Research paper regarding horror & communication. Just need help completing the "Findings" section of this paper ONLY. The film Shutter Island & television series, American Horror Story: Asylum is what the paper is about. My research question is how horror genres glorify and stigmatize mental illness which then creates stereotypes in a society against those with mental illness. Attached is the foundation of my paper. I have categorized the Finding section into 3 categories: mentally ill as violent or unpredictable, mental institutions shown as evil places for the criminally insane, and physical/mental disabilities represented as "Monstrous beings" in society.
Each category should include the following outline: intro/background, at least 2 examples (this can be any scenes/direct quotes), supporting evidence, apply theory, and how it relates back to my research question.
My theoretical framework - Social learning theory & cultivation theory
Briana Castro COMM 490 Research Paper Proposal October 5th, 2020 Introduction: In the early 20th century, individuals labeled with a disability whether it was intellect, deformities, or sexual repression, were subjected to being institutionalized and feared by society. Author, William Everson describes “monsters” as “misunderstood victims of social complexity” who are "usually two-thirds human” (23). Asylums also known as mental hospitals, were viewed as acceptable places to imprison not only those with severe health issues, but also utilize them for disabled people. Patients sent to asylums were perceived by society as frightening, filled with madness, or “freakish" beings in the loony bin. There’s a common theme in horror films and television shows of misrepresentation of these individuals in mental hospitals as “monsters”. In particular, the film Shutter Island and the popular television series American Horror Story: Asylum provide valuable insight into the mistreatment of these patients that took place during the 1950’s through 1960’s. Using rhetorical analysis as my research method, I will examine Shutter Island and American Horror Story: Asylum to determine how negative misrepresentation of mental illnesses and physical disability in media can alter the perspectives and perceptions in a society to be fearful of these so-called real world “monsters”. I will then examine how the stigma to fear disability has evolved over time. The significance of this research topic holds great prominence in the horror genre because even though it does provide accurate representations of abuse towards patients being treated inside asylums during this time period, it continues to teach society to fear mentally ill/disabled individuals regardless of their diagnosis. People with mental illnesses are characterized by flawed representations which are not realistically accepted by society. With these flaws, their normally perceived as individuals who are unable to help themselves. As a result, others see them as a need to be “saved” and/or “cured. In comparison, the differences between people with disabilities and people without disabilities are seen significantly. Therefore, the goal of this rhetorical analysis is to expose the common stereotypes put forth in horror genre that still impact our views on fearing those who are mentally or physically disabled. This research can also educate and help viewers realize how inaccurate and demeaning the portrayals are. Furthermore, my thesis will analyze a horror series, American Horror Story: Asylum and thriller film Shutter Island that have multiple characters presented that depict three most common stereotypes of mental illness that remain prevalent even in today’s society: mentally ill as unpredictable or violent, mental institutions as evil places, and physical abnormalities represented as "crazy” and “monstrous”. The characters are analyzed to discover if the movie is being compassionate or stigmatizing towards individuals that realistically suffer from any mental or physical conditions. According to author Wahl, he states, “a common complaint of mental health advocates about mass media is that psychiatric labels are often used incorrectly and serve to misinform and confuse viewers and reads” (Wahl, p. 14). It’s important to highlight that films or any media outlets have the ability to easily persuade society regarding negative stereotypes that can lead to implicit biases in how to treat and support people with mental illnesses. In the end, I provide some suggestions that can help the audience receive a better understanding of mental illness and ways to reduce stigmas in everyday life. Literature Review: From the beginning of the 20th century, society’s interaction with mental disabilities within horror media has evolved. People with disabilities (PWD) are normally depicted as monstrous beings due to the reinforcement of negative stereotypes and consuming inaccurate knowledge of mental health issues. Individuals diagnosed with mental illnesses are excluded and often labeled away from society’s normalcy. In this literature review, this chapter incorporates two essential parts: 1) how mental illness is depicted in the media; and 2) how viewers might be affected by how the media represent individuals who are mentally sick. Content examinations and meta-investigations surveying how the media represent mental illness will be talked about at first. Thus, this section will close with a review of a few studies that have endeavored to measure viewer's perspectives or evaluate the effect depictions of mental sickness can have on viewer attitudes. A man who has schizophrenia goes on a shooting binge in Times Square and later wounds a pregnant doctor in the stomach. These are the initial scenes from Wonderland, a dramatization set in the mental and trauma center units of a New York City medical clinic (Svensson, 2019). Premiering in 2000, Wonderland was immediately dropped in light of lessening evaluations and heavy criticism from mental health gatherings (however, it was brought back in January 2009). The series depicted a depressing life for individuals with mental sickness, and gatherings like the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) condemned its subject of sadness. However, pictures of people with mental illness are not generally so in your face. Subtle stereotypes pervade the news consistently. A few days ago, a local news program in Central Florida provided details regarding a lady setting her child's dog on fire (Tan, Wignell, & O’Halloran, 2016). The journalist finished the section by expressing that the lady had been depressed as of late. Regardless of whether it is a realistic portrayal of a suggesting comment, the media regularly paint a bleak and incorrect picture. Also, these photos can impact people in general. The examination has demonstrated that numerous individuals get their data about mental illness from the mass media (Holladay, 2017). What they do see can color their point of view, driving them to fear, avoid, and victimize people with mental illness. These myths do not only harm public perceptions; they additionally influence individuals with mental illness (Holladay, 2017). The dread of shame can keep people from looking for treatment. One investigation found that laborers would prefer to state they committed negligible wrongdoing and invested energy in prison than reveal that they remained at a mental clinic. Nonetheless, members who saw the film on schizophrenia did not have an expansion in a plan to associate with individuals who have schizophrenia. In any case, this investigation demonstrated that a narrative about schizophrenia created more kind attributions about individuals with schizophrenia. The research found that mental illness was habitually connected to vicious conduct in the media. The second most common subject related to mental wellness issues was thoughtful inclusion, with the third most regular being depicted as a hurtful to oneself. Crowd recognition changed on the issues. The examination found that some depended vigorously on TV and media for their data on individuals with mental illness issues. These individuals were bound to accept that mental wellness issues were related to brutal conduct. Those less inclined to depend on TV and media as their essential source of data for psychological instability were generally those that had encountered direct mental illness. Shockingly, an opposite impact happened with a couple in the crowd test utilizing the media depiction as a source of data even though they had worked intimately with individuals with mental health issues or experienced mental health issues themselves (Tan, Wignell, & O’Halloran, 2016). A few patterns can be seen from investigating material in this subject matter. The depiction of mental illness, including schizophrenia, has been discovered to be generally negative, and the most widely recognized generalization found among researchers is scary and capricious (Svensson, 2019). Essentially every insightful article looked into for this investigation expressed that the media have been discovered to be the public's principle of data on mental illness. Accordingly, while thinking about how the media's depiction of mental illness affects and influences the perspectives of viewers, researchers appear to concur on a specific something: the connection between the portrayal of mental illness in the media and the effect these depictions have on viewers is perplexing. Researchers appear to concur that while the media might be adding to the formation and fortifications of stereotypes, individuals' perspectives toward mental illness are not exclusively shaped based on what is expended in the media. Likewise, deserving of noticing, individuals who had direct involvement in mental illness appeared to be to depend less on the media for data on mental illness. Not many of these examinations were grounded in a group of hypotheses. Tan, Wignell, and O’Halloran (2016) quickly referenced development investigation in their study; however, the assortment of theory utilized for the study was third-individual impact. Development investigation accepts that the more one perspectives TV content, the almost certain individuals get what they see as the real world. Third-individual impact expects that individuals get that while they are not enormously influenced by media utilization, others are. Since the more significant part of the examinations was worried about how the substance may affect watcher perspectives, the utilization of the social cognitive hypothesis would have been suitable for the vast majority of the investigations examined in this audit (Holladay, 2017). Many of the authors audited in this section recommended that contrary to pictures of mental illness in the media can prompt individuals to be wrongly instructed regarding the matter. Thus, viewers may accept what they are watching. In the broadest terms, the social cognitive hypothesis assumes that individuals learn by watching. Theoretical Framework: Over the course of my analysis, stigmatization of mental illness appears abundant in my horror media selection. According to the Canadian sociologist Erving Goffman, the term ‘stigma’ describes the ‘situation of the individual who is disqualified from full social acceptance’ (Goffman, 1963). In his work, Goffman presented the fundamentals of stigma as a social theory, including his interpretation of “stigma” as a means of spoiling identity. Popular media outlets such as film and television influence sociological thinking by showing society how images can be manipulated for entertainment in order to maintain or create stereotypes. Media outlets are believed to play a major role in contributing to mental illness stigma via the images they portray of characters with mental illness as well as the misinformation communicated, inaccurate use of psychiatric terms, and unfavorable stereotypes of people with mental illness (Wahl 1995). Because of negative depictions of the characters to the public, it helps reinforce this negative perception and mistaken beliefs that many individuals believe are still true today. Therefore, by illustrating the patterns of common stereotypes of mentally individuals in my horror media selection, I apply how the social learning theory supports the construction and perpetuation of mental illness stigma. First, the social learning theory suggests that learning is achieved not only through direct experience but also through observation. People acquire knowledge about behaviors as well as social conventions such as rules of conduct from television. Television teaches or reinforces social conventions about how to treat persons with psychiatric disorders (Bandura, 1992). By applying the social learning theory to mental illness stigma, we can acknowledge how cinematic stereotypes can be harmful and influence a society. Therefore, these common tropes portrayed can showcase how audiences view reality and can prevent people with mental illnesses to effectively thrive in society