Psyc in Literature: The Blog

Charlie Brown seems as though he might be showing signs of depression. He frequently feels discouraged and is always picked on by Lucy.

The Peanuts comic strip was produced by Charles Shultz in order to entertain people reading the newspaper. In the daily comic strips, Charlie Brown is frequently picked on by Lucy, his ideas are shut down, and consequently he feels discouraged or unhappy. Linus is also made fun of for carrying his blanket everywhere. “Why do you always carry that stupid blanket?!” Lucy often screams at Linus.

Stigmas are created. Charlie Brown’s “depression” becomes a fact of life, something everyone has to deal with. The depression and constant name-calling is turned into a part of growing up. Furthermore, when Lucy plays the part of a psychologist, she is unhelpful, which creates a stigma for those real-life doctors who are actually trying to help mental health patients. Hopefully, readers will see that this is only a comic strip, and they will realize that getting endlessly bullied to the point where depression sets in is not normal. Stigmas can have lasting effects, however, and some readers might just assume that “this is how it is.”

There is an entire article on “Vincent van Gogh’s Medical Condition.” This article focuses primarily on Van Gogh’s poor mental state. Among many physical disorders, the article also states that Van Gogh had both bipolar disorder and epilepsy. (I’m not entirely sure iff epilepsy is considered a mental disorder)

This article has been produced by common Wikipedia editors like myself in order to inform readers. The article is written as an encyclopedia article, so there is very little stigmatizing. The article says that the bipolar disorder diagnosis ”fits well with the well documented periods of intense activity interspersed with periods of exhaustion and possible depression.” There is no sort of propaganda in the article.

On another note, the song “Vincent” by Don McLean creates a strong stigma supporting Van Gogh’s talent, despite the disibilaties the painter had to overcome. Mclean wrote the song all about Van Gogh and his works. Praise is given in the song for many of Van Gogh’s paintings. The song was produced for Don McLean as a form of personal expression. Stigmas are created that actually praise the works of Van Gogh, noting how beautiful the paintings are that came from Van Gogh’s positive periods of bipolar disorder. The lyrics “The world was never meant for one as beautiful as you” certainly suggest how wonderful Van Gogh was as a painter. This stigma and similar references praising Van Gogh’s works throught the song are likely to have a positive effect on the listener. People who hear this song will hopefully realize that something positive and beautiful can come out of a mental disorder, despite the obvious negative aspects.

Yeah, my first blogpost ever was on Stranger than Fiction. But it fits well here, too. The trailer to the movie is found here, for those of you who haven’t seen this great movie….

Harold Crick hears voices-someone narrating his life. He begins to worry about the voices, and seeks help from a psychologist. The psychologist tells Harold that he has schizophrenia since she has never heard of someone with a narrator telling a patient about his life, but Harold is convinced that he does not have schizophrenia, and that this something else.

Though this movie has been also been produced by Sony Pictures for entertainment, it takes a more serious approach than the last Media Analysis topic did. This movie scene, however, does dismiss the idea of psychologists. Harold is convinced that the psychologist in the movie is wrong, and so are the movie viewers. “It’s not schizophrenia,” Harold repeats throughout his visit to the psychologists’ office.

I don’t think this movie stigmatizes mental disorders much at all. Though it does make psychologists seem a bit less credible, no jokes are made directly attacking those affected by schizophrenia or any other mental disorder. This movie scene will probably not have too much of an effect on its audience because there are no stigmatizing references. If it has any effect at all, it will cause viewers to be less trusting of their psychologists.

Media Analysis #1: The Away Message