Kelly Brendan D
Department of Adult Psychiatry,University College Dublin,Mater Misericordiae University Hospital,62/63 Eccles Street,Dublin 7,Ireland.
Ir J Psychol Med. 2006 Jun;23(2):74-79. doi: 10.1017/S0790966700009617.
Media portrayals of mental illness and psychiatry have a considerable impact on public perceptions of mental health issues. This paper aims to focus on portrayals of psychiatry and psychiatrists in four contemporary Irish feature films in order to make wider points on this theme.
Contemporary Irish feature-films that made substantial reference to psychiatry, psychiatrists or mental health in Ireland were identified though electronic searches and consultation with the Film Institute of Ireland. Selected films were viewed. Electronic searches were performed in the medical and film literatures, with broad search terms related to film, psychiatry, psychiatrists or mental health in Ireland. Additional books and papers were identified by tracking back through references and consulting with colleagues.
The portrayal of psychiatrists in film is closely related to the development of both twentieth century psychiatry and twentieth century cinema. In common with recent European films, certain recent Irish films have tended to show psychiatrists as sympathetic, humane individuals (with some notable exceptions). While there have been a number of portrayals of dissocial personally disorder and various states of chronic alienation in recent Irish film, there have been fewer portrayals of psychosis or learning disability. Recent Irish films emphasise the role of alcohol in causing and perpetuating psychological distress. They generally provide unflinching portrayals of the effects of psychological distress and alienation, suicide and substance abuse at individual, family and community levels; nonetheless, there is still a regrettable tendency for films to associate mental illness with dissocial behaviour.
The portrayal of mental health issues in film presents both challenges and opportunities to film-makers, mental health service-users and general audiences alike. It is to be hoped that the recent trend towards realistic explorations of mental health issues in many European films continues into the future. Increased research in this area would help clarify the role of cinema in shaping public understandings of mental illness, and may also help identify additional ways of addressing stigma in the future.
媒体对精神疾病和精神病学的描绘对公众对心理健康问题的认知有相当大的影响。本文旨在聚焦于四部当代爱尔兰故事片中对精神病学和精神科医生的描绘,以便就这一主题阐述更广泛的观点。
通过电子检索以及与爱尔兰电影协会协商,确定了大量提及爱尔兰精神病学、精神科医生或心理健康的当代爱尔兰故事片。观看了选定的影片。在医学和电影文献中进行电子检索,使用与爱尔兰电影、精神病学、精神科医生或心理健康相关的宽泛检索词。通过追溯参考文献和与同事咨询,确定了其他书籍和论文。
电影中对精神科医生的描绘与20世纪精神病学和20世纪电影的发展密切相关。与近期欧洲电影一样,某些近期爱尔兰电影倾向于将精神科医生描绘成富有同情心、有人情味的个体(也有一些显著的例外)。虽然近期爱尔兰电影中有许多对反社会人格障碍和各种慢性疏离状态的描绘,但对精神病或学习障碍的描绘较少。近期爱尔兰电影强调酒精在导致和延续心理困扰方面的作用。它们通常毫不退缩地描绘了心理困扰和疏离、自杀以及物质滥用在个人、家庭和社区层面的影响;尽管如此,电影仍有一种令人遗憾的倾向,即将精神疾病与反社会行为联系起来。
电影中对心理健康问题的描绘给电影制作人、心理健康服务使用者和普通观众都带来了挑战和机遇。希望许多欧洲电影中近期对心理健康问题进行现实探索的趋势在未来能够持续。在这一领域增加研究将有助于阐明电影在塑造公众对精神疾病理解方面的作用,也可能有助于确定未来消除污名化的其他方法。