of Community Psychology, 41(8), 931-943. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.21581
Robinson, P., Turk, D., Jilka, S., & Cella, M. (2019). Measuring attitudes towards mental health using social media: investigating stigma and trivialisation. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 54, 51-58. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-018-1571-5
Turner, N., Foley, S. R., Kinsella, A., O’Callaghan, E., & Clarke, M. (2014). Putting television’s portrayal of schizophrenia into reverse: an evaluation of the impact on public opinion. Early Intervention In Psychiatry, 8(4), 366-374. https://doi.org/10.1111/eip.12056
Whitley, R., & Wang, J. (2016). Television coverage of mental illness in Canada: 2013–2015. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 52, 241-244. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-016-1330-4