Television scriptwriters and producers are usually considering a lot of issues when they sit down to work on a TV show. They might be reviewing scripts, adjusting lighting or sets, as well as working with cast and crew.
Just as important to throw into this mix is consideration of what they are trying to achieve with the finished episode. No doubt the goal is to entertain and inform, not to upset or stigmatise.
The Mindframe guidelines for stage and screen ask those who create television to consider whether they are perpetuating a stereotype when it comes to portrayals of mental illness.
The guidelines state 'A person with mental illness does not need to be evil, nor does the evil character need to have a mental illness. Consider using one or more characters to challenge negative and stereotypical attitudes expressed by another character.'
In recent months StigmaWatch has been working with Channel Ten who work on the programs The Living Room and The Shark Tank.
One episode of The Shark Tank featured a pitch from a business wanting to create a haunted house called 'Evil Corp Asylum'. The episode showed a person in a wheel chair with a scarred face, an object of fear, presumably a patient of the asylum.
An episode of The Living Room featured a designer calling the look of a particular room 'chronic schizophrenic', reassigning a real mental illness to mean ugly or disordered.
It's important to recognise that Channel Ten did not set out to stigmatise, in fact some of their staff have already undertaken training into the portrayal or reporting of mental illness, however these segments mentioned still made the final cut.
StigmaWatch worked with the television network to provide producers of these shows with resources to support them regarding portrayals and references to mental illness.
SANE also contacted the business featured in Shark Tank and urged the company to consider changing the name of it's attraction, should it ever be constructed. The company's directors assured SANE that it was aware of being responsible when portraying mental illness and was incorporating this into their business plan.
Television can have a powerful effect on the way we see mental illness or those with a lived experience of it. When portrayals are accurate, sensitive, engaging and responsible, the result can be great television without a hint of the stigma which impacts so many.
Visit the Mindframe website to see more on the guidelines for stage and screen.
