Mental health is a very important topic that everyone should be educated and knowledgeable about. In this day and age, social media and entertainment is the main factor in becoming educated about certain topics. One form of entertainment in which mental health is prominent is in films. Everyone loves movies and it is a part of how people relax and wind down. Although mental health is constantly present in films and Television, that does not mean it is accurately presented. Some movies unfortunately do not do the proper research when it comes to accurately display and explaining the different mental health illnesses that they portray. In this blog, I want to put the spotlight on films and movies that accurately portray different mental health illnesses.

The first movie/film that I believe portrays mental illness accurately is The Perks of Being a Wallflower directed by Stephen Chbosky and starring Logan Lerman. In this film, the topic that is shown is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder also known as PTSD. Logan Lerman who plays Charlie portrays a freshman in high school struggling to fit in when a group of seniors takes him under their wing. Throughout the film, Charlie struggles with dealing with a traumatic situation that happened in his childhood where his aunt was sexually molested, and later, she dies in a car accident letting him believe it was his fault. This film is brilliant and a great representation of what someone with PTSD could act and experience.

Another movie I think is a good representation is A Beautiful Mind directed by Ron Howard starring Russell Crowe. This movie depicts the life of John Forbes Nash Jr. (played by Russell Crow) who was a real-life mathematical genius and Nobel prize winner and his journey with his Paranoid Schizophrenia. In the movie, we are shown events specifically how his diagnosis comes in conflict with his career and marriage. This movie is considered one of the best films in modern times and rightfully so.

The last movie I’m mentioning is called Silver Linings Playbook directed by David O. Russell starred Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. In this film, Pat (Cooper) suffers from bipolar disorder while Tiffany (Lawrence) suffers from depression after the death of her husband. This movie does a great job of portraying these illnesses while also making the story interesting.