I Sit Differently, 2018
In the 20th century it was quite common for mental health patients to be filmed as studies for students of the psychiatric profession. Many of these films have been transferred to video and are now freely available online. Watching them it is quite shocking as the reality of what was considered mental illness and warranted being committed to an institution becomes clear. While it is certainly shocking, the fact is that mental illness is still not effectively being dealt with today. By reworking this video of a patient in the 1960’s I hope to demonstrate how the social mores of the day dictate how we respond to and treat the mentally ill in our society. We should always be questioning whether we can do better.
In the 20th century it was quite common for mental health patients to be filmed as studies for students of the psychiatric profession. Many of these films have been transferred to video and are now freely available online. Watching them it is quite shocking as the reality of what was considered mental illness and warranted being committed to an institution becomes clear. While it is certainly shocking, the fact is that mental illness is still not effectively being dealt with today. By reworking this video of a patient in the 1960’s I hope to demonstrate how the social mores of the day dictate how we respond to and treat the mentally ill in our society. We should always be questioning whether we can do better.