Cory Castrejon

Annotated Bibliography

One of the strongest influences on peoples perception of certain topics is major motion pictures.
After people see a film, their opinions and ideas are changed even if it is not consciously. Mental
illness is an area of in study in the field of psychology that interest many people. Serial killers
are often made famous because of their mental disorders. Film plays a vital role in the interest
that the public has with mental disorders. However, Hollywood often does a poor job
representing the mental illness for its true nature. Films exaggerate certain symptoms in order to
create a better motion picture and increase the profits. Due to the exaggeration, the public
perception of mental disorders has been negatively influenced.

Eastgate, Jan. A Beautiful Mind... an Ugly Agenda. 93 Vol. , 2002. Print.

A newspaper reporter wrote this article that criticizes one of the reasons that the film, A Beautiful
Mind, was created. The article was written for the general public in order to shed light on the
situation in which Hollywood was representing the use of anti-psychotic medicine. The film
shows John Nash using the medicine constantly and it helping him recover from his mental
illness, schizophrenia. However, in reality Nash stopped using the medicine and was able to
recover by himself. The medication was shown as the result for his improvement. Eastgate
argues that the film chose to increase the role of medicine in order create more funding for
research. The perspective that Eastgate takes shows that Hollywood often makes a negative
perception of mental illness. In this film, people with mental disorders are depicted as only being
able to get better through medication. For some people with illnesses, medication is not

Cory Castrejon
Annotated Bibliography

necessary for recovery. John Nash is a great example of someone who got better without the help
of medication.
Stout, Patricia A., Jorge Villegas, and Nancy A. Jennings. "Images of Mental Illness in the
Media: Identifying Gaps in the Research." Schizophrenia bulletin 30.3 (2004): 543-61. Print.
Leaders in the field of mental disorders and media wrote an article for other members of the
psychology community. The article deals with the mental illness stigma that has formed due to
the portrayal of disorders in media. In addition, the source introduces how media influences
peoples thoughts and opinions. Some of these theories could help understand how the mental
illness stigma can into formation. The authors discuss the problems created for the people with
the disorders as well as the problems created in the area of research. More research is needed in
the connection between media and mental illnesses. Stout along with the other authors writes
about how the negative perception of mental disorders could be the result of media portrayal.
They also discuss possible solutions to the stigma using film and media as a tool for recovery.
The source talks about media in a more general sense rather than a more specific topic.
Johnson, Brian. "Hollywood's Big on Psycho Soldiers." Maclean's 123.8 (2010): 55. Print.
Johnson wrote this article for an academic journal in order to show the similarities that many of
Hollywoods biggest films have. When the article was written, three movies that were
nominated for Oscars had to do with war. The Hurt Locker, The Messenger, and Inglourious
Basterds were all nominated for Best Picture with The Hurt Locker winning. This source
discusses the fact that filmmakers will follow whatever makes money. In each of these motion
pictures, one of the characters is portrayed as having a mental disorder. These characters are
shown as being unstable and unpredictable. Johnson discusses the fact that these films could give

Cory Castrejon
Annotated Bibliography

a negative perception to the public about people returning from war. While Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder is not a major component of The Hurt Locker, the main character is seen as having
trouble adjusting to life back at home. The source shows that the people have a fascination with
mental illness and that Hollywood will portray these mental illness in a way that might not be
completely accurate.
Kimmerle, Joachim, and Ulrike Cress. "The Effects of Tv and Film Exposure on Knowledge
about and Attitudes Toward Mental Disorders." Journal of community psychology 41.8
(2013): 931-43. Print.
The Effects of TV and Film Exposure on Knowledge about and Attitudes Toward Mental
Disorders is a journal article written for an official psychology journal. The audience of the
article was other researchers in the area of psychology. The article discusses a study performed
by the authors of the article. The scientists tested subjects on their knowledge and perception of
the mentally ill. For the first study, the subjects were questioned about the amount of television
and film that they watched. The subjects were then questioned about their knowledge of certain
mental disorders. Schizophrenia, Obsessive Complusive Disorder, and major depressive disorder
were the main illnesses that were discussed. In the study, the researchers found that the more
television or film people watched, the less that they knew about schizophrenia and obsessive
compulsive disorder. The scientists did not find a connection between film exposure and
knowledge of major depressive disorder. The second study compared the knowledge of subjects
after they were showed a documentary versus a fictional film with the same information about
mental disorders. The subjects that were shown the fictional film knew less about the disorders
than those shown the documentary.

Cory Castrejon
Annotated Bibliography

Livingston, Kathy. "Viewing Popular Films about Mental Illness through a Sociological Lens."
Teaching Sociology.1 (2004): 119-28. Print.
Kathy Livingston is author of a journal article that is about a teaching method using film and
mental disorders. The method discussed in the paper involved two separate viewings and
writings on the film. The students are supposed to analyze the medical view of the disorders that
the film portrays in the first paper that they write. They are supposed to look for symptoms that
the characters displayed. Also, the students are supposed to look for any treatment that that the
characters receive. Their assignment involves the discussion of the official symptoms of the
disorder according to the field of psychology. In the first paper, the students are also meant to
discuss how society reacts to the symptoms that the characters display in the film. The next step
in the teaching method is to have the students discuss the negative influences films can have on
the perception of the mental illness. The source will help gather background information about
the way films should be viewed. The methods used in the article could be beneficial in my
analysis of films.
Hyler, Steven H. "Stigma Continues in Hollywood." Psychiatric Times 20.6 (2003): 33. Print.
This scholarly article is about the negative portrayal of mental disorders in Hollywood. In the
article, the author discusses how many people with mental disorder are portrayed as being
homicidal maniacs. In reality, most people with mental disorders are not violent at all.
Hollywood has created a stigma that causes people to fear mental disorders. The article will offer
my project background information as well as examples of the negative portrayals. The article
also talks about other types of mental disorders and which films do a poor job of portraying the
illness. The author mentions that with the negative portrayals, more serious consequences could

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Annotated Bibliography

arise. Since the disorders are portrayed as more extreme than they actually are, some people
might not realize that they have an illness. Another possible problem is a person with the
disorder could be afraid to seek help because they saw the way that the characters in films were
treated.