Posts tagged Media
Autism and Marijuana
Nov 30th
This morning, “Good Morning America,” a popular morning news program in the U.S. told the story of a mother with an autistic child who was “treating” him with marijuana. I use quotation marks, and will make other cautionary notes here, because this blog is not meant to represent any forum of medical advice.
At the time of writing this, the GMA website, which usually posts follow-ups, has nothing on their site, which I found a little strange. The mother also appeared not with another member of her family, but a lawyer, who was also a family friend. I wondered how these More >
Heath Ledger’s Joker and the Hollywood Stereotype of Mental Illness
Aug 19th
A report released this week by Dr. Peter Byrne of Newham University Hospital in London takes issue with the portrayal of mental health in Hollywood. Dr. Byrne highlights a number of characters, including Heath Ledger’s Joker from the Batman series and Jim Carrey’s character(s) in Me, Myself and Irene, which “represented a new low [for] laughing at people with severe mental illness.”
Titled ‘Screening Madness’, the report highlights lazy and derivational stereotypes that perpetuate the myth that people with mental health problems are either stupid or dangerous.
According to Dr Byrne, “Mental health stereotypes have not changed over a century of cinema. More >
