An Analysis Of Media Portrayal Of The Mentally Ill

Introduction
After a mass shooting, America, in a state of loss, looks for the cause of the sudden and violent event. The mentally ill are repeatedly blamed, despite the fact that there is little correlation between violence and mental illness. The incorrect placing of blame distracts from finding the actual source of the problem and a justified solution. In the past few decades, there have been many widely publicized mass shootings in which the shooters were mentally ill, such as the Virginia Tech shooting in Blacksburg, Virginia and the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. These few detailed examples of violence by the mentally ill give an impression that these are common occurrences, but they are not. America’s tendency to blame the mentally ill for mass shootings is likely due to the media’s portrayal of the mentally ill and the stigma surrounding mental illness.
Media Portrayal of the Mentally Ill In recent years, the

Television dramas use appearances, sounds, reactions from other characters, camera shots, and contrasting lighting to signify danger and accentuate the difference between characters who are mentally ill and those who are not (7). These television dramas are popular in America. Among 53 students who said television was their main source of information about mental illness, daytime soap operas were in the top three most watched television content (8). Children’s shows also negatively portray the mentally ill, depicting them as violent or as criminals. A review in 2003 of children’s media showed that the common images of mental illness directed towards children are similar to what is shown in adult media (7). This means that children are developing stigma from an early age, due to the negative portrayals of the mentally ill that they see frequently. The media exacerbates the already detrimental negative attitudes toward the mentally