Mental illness is an invisible disability. It’s not tangible; it’s not something you can see. How then would you portray something invisible on screen? What happens when films attempt to portray these types of identities?

Mental illness tends to be underrepresented, misrepresented, and villainized in films. In, A Visual Culture of Stigma, Jennifer Eisenhauer, describes how western culture has a history of wanting to visualize mental illness, reflecting the quote, “desire to control mental illness and protect the boundaries of a presumed normality.” There is a larger cultural anxiety of not being able to identify a person with mental illness, which “feeds the desire to visualize madness,” that is reflected in art as well as other fields. Eisenhauer also cites a historian Sander Gilman, who states that, “society which defines itself as sane must be able to localize and confine the mad, if only visually, in order to create a separation between the sane and insane.” The emphasis on visual confinement implies a desire to establish a clear distinction between what is considered sane and insane within the community. The act of isolating individuals with mental health issues visually, perhaps through institutionalization or other means, is seen as a method to maintain a perceived sense of order and separation between the two categories of sanity and insanity. This reflects a societal tendency often seen in films and other media to establish boundaries and distinctions in order to uphold a collective understanding of what is considered normal or acceptable behavior. This tendency has risen post World War 2, as interest in psychiatry and mental illness emerged, leading to films exploring therapy and psychiatric institutions in a way that portrays mental illness as violent and incurable.

Modern Films:
Many contemporary films explore the theme of mental illness, often depicting the tension between societal norms and the experiences of those who may be labeled as “mad” or mentally ill. Characters grappling with mental health challenges are frequently shown navigating a world that seeks to define and confine them. However, there is a major obstacle that prevents movies from accurately portraying mental illnesses and fully illustrating the whole illness as it is in reality. Besides the fact that portraying something you can’t see and that is occurring in one’s mind is very difficult, there is also simply not enough time. A structure like a TV series has much more time to develop a character and the timeline of their mental illness, whereas the short format and limitations of film can make it difficult to fully show all aspects of a character’s mental health. This is one of the primary reasons why there is such a huge scarcity of accurate and yet appealing films about mental illnesses in the media.
Despite these challenges, one film that I believe does a good job at depicting mental illnesses is Girl Interrupted, a film about a girl with borderline personality disorder spending time in a psychiatric hospital after attempting suicide. This film, which is set in a psychiatric hospital, feels the need to describe the disorder and psychiatric history of every character. The film goes through every character’s diagnosis, and as it is set in a psychiatric setting, it feels fitting to delve deep into each character’s mental history and the complex effect that it has on them.

Ultimately, the challenge of accurately representing mental illnesses in films stems from several factors, primarily the limitations of time and the potential conflict with the main plot of the film when the setting is not explicitly mental health oriented. Despite these challenges, some filmmakers have successfully navigated these issues by incorporating mental health themes into the fabric of their narratives. They often do so by skillfully weaving these elements into the character development, allowing the audience to empathize with the struggles without diverting too much from the main storyline. When done well, such films contribute to a more nuanced and empathetic understanding of mental health issues, even within the constraints of traditional cinematic structures. However, this remains a continuous challenge that filmmakers must grapple with to ensure responsible and accurate portrayals of mental health in the medium of film, since, as stated by Anne Waldschmidt, “If you want to make a film that is about disability, then every aspect of the story has to do with disability.”.