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European Journal of Communication
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Media, Madness and Misrepresentation

Critical Reflections on Anti-Stigma Discourse

Stephen Harper

University of Portsmouth, Milldam Building, Burnaloy Road, Portsmouth PO1 3AS, UK, stephen.harper{at}port.ac.uk

In the last 10 years, media studies have started to address the problem of the stigmatization of mental illness in the media. This article argues that while much of this work has been invaluable in identifying unsatisfactory media representations of madness, it also contains certain argumentational and theoretical weaknesses. Anti-stigma discourse, it is claimed, tends to homogenize the texts it examines and can even contribute to the stigmatization of popular culture. It is also overreliant on an individualistic definition of violence and on notions of representational ‘accuracy’ and verisimilitude, while inadvertently misrepresenting the statistics about mental illness and violence. While it argues for the vital importance of anti-stigma research and criticism, the article recommends that critics pay more attention to the exigencies of particular media forms, and to the social and political functions, as well as the ‘accuracy’, of media images of madness.

Key Words: media studies • mental illness • representation • stigmatization • violence

European Journal of Communication, Vol. 20, No. 4, 460-483 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/0267323105058252
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