Fictional Representations of Mental Illness

@Lilaca There are so many adaptations of the Israeli original, American being one, 2 Sth American, Asian and many European versions. I will keep my open for one!

@Sophia1

Cosi looks worth while. Not seen it yet.

@SJT63

cheers

I appreciate it is for TV but wasn't anything like my experiences of being in public health wards. Being scheduled in hospital can be a deeply traumatic experience. It's not for me an experience that should be made light of or glamorised in any way. This show with well known comedians as characters does little to de stigmatise severe mental distress and can be triggering to watch. That's my opinion.

@AppleblossomApologies my confusion, which one are you referring to?

Fair comment @littlefish

@Lilaca

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Treatment

I am dreadfully nerdy

and like watching non American versions if they are the source, cos I think the Americans have had enough attention from me and probably most people and they owe me so I am vocal about it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BeTipul

Sorry I was referring to original post about Wakefield.

@Appleblossom I watched the first 4 episodes of Wakefield and didn’t like it very much the acting was ok but the way it portrayed a psychward was off to me as well as some of the portrayals of MI but that is just my opinion.

Hello @SJT63

I have to agree with both yourself and @Appleblossom and @Lilaca

prime and netflix are a waste of time.

Interesting at first to find some very old films.

No, I have not watched Sylvia, played by Gwyneth Paltrow.

I was confusing that with Lilian's story well worth watching.

Sophia

Here is a brief account of The play about a play Cosi based on the piece written by Mozart Cosi Fan Tutte

Cosi by Louis Nowra

Set in the remnants of a burnt-out theatre, and drawing upon the political and social context of the Vietnam War, Louis Nowra’s play Cosi challenges our perceptions about love, madness and politics.

Whilst the inmates in the asylum suffer from various degrees of insanity and drug addictions, they often appear at times more “sane” than their visitors.

The more the audience personalises the characters and the more we become aware of similarities between the inmates and the “normal” people, then the more we are encouraged to challenge the stereotypical perception of a “mad” person. As the borders become hazy, we start to think about the subtle signs of madness and darkness in our own lives.

Nowra uses humour, irony and cynicism to blur the boundaries and subvert the distinctions between madness and sanity:

• The differences among the inmates shows that it is difficult to stereotype the patients.
• Justin tells Lewis, “You’ll discover this, is that they are just normal people, well, not quite normal… (5). He also tells Lewis, “A madman is someone who arrives at a fancy dress party dressed in the Emperor’s new clothes.” (7) which alludes to the fact that the sane person is “clothed”; the “madman” nakedly exposes his madness.
• Lewis becomes a bridge between the two worlds and his commitment and attachment to the insane reveal his growing awareness of their problems and often their similarities
• The role reversal between Roy and Lewis and similarities between Roy and Nick shed light on the superficial distinctions.

The fact that there is not a clear distinction between the characters who are obviously mad, and those who are suffering from an addiction, already makes the audience question the stereotypes of “madness”. Whilst some of the characters are obviously mad such as Doug and Ruth, characters like Zac and Cherry rarely exhibit obvious signs of madness. Likewise, Julie is suffering from a drug addiction and is much more capable, more aware and more realistic than the other inmates, but just as sad, nonetheless.

Thanks for the rundown of Cosi @Sophia1 I will jkeep my eye open for a new production ...

@Eden1919

@littlefish @Lilaca @SJT63

Thank you for the discussion. Your individual opinions matter. I have finished the series for completion sake. It was alright. Not a total waste, but I protected my heart. For those with little experience of MI maybe?? it opens some issues and is good for the conversation, but for those of us with too much experience, maybe we prefer other entertainment ....

Cheers