Comments on: Psychiatry: the ultimate arch nemesis?

By: Louis

Louis — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 01:49:59 +0000

So Theresa, you pointed to Katie Holmes as a “positive” example in your response. You might want to rethink that as she is not the best example. She went from being a very popular actress poised to becoming the next big Hollywood star by starring in films like Batman Begins and Pieces of April (great movie) to plummeting like an asteroid on its way towards Earth once she married Tom Cruise and joining the cult called Scientology. But let’s not digress from Dolan’s very interesting take on the Batman and his relentless fight against fear. I do agree with him on his points, he shows great insight on this subject and I applaud him for bringing out this subject that’s always been there just not shown in the light. And yes, people as a whole don’t want to admit every single fault because then it shows just how imperfect we really are and that is something no one wants to truly admit especially to themselves. We all want to think we’re close to perfect as possible but once you get a shrink involved, well, the truth comes out. But what Batman does for us is he shows us that any one man can stand up for himself and face his fears and gives us ordinary people strength that we too can do the same thing. So to you Batman (and Dolan), I raise a glass in y’alls honor.

By: Teresa

Teresa — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 14:02:25 +0000

Joseph—
While I agree with your point that the Batman franchise is a dark one, I don’t agree that there isn’t some conscious or subconscious stigma perpetuating about psychiatry. You mentioned cops, DAs , scientists, as well as psychiatrists as also being corrupt. This is true, however each of those professions are also shown in a positive light; we get to see examples of good cops, DAs, and scientists who fight against evil. Psychiatry…not so much. Just going off the movies, you’ve got the characters played by Morgan Freeman (scientist), Gary Oldman (cop), and Katie Holmes (lawyer) as positive examples of what I’m talking about. There’s no good side of the coin to balance out the Scarecrow, however. I know that the Batman series panders to our fears that those in power would misuse it, but it also gives us examples of people who triumph over the corrupt. Where is the virtuous example of psychiatry?

By: Joseph

Joseph — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 00:30:07 +0000

While the world of Batman certainly has its share of evil Psychiatrists, the whole feeling of the Batman series is very dark, filled with corruption, wrongdoing, self-centeredness, all provideing a grim prognosis for Gatham City’s future. We have to remember that their are evil cops, scientists, former DA’s,in the Batman series, but I doubt that a statement is being made that these professions are evil. Perhaps the Batman series isn’t trying to paint psychologists in a bad light, but maybe show us the evil that can occur everywhere when good men do nothing.

By: Chucka

Chucka — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 16:04:26 +0000

Takes me back to the good old days, where life was less ridged and imagination was my responablity.

By: Tania H

Tania H — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 05:34:49 +0000

I think examination of the pop culture views of many of our most “respected” professions is critical to understanding why more of the population doesn’t make use of those professionals. In law school we had a “Cinematic Images and the Law” class that made a lot of those same kinds of points relating to portrayals of lawyers in movies. Unless you live in LA or NY, you probably don’t have a lot of real-life exposure to psychiatric professionals, and it’s important to understand the reasons people may be hesitant to seek help. A subconscious pop-culture-influenced view that psychiatrists are the enemy needs to be understood if the field is to combat it.

By: Jeff W

Jeff W — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 03:52:28 +0000

Also, as an unrelated aside, the phrase “Your comment is awaiting moderation” makes me think that my comment has either gobbled too much food or become anorexic.

By: Jeff W

Jeff W — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 03:50:31 +0000

Great post.

I had never made this connection either. And even if the writers of the Batman comic never *intentionally* made this connection, on a subconscious level, I’m sure, it’s there. (Hmmmm maybe the Batman-writers need to see a psychiatrist…)

Honestly, this opened my eyes about how we see psychiatrists in pop culture.

Terrific read.

By: Teresa

Teresa — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 03:12:51 +0000

I think it is very dangerous that we vilify psychiatrists and psychologist in television, movies, and video games. As the author so correctly put it, when we are with a psychiatrists we are opening up ourselves. Being this exposed can be frightening. Nothing is scarier than the thought that we would be taken advantage of during such a vulnerable time. It is easy to see why evil or corrupt psychiatrists would terrify someone and are therefore used as villains in mass media.

It’s a fine line we are walking, though. No one is saying that authors can’t use “evil psychiatrists,” but we certainly need to make sure they are not creating or perpetuating a stigma that could keep someone from seeking the psychiatric help they need.

By: Clint

Clint — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 03:09:08 +0000

Having seen a shrink for several years, I can attest it took some time to overcome that fear and seek help. It’s done wonders for me and my family, and I’m not even a superhero! Here’s to Joseph Gordon levitt in the dark knight sequel!

By: Michele

Michele — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 02:08:07 +0000

I really like your take on things. And I think you’re exactly right that our fear of psychiatrists (and all mental health professionals) stems from the deeper fear that, to put it inelegantly, we suck. Nobody wants to suck, and we certainly don’t want anyone else to know we suck. In my personal experience, and at the risk of over-sharing, it takes a great deal of work and introspection and, yes, visits to mental health professionals to recognize that we don’t suck–we’re just human.

Excellent work, sir.

Also? Batman and Chuck Norris in the same post? Respect.