In cinema, it’s common to stereotype mental health and categorized characters as “unstable” due to their mental health condition(s) or perceived conditions. The problem with Hollywood telling stories involving mental health conditions is the villainization of those characters. While the portrayals may not always be offensive, they can be inaccurate.
Movies about mental health conditions can include a variety of characters with genius-level intellect or sensationalized, exaggerated quirks. Either way, the misinformation that is spread through these films can be damaging. Unfortunately, good movies can inaccurately portray mental health.
10/10 Split Demonizes Dissociative Identity Disorder
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Split follows Kevin, a man with Dissociative Identity Disorder who abducts a group of young girls. Kevin has a total of 23 alters that interact with the girls, but each is a varying level of cruel.
Kevin has one host identity that is extremely dangerous, known as “The Beast.” Unlike all his other alters, The Beast has incredible strength and agility. This portrayal of Dissociative Identity Disorder is harmful; Split suggests that those living with DID are violent and dangerous.
9/10 Joker Uses Mental Health Conditions To Justify Violence
One of the most renowned villains to exist, the Joker, finally had an origin story told in 2019 with the film Joker. The movie follows Arthur Fleck, a man whose neurological condition causes him to laugh uncontrollably at random moments. At times, his laughter is considered inappropriate. This causes Arthur to be excluded from society, oftentimes being ostracized for his behaviors.
Arthur is portrayed as a product of his environment. He is often bullied and ridiculed by almost everyone, and this is the driving factor of his mental health condition worsening. He becomes villainous, dangerously violent, and murderous, which perpetuates harmful stereotypes surrounding mental health.
8/10 The Visit Gets Mental Health Conditions Wrong
M. Night Shyamalan‘s The Visit follows two children who are visiting their grandparents. There, Becca and Tyler notice their grandparents, Nana and Pop Pop, are acting a bit strange, and The Visit’s twist reveals why.
It’s revealed that Nana and Pop Pop are actually escaped patients from the mental hospital where the real grandparents worked. The Visit hints that Nana and Pop Pop either live with dementia or schizophrenia. The symptoms of these characters are far from the reality of dementia (especially with “sundowning”) or schizophrenia, which has garnered The Visit some criticism.
7/10 Fatal Attraction Falsely Represents Bipolar
While Fatal Attraction is considered a phenomenal film, its portrayal of mental health is subpar. Glenn Close portrays a bipolar woman who seemingly becomes obsessed with a married man after spending a night with him. Over time, she grows increasingly angry and dangerous.
In Fatal Attraction, Close’s character quickly becomes the antagonist as she threatens the man and his family’s safety. Her character is supposedly bipolar, yet the portrayal of the woman and her symptoms are inaccurate. Broadly, bipolar is characterized by mood swings. However, Fatal Attraction takes it to the extreme, which is both harmful and offensive.
6/10 Psycho Is Outdated When It Comes To Mental Health
While the horror classic Psycho is entertaining and terrifying, its portrayal of mental illness is very outdated and inaccurate. The film focuses on Norman Bates, who works at the Bates Motel and lives with Dissociative Identity Disorder. One of his alters kills any woman who may give him attention.
In Psycho, Norman’s DID stems from his trauma and the unhealthy relationship he had with his mother. In turn, the Mother alter became the host identity and murdered several people. Psycho paints Norman and DID as something to be feared, which is furthering the villainous stereotypes of mental health conditions.
The Martin Scorsese film, Shutter Island, focuses on a man who believes he is a US Marshal. Teddy Daniels is sent to a psychiatric hospital to find a missing patient. Shutter Island explores mental health conditions that prohibit Teddy from knowing what’s real and what’s not.
Many have assumed that Shutter Island discusses Delusional Disorder, or other stress-related conditions, but the film doesn’t treat the DD in an accurate way. Teddy’s mental health condition is perpetuated by the staff, who hope he’ll recover his memory. Shutter Island was inaccurate, especially because Teddy could enter his delusions at will and was incredibly violent.
4/10 Turner & Hooch Belittles Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Turner & Hooch is a detective movie that follows a man, Scott Turner, and his trusty sidekick, a dog named Hooch. A connection forms between the two as Hooch helps Turner with a case and Turner’s Obsessive Compulsive Disorder symptoms.
Turner & Hooch doesn’t outwardly state Turner’s OCD, but it’s very clear in his compulsions. Turner & Hooch is lighthearted, but it can be damaging as it suggests that people with OCD can simply overcome OCD by getting a pet. The film does a poor job of showing how to live with OCD.
3/10 Me, Myself, And Irene Portrays Inaccurate Symptoms
The events of Me, Myself, and Irene follow Charlie, played by Jim Carrey, who lives with DID. While Charlie is mild-mannered and nice, his alter, Hank, is aggressive and tough. Both Charlie and Hank work together to stop corrupt cops from taking a woman he loves, Irene, from his care.
In the film, Charlie is diagnosed as having DID and schizophrenia. It’s always expected with Jim Carrey to have an exaggerated performance, and it’s no different with Me, Myself, And Irene. While it’s done for comedy’s sake, the film inaccurately portrays the symptoms of DID.
2/10 Midsommar Accurately Depicts Trauma But Inaccurately Depicts Bipolar
Many think that Ari Aster did an incredible job of portraying mental health conditions through Dani in Midsommar. During the cult-focused horror movie, she is seen dealing with, what fans assume to be, PTSD, depression, and/or anxiety. This presents itself through panic attacks, which begin after her parents and sisters die.
However, Dani’s sister is said to live with bipolar, and this depiction is entirely inaccurate. Early on in Midsommar, it’s revealed that her sister killed their parents and herself in a murder-suicide. The depiction only furthers the stigma surrounding bipolar and its association with villainous behaviors.
1/10 The Shining Makes Mental Illness The Monster
Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining features one of the most iconic horror movie antagonists. Jack Torrance is a writer who goes to a hotel with his family in hopes of curing his writer’s block. At the hotel, strange things begin happening, the hotel’s history is unraveled, and the family is plagued by spirits.
Jack, who falls under the influence of the hotel, starts to show signs of several mental health conditions, most notably schizophrenia. Jack is seen as dealing with psychosis, delusions, and alcoholism, which lead him to terrorize his family. Mental health conditions are explored from a sinister angle, Jack is seen as a monster, and his mental health is sensationalized for scares. Unfortunately, The Shining villainized mental health conditions and perpetuated fear.
