Essay Example on Media Representation of Mental Illness: A 21st Century Challenge

Introduction

Media plays an important role in the shaping of opinions of individuals and groups. As such, media has been used to portray various societal issues throughout history. In the same stride, mental problems, a major health challenge in the 21st century, are being increasingly represented in the media. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in every four people in the world suffers from some form of mental illness (WHO, 2019). This translates to about 450 million people, making mental disorders one of the primary causes of disability and ill-health globally (WHO, 2019). Owing to the rising prominence of the problem, its representation in media has drastically risen in the recent past. For instance, The Grinch, a 2018 animated film portrays some of the mental disorders such as depression and antisocial personality disorder. In this light, this paper seeks to examine the film, particularly the character of Grinch, through a psychological lens.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The film was directed by Scott Mosier and Yarrow Cheney and was based on Dr Seuss holiday classic (Cheney et al., 2018). The film follows the life of cynical grump committed to stealing Christmas. He lives alone in a cave located in Mt. Crumpet, and his loyal dog named Max is the only company he has. He only goes to the town of Whoville below to get food supplies. His antisocial behavior becomes apparent during these errands. He trips people, crushes their snowmen, and cheats in games. As is tradition, the people in the town mark Christmas with big, bright, and loud celebrations, which Grinch sees as a disruption to his tranquil solitude(Cheney et al., 2018). Therefore, when it is declared that the year's celebrations would be three times bigger, Grinch decides to steal it. To achieve his mission, he plans to impersonate Santa and steal presents given in the town. Fortunately, a generous young girl changes his heart and he joins in the Christmas spirit. Cindy Lou Who, eager to get her Christmas wish plans to trap Santa. Lou has a special wish that she wants to present personally to Santa. In a twist that touches the hearts of the viewers and Grinch, her special wish is for her exhausted mother (Cheney et al., 2018). Her kindness, as well as that of her family, melts Grinch's heart and Christmas is salvaged. He is greatly surprised that despite stealing their gifts and decorations, the people of Whoville were still committed to celebrating Christmas. Superficially, the funny and visually stunning film seems to be just talking of the spirit of Christmas, as well as the immense power of optimism. For instance, though Grinch steals presents and decorations from the town, he does not steal Christmas (Cheney et al., 2018). He comes to learn that Christmas is bigger than presents and decorations. However, a deep look into the film reveals several connections to mental health.

Psychoanalysis of the Grinch

Dr Seuss, the creator of the character of Grinch, was an intuitive psychologist. Psychoanalysis of Grinch, therefore, can help identify the various themes that he sought to propagate. Even to the youngest viewer, Grinch comes across as a sad and sadistic character. One, therefore, is left wondering what kind of events would have made his heart so cold and banished him to the lonely mountain top. In the course of the film, the viewer learns that Grinch grew up unloved and lonely in an orphanage (Cheney et al., 2018). Christmas was not celebrated in the orphanage, which might explain his dislike for the event. His behavior, and subsequent change, can be explained using Freud's psychoanalytic theory (Zhengzhong, 2017). In psychoanalysis, the mind is taken to be a depiction of conflicting forces, such as the unconscious and conscious state of mind. The unconscious mind, according to Freud, is the major source of human behavior. It influences one's decisions, motives, and feelings. Freud also held that interactions of various mental structures in the unconscious state make up one's personality. The different elements of unconscious personality include ego, superego, and id (McLeod, 2016). The id is made up of one's needs, their instincts, as well as repressed material. To relieve tension in this state, one needs immediate gratification. Superego serves as the moral conscience while the ego operates as the realistic part and reconciles the conflicting desires of the superego and id (McLeod, 2016).

At the start of the film, id is the dominant personality exhibited by Grinch. Owing to the trauma from his past, the excitement caused by the approaching Christmas caused tension, and he sought a way of reducing it. Looking at his decision to steal Christmas, it appears as if his ego was not carrying out the function of mediating the desires of the id and superego. His decision is also morally wrong, and hence it can be assumed that his superego was nonexistent. His id, therefore, determines his behaviors. He has a great hatred for Christmas, which fuels his desire to stop it (Cheney et al., 2018).

However, Cindy Loo is presented as the superego figure, which helps Grinch attain a more balanced state. Resultantly, his decisions and actions are seen to be more controlled by his ego. For example, he saved Cindy when she was about to fall off Mount Crumpet. He also returned the gifts he had stolen and even took part in the Christmas celebrations (Cheney et al., 2018). Looking at this transformation, it can be concluded that Grinch became conscious of his unconscious intentions and became more aware of his desire for destruction. This realization transformed him. Besides, a growth in his ego and superego was responsible for the change in his desires. The change can also be attributed to the fact that Grinch had finally found a sense of belongingness in the town. To this end, studies have shown that social isolation and loneliness leads to a reduced response to activities that make other people happy. The lack of connection to the people of Whoville, therefore, contributed to Grinch's sadistic behavior. Dr. Seuss probably used the encounter with the Whos to show that people suffering from loneliness can be redeemed. Other Freudian concepts present in the film include death instincts, projection, and oral aggressive (Zhengzhong, 2017). The burning desire to destroy the town's Christmas can be taken to be Grinch's unconscious desire for death. He also projected his misery and disappointment onto the Whos.

Mental Disorders

As mentioned earlier, Grinch exhibits symptoms of various mental disorders, chief among them depression and antisocial personality disorder. A mental disorder or illness refers to a condition that leads to changes in thinking, emotion, and behavior (Cockerham, 2016). The conditions significantly affect one's quality of life, as well as their relationship with others. Studies have shown that various environmental, genetic, and lifestyle factors cause mental disorders. In some instances, the conditions are caused by a combination of these factors (Riva, 2018). Stressful situations and traumatic life events make one more susceptible to mental illnesses. In this light, Grinch's childhood trauma can be said to have contributed to his mental condition. Childhood trauma refers to an event or series of events that children experience, and are usually emotionally or physically harmful (Copeland et al., 2018). Children are particularly susceptible to trauma since their brains are still developing. Psychology assumes that children are born with an entirely open mind, a concept known as tabula rasa(Meier, 2019). The child's experiences and upbringing, therefore, contributes to the formation of their beliefs and attitudes. As such, when exposed to traumatic events such as neglect or abuse, their brains remain in a state of stress, a factor that alters their cognitive and emotional functioning. As the child grows, the traumatic experiences can affect their behavior, mental health, as well as emotional development (Meier, 2019).

The film gives flashbacks of Grinch's parentless childhood. He is shown longingly observing other children have family fun during holidays (Cheney et al., 2018). Still, under the concept of tabula rasa, it is believed that early attachments play a significant role in one's relational programming. Children are also wired to need safety and love from others. Due to the void of security and love that Grinch's childhood created, loneliness and depression became a part of his life, even as a grown-up. As one grows, the needs for safety and love extends to one's peers and community. There is no evidence that Grinch found this either (Cheney et al., 2018). Hence, his isolated life, disdain for holidays, and hatred for Christmas can be understood. Interestingly, it has been shown that the holiday season triggers various forms of mental illnesses. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), mental illnesses get worse during holidays in 64% of the people (NAMI, 2014). This is caused by loneliness, high expectations and stress. The holidays are always associated with joy and happiness. A contrast between the sadness that one feels inside and the joy of those around them worsens mental disorders. Looking at the film from this perspective, therefore, the irritation that Grinch experiences can be understood. Besides, it has been shown that he already had mental issues, and hence the holidays exacerbated them, just as it happens in the real world.

Depression

It is highly possible that Grinch suffers from depression. This is one of the most common mental illnesses. Depression is described as a mental disorder that is characterized by feelings of intense sadness as well as a loss of interest in activities that one previously enjoyed, or those enjoyed by the general population (Vandeleur et al., 2017). Signs and symptoms of depression include a depressed mood, restlessness and agitation, feelings of guilt and worthlessness, and recurrent thoughts of suicide or death. While most of these symptoms are also experienced when one is in grief, it differs from depression in that when grieving, the feeling of sadness is not consistent. It is often interrupted with positive memories. Also, grieving is not accompanied by feelings of worthlessness, as is the case with depression. Studies have shown that depression is caused by a combination of genetic, biological, psychological, and environmental factors (Vandeleur et al., 2017). Biologically, differences in specific chemicals in the brain have been attributed to the development of depression in some individuals. Studies carried out among twins have also pointed to the fact that depression might be hereditary (Mullins & Lewis, 2017). People who are generally pessimistic and suffer from low self-esteem are more susceptible to depression. Just like in most other mental illnesses, exposure to abuse, violence, and neglect may make one more vulnerable to depression.

Some of the signs of depression exhibited by Grinch include antisocialism, irritability, and the tendency to avoid happiness. The thought of the noise that Christmas will cause greatly irritates him. Also, it is visible that while everybody else in the town enjoys Christmas, Grinch does not. This can be taken to be a loss of interest in activities enjoyed by the rest of the population. People suffering from depression also tend to isolate themselves from the rest of society. Similarly, Grinch escapes to the peak of the mountain. As mentioned earlier, people with depression have difficultie...