Mainstream media today: the contemporary challenge in rebranding modern psychiatry.

Abstract

While the issue of stigmatisation of psychiatry and psychiatrists is one that requires attention today, the demonisation of psychiatrists in fiction is an unashamedly historical piece.1 Novels and comics discussed by Hopson were published in 1868, 1923, 1946, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1971, 1976, 1988, 1995, 1996, 2001 and 2008. Many describe a bygone era for society and for psychiatry. In addition, while they may make powerful reading, many have gained comparatively few readers; while the name Hannibal Lecter has reached the mainstream, only an elite group of literature aficionados might be influenced by Jacqueline Roy’s The Fat Lady Sings. I would like to point the reader towards mainstream Hollywood thriller Side Effects, released in 2013. There the hero is a psychiatrist played by Jude Law, who struggles against unjust persecution and eventually triumphs; one could scarcely wish for a more handsome, famous or successful actor to represent their profession. Total box office gross takings topped 63 million USD – so we can assume that millions of cinema-goers paid to enjoy (and be influenced by) this film – and the movie was equally popular with critics. What about the Channel 4 Goes Mad season in 2012 – supported by Mind and the Time to Change campaign? Or the recent blanket coverage, virtually all sympathetic, of the mental illness suffered by Robin Williams before his suicide? While media-driven stigmatisation of psychiatry continues to challenge patients and psychiatrists, engagement with the populist, mainstream, contemporary media is essential. It may not be the same media enjoyed by highly educated, erudite psychiatrists, but mainstream media is a powerful force which influences vast numbers of people from all walks of life. To harness its power, we first need to tune in. Then we need to participate because if we do not, the cultural conversation will continue without our voices being heard.