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Mental Illness Perspective

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Submitted By kgandhi2011
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Introduction
The media can be a powerful tool in shaping society’s perspective. When used correctly the media can be a positive influence on people with disability. However, historically we know that people with disability have rarely been presented in a positive view, which has perpetuated stereotypes about people with disability. In this paper, I will be comparing two films, a documentary and feature film, about mental disability. The documentary that I will be using in this analysis is People Say I’m Crazy, a 1989 documentary film by California Mental Health and Silver Lining Playbook(2012) an Academy Award nominated feature film. The comparison will be as followed: a topics will be presented, next the findings in the documentary, and finally how mental illness is portrayed in the feature film. In this paper I will talk about medical treatment, family and community support, and media representation of people with mental illness. Before I jump into these topics, a summary of these two films are necessary to provide context.

People Says I’m Crazy
People Says I’m Crazy is a 56 minute documentary by the California Network of Mental Health Clients made in 1989. This documentary is based on the findings from the Well-Being Project, a survey conducted in 1987 to explore what factors promote or deter the well-being of persons commonly labeled as mental ill in California. The statistics from the Well-Being Project survey are included in the documentary to provide focus by the mental health consumers relate their experiences.

Silver Lining Playbook
In this film Patrick “Pat” Solatano, Jr. (played by Bradley Cooper), a diagnosed bipolar mental patient, is released from a mental health facility in Baltimore after eight months into the care of his parents Dolores and Pat Sr. Pat learns that his wife, whom he caught having an affair with the history teacher after

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