Category: Fine/Communicative Arts

Abstract:

Romantic films have impacted popular culture with famous scenes and quotable lines that fuel fans’ expectations for their own relationships. With the increase of streaming services, romantic media is more accessible. Because of this, it is important to understand how idealistic or realistic romances affect romantic beliefs. Because of its effect on relationships, it is also important to examine how attachment might moderate romantic beliefs. In the current study, I examined whether viewing an idealistic or a realistic short film would affect romantic beliefs and whether attachment relates to romantic beliefs. The results show no significant difference in romantic beliefs between the two film conditions, although avoidance, but not anxiety, was a significant predictor of romantic beliefs. Overall, the results of the current study show no significant difference in romantic beliefs between the idealistic and realistic films, but there was a statistically significant correlation between avoidance attachment and romantic beliefs.

Keywords:  romantic beliefs, avoidant attachment, anxious attachment, idealistic romance, realistic romance, romantic short films

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Abstract:

Film, television, and other sources of media often serve as a spotlight on the world, highlighting both the good and bad sides of human nature. One concept that is often explored in films and television is mental illness. While some media portrayals show mental illness in a sympathetic light, other portrayals show those with mental disorders as violent and criminal (Diefenbach, 1997; Kondo, 2008), as well as frightening and dangerous (Wahl & Roth, 1982). These negative media portrayals of mental illness could potentially lead to less tolerance for the mentally ill (Granello, Pauley, & Carmichael, 1999) and encourage negative reactions toward those with mental disorders (Stuart, 2006). These negative perceptions of those with mental illness could potentially impact their self-esteem, make them less likely to seek treatment, and make them less likely to continue their medication (Stuart, 2006). However, there are ways to combat the negative effects of distorted portrayals of mental illness in the media including using the media to show realistic depictions of mental illness (Penn, Chamberlin, & Mueser, 2003), discussing portrayals of mental illness in film (Petkari, 2017), and interacting with real people who have mental disorders and taking informational classes (Granello, Pauley, & Carmichael, 1999). While these findings do not provide a perfect solution to counteract negative media portrayals of mental illness, they show how accurate knowledge about mental disorders can increase tolerance and reduce the stigma. 

Keywords:  mental illness portrayals, film, television, media, perceptions, stigma

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