The aim of this multidisciplinary research project is to complete and assess the second installment of a three part documentary that explores mental illness after the closure of the state hospitals in the United States. "Patricia Baltimore," the first installment, is currently in distribution. The second documentary, "J.P." [working title], tells the story of a young man Jon and his family as they struggle with mental illness. Funds requested would support the field work related to the completion of filming, film production costs and conducting an assessment of viewer responses related to the project. We will use viewer feedback to position "J.P." to garner external funding that would support broadcast quality production and dissemination of the film to national and international audience.
"Madness has long been conceptualized spatially: in medical terms, the asylum is the most obvious example of the segregation and the spatialization of the insane." In recent decades, these hospitals have been closed in response to developments in available pharmaceutical treatment and criticism from civil libertarians, as well as the cost-cutting emphasis in state governments. Although often assumed to be a 'personal experience,' it can be demonstrated through recent film depictions that the representation of that experience of mental illness is inherently cultural. This trilogy documents the shifting social location of people with mental illness histories in American society: 1) the street ["Patricia Baltimore"]; 2) the family ["J.P."]; 3) the community-supported organization [working title to come].
The film "J.P." examines the experience of a man diagnosed with schizophrenia as a young adult, as he migrates between various institutional and national contexts: growing up as a teenager in the United States; serving in the Israeli Army; returning to the United States to secure treatment; and (hopefully) retaining a sense of community there.
At each point along the way, one can see how different cultural frameworks inform the young man's experience. In Israel, his break was treated with a military suspicion; in the North American city, the odyssey of place-based diagnostic practices continued. At the time of documentary shooting, J.P. began to move out of seclusion into the community with a raw, unresolved sense of identity.
"J.P." is a case study in participation. In deciding to examine the harshest case of "the other," and focusing on the process of a family and community struggling to accept and understand mentally illness, we also gain into insights into other "others," whether based upon sexual, racial, or physical differences. While not offering easy solutions, the film suggests ways in which a person with mentally illness might be facilitated to participate in a more open and knowledgeable society. The forced "being there" of the state mental institution might therefore be replaced by the elected "being there" of the family and accepting community.
Too often documentary films on mental illness merely serve to reinforce the stigma that families experience in broader society. We have developed our collaboration plan so that the reactions and motivations of viewers can inform the process of preparing the film for broadcast. We will be reaching out to the community of individuals with mentally illness histories and their families, as well as the larger community of those impacted or interested in the experience of mental illness.