′Cinemadness′: In search of sanity in films

Abstract

Byline: G. Swaminath, Ajit. Bhide The Camera Never Lies,But What About the Film Maker ? Dr. Ashok Pai, a veteran psychiatrist and a film script writer and producer, from the once sleepy town of Shimoga in Karnataka, made some astute observations on the strange story-telling in some highly successful 'action films'. The secret agent enters the villain's den and finds himself in a dingy warehouse stacked with gunnysacks full of a whitish powder. Dipping his finger into one of them, he licks it and exclaims, "Uranium!" This fills the minds of audience with horror about the audacity of the unseen villain and his capacity to amass ingredients of mass destruction. Very few among the audience reflect on the important scientific issues related to this scene. For example, can uranium, a dangerous radioactive chemical, be stored in gunnysacks? Will not such storage create havoc across miles, most impo rtantly for the nearby goons on whose strength the villain rules? Will any intelligent person, especially a secret agent, ever put his finger into an unknown substance and lick it as a means of identification? And finally, how come a radioactive element when licked does not produce devastating effects on the hero? Cinema in general and Indian cinema in particular has a fantastic disconnectedness from reality. Are there really beautiful 20-year-old blonde nuclear scientists wandering in bikinis in their labs?[sup] [1] Is there a 20-year-old petite neurosurgeon as portrayed in the movie Kambakt Ishq? Do terrorists really build bombs with convenient displays that inform us how much time we have to deactivate the contrivance?[sup] [1] Do men and women in Indian villages really run around trees, singing songs of undying love with a full orchestra playing in the background? Are the police always corrupt and incompetent?[sup] [1] These questions never arise in the audience's mind as the sole purpose of the audience in viewing the film is to drown in fantasy while being entertained. Unfortunately, such crass fare is served to pass for 'wholesome entertainment.' Many, who understand the irrationalities of a scene, are willing to suspend logical judgment and even accept it as artistic license. The rest, who fail to understand this, take back the message that uranium can be stored in gunnysacks and such associated irrationalities. This shapes their knowledge, their attitude and perception of issues related to uranium. The power of the medium can never be overestimated. The passive acceptance of irrational ideas, as in the scene described above, does not necessarily affect society at large in any measurable way, given the remoteness of the chances of the average moviegoer coming into contact with anything related to nuclear physics. However, the same stance cannot be taken with regard to sensitive issues, such as mental illness. Owing to their sheer novelty and the mystic element, psychological issues, mental illness and the mentally ill occupy an important place in the minds of film makers. Films on issues related to mental illness have been box office hits, and we would reckon that they feature at least among the top 50 films of all time in any language. This repeated portrayal of the mentally ill and mental illness with the usual distortions has contributed a lot to the stigma and burden which the mentally ill and their caretakers have to bear. Time to Change It is now time to change. And heralding this is a remarkable effort by a leading psychiatrist, Dr. Peter Byrne, a researcher in the field of stigma of mental illness; and a film expert, Sue Baker, who have started Time to Change, an advocacy group. Their slogan is, "Let's end mental health discrimination."[sup] [2] Dr. Byrne has brought out a report, Screening Madness, which analyzes the contributions of cinema in influencing public perception and attitudes positively or otherwise.[sup] [2] The report states that characters with mental health problems are being depicted as "more demonic and crueler than at any time in movie history. …