Hollywood hasn’t been kind in depicting mental illness and the entertainment industry is finally taking notice
- The Mental Health Storytelling Coalition brought together stars and content creators to discuss how to better represent mental health issues on-screen
- One proposal is for writers’ rooms to enlist mental health experts early on to help them break down the ideas they want to explore in productions
There are times when Hollywood hasn’t been kind in its depictions of mental illness. Think back to the villainisation of those with mental health conditions in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 thriller Psycho or the way shows like Full House and Pretty Little Liars used eating disorders as one-time plot devices.
For Mental Health Awareness Month, a conglomerate of major entertainment players came together to discuss how they can remedy that.
The Mental Health Storytelling Coalition, a council of 18 networks and production companies including MTV Entertainment Group, Disney, NBC Universal and WarnerMedia along with about 20 leading mental health organisations and experts for a three-day summit, brought together stars and content creators to discuss how to better represent mental health issues on-screen and help others struggling in the process.
“We need to show that they’re not alone, that there are others like you,” said Regina Hall discussing her 2018 film The Hate U Give during a summit panel on Monday. “I think realising there’s a commonality makes you feel like you’re not alone and then you can talk, and that is at least one beginning step in healing.”
Our societal understanding of mental health has improved in recent years, but we’re still a long way from treating it as we would our physical health – which is to say, automatically seeking professional help when we aren’t feeling well. According to Dr Christine Yu Moutier, the chief medical officer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, “right now half of youth who are having suicidal thoughts are not telling a single person.”
