Stereotypes Of Mental Illness Sociology Essay

Stereotypes of mental illness form through personal experiences combined with the influence of external sources, the most influential probably being the mass media. Theoretical conclusions suggest that the media has a powerful influence over society, but they do not consider the types of media and the varying audience associated. This study will attempt to examine whether Disney’s portrayal of mental illness affects how society perceives mental illness. This research will be analysed using secondary data. The research is completed through a reviewed selection of Disney films and examination of how characters are assigned mental illness traits. The characters are then compared to how people in similar situations would be accepted in society, and compare whether the Disney films have influenced this acceptance. Results of the study indicate that more research is needed.

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Does Disney’s portrayal of mental illness affect how society perceives mental illness.

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Name: Stephanie Sandall

Date: 13/06/2012

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Date: 22/08/2012

Introduction

The Walt Disney Corporation is an American mass media company which is most famously known for children’s films (Booker, 2012). This dissertation will explore the influence of the media on the audience, more specifically to examine whether Disney’s portrayal of mental illness affects how society perceives mental illness. I have identified common features in literature regarding the influence of media and public opinion, and relevant sources will be applied to this study.

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The Oxford English Dictionary defines mental illness as “a condition which causes serious disorder in a person’s behaviour or thinking” (2012), this does not necessarily mean that society shares the same understanding. Mental illnesses are variations of behaviours that are not considered acceptable in society, a process of socially diagnosing people that deviate from society’s norms and can easily be affected by social change (Scheff, 1975). Stereotypes of mental illness form through personal experiences combined with the influence of external sources, “shared patterns of behaviour and interactions and affective understanding learned through the process of socialization” (Damen, 1987), implying that society’s norms and values are what carve our individual personas. Negative stereotypes can also lead to the process of stigmatising, isolating members of society, sometimes even institutionalising members in order to force conformity. Terms associated with mental illness are reduced to casual insults rather than official medical terms as society constructs those with abnormal behaviours to be mentally ill (Scheff, 1975). Previous research implies that the most influential external source to shape public opinion to be the mass media (Breslow, 2002). The Walt Disney Corporation is the world’s largest media conglomerate, primarily based in film and television sectors of the media industry (Best Communications Degrees, 2013). Approximately 200 million people will view a Disney film in a year (Giroux, 2002). Due to its large scale availability and popularity, this study aims to examine whether Disney’s portrayal of mental illness affects how society perceives mental illness.

The Walt Disney Company influences how children are introduced to norms and values of society through its attractive magical image associated with its films. Disney films are considered as a normal form of entertainment for children by society, allowing Disney’s perception of society to be taught without challenge, as a result socialising the audience into what Disney finds to be an acceptable ideology (Giroux, 2002).

The purpose of this study is to examine whether Disney’s portrayal of mental illness affects how society perceives mental illness. This research has practical relevance which hopefully through its findings and conclusion will add to the scientific knowledge, and make society more aware of any effects the media has on the perception of mental illness, most specifically Disney films. In order to understand how Disney movies present mental illness to society through its characters, I will conduct a literature review to gain a stronger background of knowledge on the subject before writing a methodology that will be used to investigate my research question. To assess the research question, I will primarily analyse secondary data and combine this with a personally reviewed selection of Disney films to investigate how characters are assigned mental illness traits. The secondary data will be formed of quantitative and qualitative approaches. I find this technique will allow me to gain a better and deeper understanding of the subject. I will then compare the Disney characters to how people in similar situations would be accepted in society, and whether the Disney films have influenced this acceptance.

Literature Review

Society is dependent on the media for information and entertainment due to its easy access, as well as its ability to be culturally encoded for all to understand. According to Breslow (2002), the mass media perform three major functions in society, these are: educating, shaping public relations, and advocating a particular point of view across society. The Walt Disney Corporation is an American mass media company which is most famously known for children’s films and is the world’s largest media conglomerate (Best Communications Degrees, 2013). Due to Disney’s large scale popularity, this study aims to examine whether Disney’s portrayal of mental illness affects how society perceives mental illness, since the coverage of mental health in the media is a controversial subject and it is deemed as a sensitive topic by some individuals in society.

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Audience Research

It is not only the media source itself, but the audience that needs to be considered. Disney films are generally intended for a younger audience. Evidence demonstrates that children are the main viewers of Disney films (Booker, 2012). Children can be easily influenced by media consumption as they easily accept and internalise media messages, this is shown by Bandura’s Bobo Doll Study (1963). Bandura divided 48 girls and 48 boys into 3 experimental groups and a control group. The groups were subject to different conditions associated with a Bobo doll. The first group witnessed an adult become aggressive towards a Bobo doll in a live scenario. The second group viewed a film of the adult acting aggressively to a Bobo doll. The third group watched a cartoon animal act aggressively towards a Bobo doll. The children watched the aggressive acts individually, preventing an influence of opinion or distraction off other children in the group and allowing individual differences of opinion to emerge. After observing the models, each of the children from the four groups were individually put in a room with an experimenter where they were exposed to a mildly frustrating situation to elicit aggression. After this, the children were sent to play in a room of toys which included a Bobo doll. Researchers covertly observed the children, noting any interaction with the Bobo doll. Results showed that the children who had been exposed to the aggressive behaviour, exhibited nearly twice as much aggressive behaviour than the control group. The results demonstrate that media can be influential on the behaviour of children, therefore implying that Disney movies may affect a child’s behaviour. This study can be criticised due to having a small ethnocentric sample size, so the results cannot be generalised to the wider society. However, it must also be considered that children may associate adults as disciplinary figures, so the children mimic the behaviour shown as if they are trying to conform to adult behaviour. Despite this, this study is appropriate to the research as it demonstrates the influence that media and adult role models have on children. Audiences may also interpret results differently, as Thompson (1995) argues that audiences do not automatically passively accept information but actively select and interpret, resist or even challenge the media, affected through individual differences and experiences.

In contrast, McQuail (2005) suggests that the media can have ‘planned’ and ‘unplanned’ effects on the audience, with short and long term effects. McQuail does not generalise the audience to be a mass being, as he finds these factors to be heightened by individual differences. Therefore, there is a fragmentation of the audience, in this example Disney films are primarily associated with a younger audience (Booker, 2012). As a result, there is no single mass audience, people may choose to watch a programme at a later date and media messages may not spread throughout society. Furthermore not everyone in society will view the media, so people will not share the exact same values. Despite this, the audience is widely dispersed and the media is easily able to control the audience and spread messages (McQuail, 2005). Contrasting to this perspective, Disney may be more focused on capitalism than social control, as found by Fiske (1987), Disney’s content could be influenced through the structured media market-led environment through the consumer choice of media and globalisation. The media is a business and the audience is the consumer. Public interests are subordinated to private capitalistic interests. It could be further considered that the media has become a form of ‘ideological apparatus’ (Milner and Browitt, 2002). The media narrative is constructed to encourage the acceptance of social positions, leaving the individual to emotionally invest in the source through identifying similar personal traits. The perspective associates the audience as a passive being, as the media is dominant and ‘positions’ the audience through an emotional connection.

Ctausse’s (1968) Schema of Differential Audience Reach finds that not all members of the audience accept the media values transmitted. Ctausse displays how media messages go through a process of being offered, receivable, received, registered, before being potentially internalised by the audience. This is further examined by British Cultural Studies, who investigate the way audiences decode media messages. They find the decoding of media messages varies on primary definers and individual differences, such as social and linguistic differences (Hall, 1973). Three types of decoding were proposed by Hall (1973). Dominant decoding views that the audience acknowledges media values and easily accepts the media discourse. Negotiated decoding, detects that the audience recognises the media has interpreted the events in a certain way, the audience is not completely passive to media messages. Oppositional decoding, finds that the audience challenges media authority. An example of oppositional decoding would be the feminist approach to a male presented dominated programme. This is significant to the research as it implies that the Disney audience have individual differences and not all will decode the content in the same manner. However, this research is opposed by cultivation theory. Cultivation theory suggests that the more time spent by the individual watching television, the more the viewer will come to view reality through ideologies imposed by the media (Gerbner et al, 2002). This is reinforced by social learning theory, which implies that learning is influenced by people and events presented in the media (Bandura, 1994), finding media to be a large scale influence on how people perceive society. False representation of mental illness reinforced through the media can encourage the audience to conform and accept stereotypes. This may result in the possibility of negative attitudes towards individuals with mental illnesses obtained during childhood persevering into adulthood.

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Stuart Hall’s Reception Theory finds the media to have a polysemic structure, the producers of the media encode a message for the audience to decode (Kitzinger, 2004), implying that the audience are in control. This is further developed by Hall’s (1973) Encoding and Decoding model which considers the media as a process whereby messages are sent and received with certain effects that alter how the audience perceives things. As a result, media messages can be interpreted differently by audiences and may not be understood in the way desired by producers (Hall, 1973). It can be argued that this process encourages maximum potential of audience involvement, as the media acts as a socialising force, in the case of Disney it allows the development of marketing off the characters’ personas to society. In support of this, Fiske examined the notion of semiotic negotiation and resistance; the audience has the ability to shape media meaning to the self. This means that the audience can subvert conformity, they are not a slave to the media, and therefore Disney films do not necessarily affect how an individual views mental illness (Fiske, 1987). In contrast, Lazarsfeld and Merton (1948) perceive the media to be a form of entertainment, which allows the audience to escape the hardship of reality and simultaneously integrates society. However, it must be considered that this is only a theoretical perspective, it is formed of hypothesise and not first-hand research. Challenges to this theory include the Marxist perspective, which was further developed by the Neo-Marxist perspective as the media was not far developed in Karl Marx’s lifetime. As we have seen earlier, it can be considered that Disney has a capitalistic nature and linguistic intentions may not be to harm the audience, but rather captivate them.

The media, according to Baudrillard (1989), has created a new form of reality ‘hyper reality’ where an image is produced by the media that is more real to the individual than the item is initially supposed to represent. This theory is further supported by Giroux (2002) who classifies Disney films as “teaching machines” (p. 100), enabled through marketing and globalisation. Overall, the media should be used to teach awareness of mental illness and not reinforce negative stereotypes (Stuart, 2006).

Media Coverage of Mental Illness

It must be considered that the media is used as a form of entertainment. The Uses and Gratification Model finds that the audience is an active force, who use the media for their own pleasure (Fiske, 1987). The media and its producers do not have power over the audience, it merely provides the audience with entertainment and diversion from reality. This is challenged by the Frankfurt School, who find the audience to be passive to media effects. They produced the ‘hypodermic syringe’ model, which metaphorically analyses the audience as accepting an injection of information from a media source; the audience accepts the norms and values prescribed by the media. The model believes that there is a direct correlation between violent behaviour in the media and violent behaviour in reality, which could be applied to violent Disney villains (Haney, 2005).

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The Shift Media Survey of 2005 assessed the media coverage of mental health issues. The Shift Media Survey of 2005 conducted primary research, included the use of focus groups, interviews and using a range of media samples. It found only one example which concentrated on the negative stigma experienced by people with mental health problems, with the rest of the articles more focused on the issue of violence. This research can be applied to Disney movies, as villains are generally classed as being violent and acting deviant of social norms. The results of the focus group found that most individuals took the media at face value, highlighting the mass effect of the media and its ability to reinforce prejudices in society. This suggests that the negative stigma attached to mental illness by society is not based on any real knowledge, but on what society have been informed of via the mass media. However, the data of this research cannot be generalised to everyone due to its small specific sample, and correlational data does not imply causation. However, the problem with focus groups is that some participants may either hold back due to the lack of anonymity and confidentiality due to being in a group with other participants, or participants may attempt to answer the moderator’s questions with answers they presume the moderator wants to hear. Furthermore, the interpretation of focus group data may also vary between researchers. Though this research does no directly apply to Disney media production, it’s results can be assessed to understand whether the media has an impact on public opinion. Overall, the research finds that media generally portrays mental illness through a negative stereotype, used mainly to reinforce and sell stories associated with criminal or deviant behaviour. These negative stereotypes can also be used in children’s films to differentiate between good and evil characters, as shown by Robinson et al (2007) who discovers that a large percentage of older Disney characters are associated with these negative stereotypes surrounding mental illness. This is further researched by Sadler (2005) through the notion of cultural sanctioning, the media reinforces cultural ideals, which at the same time maintains viewership through familiarity.

Beveridge (1996) focused on the portrayal of mental illness in four classic Disney films: Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, Mary Poppins, and Beauty and the Beast. Beveridge examined that sane characters that reacted strongly to a situation were negatively labelled as being mad. This is demonstrated in Dumbo through Dumbo’s mother defending her son against bullying, she is judged to be mad after her outrage and is subsequently locked away from society, implying that mental illness should be kept from society. McKie (2003) further argues that the negative perception of madness in children’s films is providing children with false impressions of mental illness. This article may not be an academic source, but it is an example of mass media implying that children’s films have an effect on the perception of mental illness, nevertheless it is supported by Mind (2011). Research completed by Mind (2011) suggests that the media is failing to give mental health enough consideration, as demonstrated by 45% of the people questioned couldn’t recall seeing any reports about mental health in any media over the past twelve months. Only 33% of the participants could remember observing a newspaper report associated with mental illness, 25% could recall seeing a documentary broadcast directly based on the subject, and 22% viewed mental illness being addressed in television dramas. This data may not directly apply to Disney films, but it demonstrates how the media has a large scale impact on the public’s recall and opinions. It can be criticised that these statistics are based on the memory and recall ability of participants, therefore the results may not be entirely accurate as some individuals may have forgotten about seeing some mental illness related reports, and this can affect the reliability of the data.

Madness is the implication of an individual being in an idiosyncratic state, where people do not immediately understand or make sense of an individual’s behaviour (Pilgrim, 2009). This can result in the implication of alienation, as demonstrated by Madhouses in Victorian society, which fuelled negative stereotypes of mental illness in society. Negative stereotypes may put people at risk of social exclusion and can lead to people feeling stigmatised by society. As a consequence, the individual may develop what Goffman (1963) calls a ‘spoiled identity’ and demonstrate further abnormal behaviour in society. Goffman (1961) primarily writes about patients being institutionalised and the implications of psychiatric hospitals, but the writing can be applied to the treatment of Disney characters. For example, it can be related to a scene in Beauty and the Beast, where Maurice is locked away from society by the townsfolk as society doesn’t accept his behaviour or opinions, this will be analysed further in the discussion section of the dissertation.

Lawson and Fouts (2004) found 85% of 34 animated films produced by Disney between 1937 and 2001, contained references to characters with mental illness. There was an average of 4.6 references per film alienating characters, furthermore 21% of principal characters were being judged to have a mental illness. The research concludes that the use of terms such as “crazy” “mad” and “nut” allows a segregation of characters, separating them from what is classed as normal. This can provoke alienation and associate fear with characters deemed as being mentally ill. However, this study does not consider the appearance of characters, which could further affect the audiences’ perception of a character. This research may be dated due to more Disney films being released, it displays how frequently Disney refers to mental illness. It must also be considered that there is a time limit in the media when divulging a story, therefore the use of stereotypes to portray characters allows easier association with the viewers’ daily life (Signorielli, 2001).

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In contrast to the research discussed, Booker (2010) finds that Disney encourages individualism that people do not need to change who they are to be accepted in society. Characters appear to suffer negative treatment by society until they learn to accept who they are. For example, this is shown through Dumbo learning to embrace his differences and proving himself to society. This could suggest that mental illness is related to moral failures.

Medicine has adapted Disney characters to mental disorders, implying that science finds the Disney characters to be associated with mental illness. The psychological and personality disorders named after Disney characters, include: Peter Pan Syndrome, Sleeping Beauty Syndrome, Rapunzel Syndrome, and Cinderella Complex. These conditions imply that Disney characters have had a direct impact on mental illness. Peter Pan Syndrome, according to Kiley (1983), demonstrates the alienation of men failing to confront the emotional realities of society through their narcissistic nature, women are found accountable of accepting immature behaviour. The psychological condition finds that some members of society, like the fictional character, remain in a childish state, failing to accept appropriate adult roles in society. The work primarily focuses on men and shows how women mature faster. This is similar to the Disney film which shows Wendy to grow up and teach the other children how to behave. Sleeping Beauty Syndrome is a disorder that involves people uncontrollably sleeping for days at a time. Rapunzel Syndrome often affects those with mental illness, as the Rapunzel character is implied to be suffering severe depression, it involves people eating their hair (Singla et al, 1999). Cinderella Complex finds women conform and lower expectations in order to fit into society, young girls have no aspirations, conforming to a stereotypical housewife lifestyle (Kerr, 1985). The research may be dated, but it supports the thesis of Disney affecting society’s perception of mental illness.

The medical model defines mental illness through classification schemes. There are several weaknesses of this model including the validity and reliability of diagnostic criteria (Sadler, 2005). The model ignores individual differences and classifies people into categories in which they might not belong. In opposition to this, Szasz (1961) puts forward the Myth of Mental Illness which contemplates whether mental illness actually exists, due to the overuse of the notion associated with ‘problems of living’. However, the existence of mental illness has been around for a long time and in a variety of cultures, implying that mental illness is not socially constructed, but that society can manipulate how mental illness is perceived. Szasz (1961) further examines that the label of mental illness allows the power of social control to discipline and manage those who won’t conform. This includes state legislation, such as the Mental Health Act 2007 (CPS, 2013).

Conclusions

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Whilst conducting the literature review, it has been understood that Walt Disney himself was associated with mental illness. His mother died when he was young, coincidently he was obsessed with the concept of “family”. This could have impacted the structure of Disney productions, as most Disney movies begin with the mother dying or already dead. However, this may not account for movies created after his death that contain references to mental illness, unless Disney are intending to stick to storylines that Walt Disney would find acceptable.

Not all texts address mental illness in association to Disney films, as shown by Deconstructing Disney (Byrne and McQuillan, 2000) and Mouse Morality: The Rhetoric of Disney Animated Film (Ward, 2002). These books cover themes such as sexuality, race and gender, but fail to consider the implications Disney films have on mental health. The disregard implies that it is acceptable for Disney to stigmatise those who are mentally ill.

The research discussed suggests that there has been little social change in regards to how the media portrays mental illness, there is a negative stereotype and this is presented in the selection of Disney films studied. However, I feel that there is only a limited number of studies and this is an area that needs to be examined in more detail. Each source analysed highlights a negative connotation attached to mental illness which has produced a stigma in society, reinforced by the media discourse. Wahl et al (2003) reach a concerning conclusion that future generations will be continually exposed to negative images and views of mental illness unless children are introduced to “destigmatising” programs. Instead of labelling someone as insane and producing a negative stigma, the media and society should focus on the specific problems and behaviours of the individual, fixing the negative stereotypes attached to mental illness (Jorm, 2000). While none of the above theories offer a solution to the negative association of mental illness, they do demonstrate awareness. There is no perspective that can be absolute when analysing social actions.

Methodology

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This section will reflect how evidence will be collected to support the arguments of my research question. As discussed in the Literature Review, the majority of the previous work in this area has concentrated on stereotypes and the audience.

In order to find out whether the public’s perception of mental health is affected by Disney films, I need to establish initially how the public perceive mental health in order to reach a context specific definition of mental illness. The NHS is the largest publicly funded health service in existence, therefore I feel that they have a high enough influence to be regarded in this research in order to gain an understanding of mental health. I will use a publically available NHS document, in order to gain an understanding of what the British health system classifies mental illness as:

“Mental well-being crucially affects healthy functioning of individuals, families, communities and societies. It fundamentally affects behaviour, social cohesion, social inclusion and economic prosperity. Underlying social, economic and environmental dimensions that can affect a person’s well-being relate to factors such as employment status, education, health and household/neighbourhood characteristics.” (NHS Confederation, 2012).

To find out whether the public’s perception of mental health is affected by Disney films, I will conduct a content analysis to identify what terms related to mental illness are used in Disney films, I will then consider the contextual intentions of Disney. I will use theory to further analyse my results to gain a well-rounded view of the subject. I will also examine behavioural responses to Disney through the use of secondary research such as The Shift Media Survey of 2005 to examine my data. There is a mixed methods approach to the research, it is not specifically focused on quantitative or qualitative methods, allowing a continuum of the two.

Selecting the Sample

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In order to examine whether Disney’s portrayal of mental illness affects how society perceives mental illness, I have decided to base my research sample on the most popular Disney feature length films. I examined the success rate of films from each of them based on their profit, which combined with the availability of films, the following films were included: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio (1940), Dumbo (1941), Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953), The Jungle Book (1967), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), The Lion King (1994), Toy Story (1995), Hercules (1997), Tarzan (1999), The Emperor’s New Groove (2000), The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Alice in Wonderland (2010). In total my sample consisted of sixteen Walt Disney Pictures, with only two films not being of an animated nature.

Procedure

To begin with, I viewed my selected films and took general notes which allowed me to create a basic coding scheme. I then re-watched the films to ensure reliability, I also re-recorded the occurrence of the selected terms associated with mental illness across a range of Disney films. The coding scheme included references to behaviour and the physical description of characters, such as “mad” “insane” and “strange”. I will also note the contextual circumstances of which the references were made. The coding scheme will initially exclude character names, but these will be noted for later consideration, e.g. The Mad Hatter. The context of code will be considered before recording to make sure the term is being used an appropriate sense. Once the coding was complete I noted the main themes that had emerged in order to aid my future analysis. Visual representations are also important to consider when studying mental illness in the media to examine how characters conform to stereotypes, as I found through my literature review that there was a lack of regard to character appearances.

Analysis

A content analysis describes what is there, but does not provide underlying reasoning, so I will be combining my research with a theoretical analysis. This will consist of selecting and discussing theoretical material and a detailed comparison of applicable theories. This will aid us in understanding whether certain theories help us to comprehend particular patterns of social behaviour. This approach will allow me to assess contrasting sources, allowing a more critical attitude. However, a content analysis describes what is there, but does not provide underlying reasoning. Data collected from a variety of sources, such as

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