Civic Discourse Surrounding the Portrayal of Mental Illness in Film
Leana Bashar
This research paper examines the phenomenon of young men and women being easily influenced and misguided by mentally ill character portrayals in film, most notably on social media. Girl, Interrupted (1999) and Joker (2019) are discussed due to their cult-following as “unconventional” films. Research into social media and gender socialization contribute to this phenomenon as well.
Keywords: film, mental illness, social media, women, men, misinterpretation, socialization.
Leana is a junior majoring in Environmental Geoscience and minoring in Geography. This is her first time writing for a university publication and is incredibly proud of the work Aurantium is doing for the campus community. In addition to being the Chief Administrator of Aurantium, she is also an active member of SU's Philosophy Club!*
*All papers were selected through a double-blind process to allow team members to fairly apply.