The “Infotainment” of Mental Health and Crime
When you think about mental illness and how it is portrayed in media, it seems as though many people would instinctually lean towards fictional television shows like “Criminal Minds” or news broadcasts discussing the mental state of the most recent mass murderer or criminal dominating the news cycle.
The best way to describe the sensationalized nature of mental health in media? Infotainment.
Infotainment is described as “television or radio programs that treat factual material in an entertaining manner, as by including dramatic elements” – it is “both informative and entertaining” (Dictionary.com).
However, by framing serious crimes and mental illness in this “infotainment” perspective, it may do more harm than good. In a study of newspapers in the United Kingdom on how they reported mental health, Chen & Lawrie (2017) found that more than 50% of all daily news reports on mental health were depicted in a negative light, often associating those with mental illnesses as violent in comparison to those who are physically ill. The news has a “preferential reporting for sensationalist stories depicting individuals with mental disorders as being aggressive, dangerous, and unpredictable” (Chen & Lawrie, 2017, p. 308).
Chen & Lawrie (2017) state that news sources (newspapers, TV news channels, social media, etc.) hold a key role in how society learns about the world around them. This has been seen before with the campaigned “War on Drugs” and the efforts to lock up juvenile “superpredators” – where politicians and media sources campaign on and distort an issue within the criminal justice system. For the majority of people who may have limited exposure to mental illness or the criminal justice system, these news and media sources are how they learn. As a consequence, a social wariness is encouraged towards those with mental illness or with a criminal background.
It may be a fair assumption that most people will not turn to scholarly journal articles to inform themselves of current events or issues. Instead, they will do what is most convenient: turn on their TV or open up their phone to their favorite news app or social media site. Over 80% of all Americans get their news from their smartphone or other device (Shearer, 2021). Often, the goal of these media sources is to gain the most clicks and to keep users scrolling. To do that, eye-catching titles, flashy graphics, and other forms of clickbait are used. Through this, real-world issues like mental health and crime often become distorted to something more dramatic or polarizing for the sake of public consumption, rather than as issues that require real attention and solutions. The conversations about how those with mental illness may also have corresponding drug or alcohol addictions, may have been victimized by others, or who might otherwise be at some sort of social or economic disadvantage compared to larger society are subsequently missed.
While this “infotainment” approach towards mental health and crime can help to bring awareness to societal issues of health care and the criminal justice system, a careless approach to these discussions can be a slippery slope. As Dr. Rousseau (2021) states, “stigma erodes confidence that mental disorders are real, treatable health conditions” which, in turn, can create real “attitudinal, structural, and financial barriers to effective treatment and recovery.” People may view mental illness as something to fear or lock away, when it instead be more productive to view individuals with mental illnesses and criminal histories as individuals in need of help and rehabilitation. A large portion of America’s prison/jail population is comprised of individuals with serious mental illness that impact daily life and functioning, and these individuals often end up back in a carceral setting again after release (Baillargeon, 2009). This may be in part due to the fact that many of these people do not get or have access to consistent mental health treatments after release, so a cycle is created.
When it comes to real-world news consumption, people should be careful to understand that many of these news channels or sites are trying to get you to click on their pages – and that individuals may have to go to multiple sources to get a more wholistic view of the situation in a way that is sensitive to the nature of mental health and trauma. Instead of solely turning to their favorite news channel, individuals may also stop to consider that people and their mental health are more than just a headline or a sound byte – they may want to turn to scholarly publications and studies to better understand the conditions that are being discussed, or look into the programs and polices that are in place to deal with these situations.
To help alleviate some of the stigma surrounding mental health in fictional media (TV shows and movies) perhaps rather than always connecting mental illness to violent crime and the negative consequences, we should start emphasizing more sensitive or realistic depictions of mental health in a way that is still entertaining to viewers. To start, some of my personal recommendations would include Marvel’s Jessica Jones (Netflix), Shameless (SHOWTIME), or The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix).
Overall, there is much work that needs to be done to connect the realms of entertainment and information to avoid the distorting effects of infotainment. Perhaps by opening up these discussions of how mental health and the criminal justice system are portrayed in media and news, we can get one step closer towards destigmatizing these issues and creating real change.
Resources:
Baillargeon, J., et al. (2009). Psychiatric disorders and repeat incarcerations: The revolving prison door. American Journal of Psychiatry, 166, 103–109.
Chen, M., & Lawrie, S. (2017). Newspaper depictions of mental and physical health. BJPsych bulletin, 41(6), 308–313. https://doi.org/10.1192/pb.bp.116.054775
Dictionary.com. (n.d.). Infotainment. Dictionary.com. Retrieved December 11, 2021, from https://www.dictionary.com/browse/infotainment.
Rousseau, D. (2021). Module 2: What is Mental Illness [Lecture Notes]. Boston University Metropolitan College.
Shearer, E. (2021, January 12). More than eight-in-ten Americans get news from digital devices. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/01/12/more-than-eight-in-ten-americans-get-news-from-digital-devices/.