PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: PALEYFEST NY: PALEYIMPACT: MEDIA RX {MEDIARX}: BREAKING DOWN STEREOTYPES OF MENTAL ILLNESS ON TELEVISION {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of events and special screenings presented as part of The Paley Center for Media's Paley Impact events, in association with PaleyFest New York 2016. This morning's panel focuses on the depiction of mental illness and its treatment on television. Host Diane Lewis (executive vice-president of programming, The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks and introduces Julie Menin (commissioner, The Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment). Menin describes the work done by her office, which is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary, highlighting the creation of Thrive NYC, a comprehensive mental health plan for the city.
Lewis introduces a series of clips highlighting the evolution of mental-health depictions on television, including "Playhouse 90: Journey to the Day" (1960), "The Psychiatrist" (1971), "Hallmark Hall of Fame: Lisa, Bright and Dark" (1973), "Sybil" (1976), the final episode of "M*A*S*H" (1983), "Hallmark Hall of Fame: Promise" (1986), the series premiere of "The Sopranos" (1999), "E.R." (2001), "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (2011), "Orange is the New Black" (2013), "Homeland" (2013), "Empire" (2015), "You're the Worst" (2015), "Mr. Robot" (2015), "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" (2015), "Lady Dynamite" (2016), and "The Half Hour: Aparna Nancherla" (2016).
After the clips, Matt Zoller Seitz (TV critic, New York magazine; co-author, "TV: The Book") moderates the following panelists. Dr. Gary Belkin (Executive Deputy Commissioner, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene), Aparna Nancherla (comedian/writer), Warren Leight (writer/showrunner, "Law & Order: SVU," "In Treatment" and others) and Gloria Reuben (actor/singer/producer, Jeanie Boulet on "E.R." and currently Dr. Krista Gordon on "Mr. Robot").
The panelists touch on such topics as: the "usual suspects" of harmful stereotypes on TV, such as the frequent depiction of mentally ill individuals as dangerous and violent; why there is "no single correct narrative" of mental illness; maintaining accurate statistics in reflecting diversity; Reuben's groundbreaking role as an HIV-positive character on "E.R."; how New York City "perpetuates isolation," as demonstrated by "Mr. Robot" protagonist Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek); the portrayal of therapy on television as an "indulgence" only for the wealthy; the stigma of mental illness as something to be kept "secret"; why patients on "The Bob Newhart Show" made "no progress" with Dr. Robert Hartley (Newhart); Reuben's views of her character's surprising decision to continue working with Elliot after he invades her personal life; Malek's 2016 Emmy acceptance speech, in which he acknowledged "all the Elliots out there"; viewers of "In Treatment" and "SVU" disclosing their personal traumas to Leight; the portrayal of therapy as "the search for the cathartic moment"; why characters on the period piece "Mad Men" viewed therapy as a sign of "weakness" and a way of quickly "fixing" a person's problems; Nancherla's search for a television character whose neuroses were not mere "lovable" quirks; Reuben's desire to find the "fundamental humanity" of Dr. Gordon; Leight's insistence upon using real psychiatrists as advisors upon joining "In Treatment" and the challenge of getting into the therapist characters' heads; scenes in which protagonist Dr. Paul Weston (Gabriel Byrne) conversed with his own shrink, Gina (Dianne Wiest); why mental illness and treatment is met with particular denial and shame in certain ethnic communities; journalist Angelica Jade Bastién's article about the lack of women of color as patients; the importance of "taking risks" to diversify the writers' room in order to create more authentic stories; Leight's fight with an "SVU" writer over an episode dealing with consensual sex in a mental hospital; and Nancherla's depression-themed podcast "Blue Woman Group" and the intimate qualities of the medium.
Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics, among others: how "stigma fills the vacuum of good solutions" and the importance of self-care; overly negative portrayals of electroconvulsive therapy; the need to show more "macho guys" acknowledging their emotional trauma and seeking help, including troubled Detective Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni) on "SVU"; the intimidating prospect of opening oneself up to a stranger and why actors too are nervous about intimate therapy scenes, with reference to "SVU's" Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and her doctor Peter Lindstrom (Bill Irwin); the need for large-scale changes in the societal perceptions of mental health as well as illness; whether comedic shows like "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" and "Orange" portray mental illness in a respectful manner; and the depiction of prisons as unintentional mental institutions.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: November 30, 1999 8:00 AM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:21:53
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 127522
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Diane Lewis … Host
- Matt Zoller Seitz … Moderator
- Gary Belkin … Panelist
- Aparna Nancherla … Panelist
- Warren Leight … Panelist
- Gloria Reuben … Panelist
- Julie Menin … Guest
- Angelica Jade Bastién
- Gabriel Byrne
- Mariska Hargitay
- Bill Irwin
- Rami Malek
- Christopher Meloni (see also: Chris Meloni)
- Bob Newhart
- Dianne Wiest