Once again the blogosphere is abuzz with a mental health stigma perpetuation scandal I just can't stand behind. My smorgasbord of symptoms is as active right now as IT (whatever it is) has been in a while (Dark Chocolate is moving out and we are most likely getting divorced, primarily due to IT.) One might think I'd be in the kind of hypersensitive mode that would leave me willing to in-group it up and tag recent iCarly episode "iLost my Mind" as an example of the American societal shortcomings which have made my illness that much more painful over the years.
Not so.
Yes, I know those who protest this broadcast and the network behind it are parents who are tired of fighting their childrens' demons alone. Yes, I did watch the episode. Yes, I did think it was fairly lacking in artistic substance (all television shows with laugh tracks are leaning strongly that way.) Yes, I found the "Friends Don't Kill Freinds" sign in the day room background, the lack of security on the ward, and the dirty walls to be silly and unrealistic. And no, as I stated in my previous "Art" post, I do not think any of this means we can hop, skip, jump ahead to demanding the world at large ensure material like this never sees the light. Television shows aren't the problem anyway. It is such a disappointing waste of energy to act as if they are, especially when those doing so have access to a wider stage upon which, perhaps, true change could be wrought.
Please don't try to tell me that this is not okay because it would not be okay to make light of cancer or race or [insert minutiae of human condition here.] It is okay to make light of these things too! There are so many examples (Google shall serve) of well-respected comedic institutions who do so. Scrubs comes to mind. It is okay to make light of pain, death, and suffering. Think Six Feet Under. If we do, that does not make us cold or disrespectful. We still have to feel the pain; we still have to live the life. Humor is a sometimes thing --- sometimes it makes us feel better, sometimes it triggers our need to let out pent-up emotion (i.e. long-toiling parents who are rightly fed up with the system), sometimes it helps to shine a light on an issue that may just be too icky to tackle straight on. Think of one of my heroes, Stephen Colbert.
None of the people involved in the production of this show likely intended to make a statement about mental illness, and the fact that the need to do so skillfully didn't occur to them even as the subject matter played out is a bit of a concern. It is indeed strange that this is 2011 and most of the people I meet can't even talk about depression comfortably. I read somewhere that an estimated 33% of Americans are experiencing a clinical level of depression right now, and we still can't talk about it. Depression being the garter snake of mental maladies, if we as a society can't face it, how the hell are we going to talk about psychosis and self-mutilation and police brutality against the mentally ill? We're not. That, I think, is what this uproar is really about.
There are ways we as the mentally ill and the caretakers of the mentally ill can approach the mainstream public in the hopes of increasing awareness and support. One parent suggested creating a public service announcement to be attached to the end of this type of show, where the actors sit around staring awkwardly at the camera and say, "In all seriousness, guys..." before providing some beginning resources for those who need help. Great idea. Political involvement is key, since the functionality of our government on both sides is all about following the money, lobbyists = money, and concerned citizens x + flashy yet peaceful protests y may be greater than greater than or equal to a real mental health lobby in this country, factoring out random chance.
The way not to do this is to put our hackles up, write borderline sarcastic and yet still politically correct missives to television producers (as if their interest is anything other than image), and scream out to all the confused masses in the dark night, "YOU ARE OUTSIDERS WHO WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND!!!" Unless we want the world to stay the way it is.
