영화 속 정신장애인에 대한 사회적 표상 연구 -한국 영화를 중심으로- = The Social Representation of People with Mental Disorder Appeared in Korean Films

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Mental health advocates have long been concerned that the images of mental disorder portrayed in the media negatively affect the public``s perception of people with mental disorder. As mental disorder themes in the film increased in number recently, the current study was to find out the social representation of people with mental disorder appeared in domestic films. Of 55 mental disorder related films released from 2000 to 2012, 17 films were analyzed using contents analysis. Four major findings are as follow ; First, Similar to the previous studies, most of the films depicted mental/social stress as the main cause of the disorder. Second, the most frequently portrayed characteristics were bizarreness and noticeable appearance although these are not typical feature of many people with mental disorder. Third, ambivalent emotional perception toward people with mental disorder were reconfirmed. Finally, as the films were a powerful mechanism spreading the stigma of mental disorder, it was indicated that it also has potential for a more constructive role in educating the public about mental disorder and helping to reduce myths and stereotypes, while the frequent setting of horror or thriller theme in the mental disorder related film could justify confinement and exclusion by overly emphasizing violent images of the mentally disabled. Based on the research findings, need of educating film producers, censorship system, and consumer movement were suggested.