Is it just me?

[RavenBlade]

This is my first rant towards Hollywood, into
Silicon Valley, or where ever they make videogames.
Please bear with me.

Is it just me, or has H-Wood and video game makers
gone batty? Listen, normally I wouldn't say a word,
but I am absolutley disgusted at how all homeless
men and women are portrayed as Psychos.
This just doesn't prefer homeless persons,
but to anybody with a mental illness.

The newest game called Condemed for the Xbox 360
features vagabonds with a mental illness, and it
brings me down because I've met homeless people
with a heart of gold, life handed them a pretty shitty
deal. It doesn't mean they are psychos, their not out there
hurting anybody. Their only crimes are that they were born,
even runaways who prefer to live life on the streets.
This is not a laughing matter. My Cousin has a mental
illness, and has lived on the streets for the greater
part of her life, but would never dare hurt anyone.
I have a mental illness, and the only threat I pose
is to myself.

Movies like Sling Blade, sure it was a great movie,
but portrayed someone with a mental illness,
into a striking psycho.

Another movie coming out soon is called Maribito
by Takeshi Miike, and can you get where I am coming
from? Even in Japan, the mentally ill people
are portrayed as psychos. A homeless man
goes on a rampage type deal, killing people.

For fucks sake, stop the fucking stigma of mental illness.
This has gone on for far to long, and I am absolutley sickened
by these half assed assesments.

Yeah, I get the feeling that this rant is going to go
on for a long time, just bear with me, I'll try to
cut it down to size

The stigma of mental illness will continue, I realize that,
but for the love of rice krispy treats, is it any wonder why
the mentally ill are locked up or holed up in either jail,
or a better place for them such as Mental Health Facility.

It's a wonder why all the people out there in ShittyWood
and the game creators are afraid of the mentally ill.
It's a fucking shame we have the burdeon of being ill,
now we have to be afraid of them?

Fuck that Assclowns.<~~~~~~not towards anyone who posts on the boards

This whole stigma thing sucks major dick,
and I for one will not sit by and let it happen.

No, I wont write a petition, and ask you to sign it,
because you're probably tired of my rant.
Just about as me being tired of this fucking stigma.

Does anybody out there still believe the stigma?
Back in Jesus' day, we were labled as lunitics,
even up to demonic possesion, and I am a Christian
Jesus healed them all, like Hes just done for me.
Back in Jesus' day, there was no one that under
stood that the hurting people were actually
Mentally Ill. The whole stigma thing was going on
back then, up to 2000 years later.

So loose the damn stigma, HollyWood,
and to any other company making
video games. This shits gotten tired.

End of my rambling.

Raven

[AWP82]

Well, technically speaking, any psychotic/homicidal person by definition is mentally ill, obviously because of their mental state while committing those kinds of acts. That goes without saying. I don't think any stigma attached to that sort of behavior will ever go away. But I get where you're coming from. Not all psychopaths are mentally handicapped (i.e. "retarded"), like say...Leatherface, or Jason Voorhees. Most of them, as far as I know, are perfectly sane and are driven more by emotion. Conversely, all the mentally challenged people I've met in my life (so far), have not been psychotic or homicidal. So yeah, I guess it is a negative stereotype.

Although, in hollywood's defense (for the sake of argument), I'd assume that characters like Jason or Leatherface were created as they were simply for dramatic effect to partially "justify" the fact that they're murderous psychopaths who don't necessarily understand the reality of what they're doing, or lack the mental capacity to seperate right from wrong (thus, making them scarier). I suppose that kind of motive, at least for it's time, was considered "new and original" when those characters first originated. More original than some "revenge" motive, or an obsessive stalker with a "crush" on someone. But it's 2005 now, so I guess even the "retarded" motive is somewhat played out.

As for homeless people, the only movie I can recall off the top of my head is Child's Play where the homeless guy starts attacking Andy's mom in the alley. I'm not sure what else you're referring to besides the examples you mentioned (which I haven't seen/played).

EDIT: Wait a minute... I have seen Sling Blade before. It was pretty good. The murder at the end, at least in the context of the movie/character, was justified IMO. So it didn't bother me.

[The Postmaster General]

Mental disabililties is very personal to me -- something I've worked with for a decade now - trying to help people, many homeless or trying to keep from being.

I've met some that trully were a danger to others, but yes, it seems in movies it's always an easy way to give a backstory on a homicidal person. It's just laziness from my POV - unoriginal writing.

I like a movie such as THE FISHER KING where even though it isn't totally accurate in its depiction, it paints them as insane, but in a positive, unharmful way. Actually, the whole movie made lots of commentaries about mental illness -- showing the difference between someone like the guy who shot up the restaurant and the guy who ended up mental because he lost everything. Cool movie with a good heart.

[RustyRazor]

Originally posted by BubbaStrangelove

I've met some that trully were a danger to others, but yes, it seems in movies it's always an easy way to give a backstory on a homicidal person. It's just laziness from my POV - unoriginal writing.



Once again, Bub was on my same page of thought. It's their version of the lowest common denomenator. "Of course the homeless guys is crazy" they say. It's easier if they don't think it through and simply plaster it on a television or movie screen.

[ilovemovies]

The Caveman's Valentine was a great movie where the main character played by Samuel L. Jackson is mentally ill.

[RavenBlade]

Originally posted by ilovemovies
The Caveman's Valentine was a great movie where the main character played by Samuel L. Jackson is mentally ill.

I was going to suggest that movie too, but I couldn't remember
what it was about. My only question is how did they portray
the mental illness with in the Cavemans Valentine?

Did Sam's character over flow with homiocidal
tendencies? Or was he just a mentally ill person
and washed his hands of the stigma, that
all mentally ill persons are homocidal?

Just curious.

Thanks for the replies guys.

Raven