Social Criticism

I wrote a little about this in my last blog post and wanted to elaborate more on it, so I will be covering the social criticism of mental health. 

In the final scene of my short film, Isa will realize she was hallucinating when she said she had kidnapped a child. The police officer's reaction to this is what I want to represent in this social criticism. As stated before in the last blog post, Isa came from a low resource and dysfunctional household. When her child "dies", she is completely devastated with nowhere to turn. The police officer is meant to represent the hypocrisy found in the powers of authority in our community. An officer is supposed to be a leading example and role model as to how society should function and how people should act. The fact that this one brushes off Isa's illness shows how authorities often act on situations when it is too late. 

 The NCBI reported that "In a survey that included respondents from 27 countries, nearly 50% of persons with schizophrenia reported discrimination in their personal relationships. Up to 2/3 of these people anticipated discrimination while applying for work or looking for a close relationship" "Generally, people want to keep greater social distance from a person with schizophrenia than from someone with depression. For unclear reasons, this social distance has increased during the 21st century. One possible reason might be that the process of deinstitutionalization increased public discussions about community psychiatry and associated perceptions of risk." This represents how society thinks today. Due to the growing sense of individuality, many people often think of themselves and lack community involvement. Therefore, something that is deemed as risky such as schizophrenia, is a mental disorder that people do not want to get involved with. 

During the 21st century, the growing use of technology has caused isolation among people and as a result lack of empathy. As a result, people like the cop in my film will not act upon a situation until something bad actually happens. The fact that Isa is not being helped is also a criticism of the distinction of social classes. While there are therapists and psychiatrists to help with her disorder, it is not something she can afford. By the officer disregarding her illness, he is demonstrating that those who have less money are deemed as less important. This creates the thought of, "If they don't have the money to help themselves, why should I even do anything?