Student filmmakers' attitudes towards mental illness and its cinematic representation - an evaluation of a training intervention for film students

Paper accepted (with revisions) for The Journal of Mental Health. A teaching intervention for second year film students designed to dispel myths around mental health. A questionnaire studied attitudes and knowledge that was filled out before and after the teaching session.

The session was designed to dispel the myths behind mental illness and to challenge the acceptability of incorrect representations. This was delivered as a one hour teaching session for second and third year film technology students. This included factual information about mental health problems, film excerpts and debate.

Knowledge changed significantly but attitudes changed less significantly. In the open answer questions it was found that students put financial success above correct representations and were willing to worsen stigma if it would give them a ‘successful film’.

This work ties in closely with my interest in the representations and communications of experience outside of specific knowledge sets or forms.

In collaboration with Warwick and Cambridge University.

Authors-

Dr Jennifer Dale (Birmingham University)
Dr Felicity Richards
Prof. George Tadros (Staffordshire University / Warwick University)
Rafik Salama (Cambridge University)