TY - JOUR
T1 - Media, madness and misrepresentation
T2 - Critical reflections on anti-stigma discourse
AU - Harper, Stephen
PY - 2005/12/1
Y1 - 2005/12/1
N2 - In the last 10 years, media studies have started to address the problem of the stigmatization of mental illness in the media. This article argues that while much of this work has been invaluable in identifying unsatisfactory media representations of madness, it also contains certain argumentational and theoretical weaknesses. Anti-stigma discourse, it is claimed, tends to homogenize the texts it examines and can even contribute to the stigmatization of popular culture. It is also overreliant on an individualistic definition of violence and on notions of representational 'accuracy' and verisimilitude, while inadvertently misrepresenting the statistics about mental illness and violence. While it argues for the vital importance of anti-stigma research and criticism, the article recommends that critics pay more attention to the exigencies of particular media forms, and to the social and political functions, as well as the 'accuracy', of media images of madness.
AB - In the last 10 years, media studies have started to address the problem of the stigmatization of mental illness in the media. This article argues that while much of this work has been invaluable in identifying unsatisfactory media representations of madness, it also contains certain argumentational and theoretical weaknesses. Anti-stigma discourse, it is claimed, tends to homogenize the texts it examines and can even contribute to the stigmatization of popular culture. It is also overreliant on an individualistic definition of violence and on notions of representational 'accuracy' and verisimilitude, while inadvertently misrepresenting the statistics about mental illness and violence. While it argues for the vital importance of anti-stigma research and criticism, the article recommends that critics pay more attention to the exigencies of particular media forms, and to the social and political functions, as well as the 'accuracy', of media images of madness.
KW - Media studies
KW - Mental illness
KW - Representation
KW - Stigmatization
KW - Violence
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=29144448825&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0267323105058252
DO - 10.1177/0267323105058252
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:29144448825
SN - 0267-3231
VL - 20
SP - 460
EP - 483
JO - European Journal of Communication
JF - European Journal of Communication
IS - 4
ER -