[ SECRET POST #2144 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2144 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 023 secrets from Secret Submission Post #306.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

19. http://i.imgur.com/TWtRu.jpg

[(Anonymous)]

Agreed. But think of it this way, they're not say that every mentally ill person is a psycho killer (Qu'est-ce que c'est?), it's just that they only show the small percentage of those who are both.

[(Anonymous)]

I really like the show and think it's a fun watch with good characters, but I agree that their portrayal of mental illness is less than stellar. It's okay to like things that have sketchy elements, though, as long as you realize those parts are sketchy.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm pretty sure the majority of serial killers have some form of mental illness and brain injury.

It's just that the majority of people with mental illness are not serial killers.

It's like how most serial killers are males, but most males are not serial killers. Sadly, there are a lot of positive male characters in media, but fewer presenting mental illness in a realistic and sympathetic manner as part of a complex character.

[hoggle2807]

This, so damned much.

[(Anonymous)]

Not the OP, but someone who has the same sort of conflict [with added bonus of being mentally ill]

The fact that there aren't many mentally ill characters that are portrayed that way, without their mental illness being a ~magic ability finder~, is what makes me dislike the way this show does it, or more specifically in my case, the way they rarely show someone who *isn't* mentally ill committing the crimes. If there were more positive [or at least sympathetic] well written characters who had a mental illness then I wouldn't feel the way I do.

tl;dr: The fact that there are few mentally ill characters that are positive/sympathetic is the exact reason I feel the same way the OP does about this show's portrayal.

[intrigueing]

As opposed to non-mentally-ill people doing terrible things? You can just check out every other crime drama for that. The mental illness spin is this show's particular hook, because there are people who do horrible things because they are mentally ill, and those crimes can make for some really interesting stories, more so than "I wanted money!" "I hated that douchebag!" "she was cheating on me!" etc.

[(Anonymous)]

True, but at the same time the fact that they never show someone who isn't mentally ill kind of sticks in the craw, even more so when you consider the fact that there is still a *huge* stigma attached to being mentally ill. So much so that in most places it's considered acceptable to, literally, go 'Ewww, crazy people scare me!' when any kind of mental illness shows up.

[elephantinegrace]

TV portrayal of mental illness is generally horrible. But if you want to keep watching this show without wincing, never take a psychology class, ever.

[(Anonymous)]

It's a TV show, they never get thinks fully correct (says a fellow psych student)

Same as House, my dad the doctor could either spend every episode bitching about how wrong it was or ignore it and follow the story... and the second option is way more fulfilling.

[(Anonymous)]

Seriously, my enjoyment of Criminal Minds went way up, and my caring about realism went way down, when I decided to start thinking of it as a superhero show. (not just realism re: mental illnesses but also about other things like law enforcement, hacking, etc)

[kallanda_lee]

Yeah, but it's sort of the set-up of the show. Without that premise, not much would be left.

It's actually a common thing in crime series that some pathologies are overrepresented. For instance, serial killers are actually very rare.

[(Anonymous)]

... I just enjoy it for Reid. Pretty, pretty Reid. Sometimes he's all badass and surprisingly capable, sometimes he's all vulnerable and adorkable.

So yeah, Criminal Minds is a guilty pleasure show for me. Because I can be shallow sometimes.

[htebazytook]

In fairness that IS what the show is about. Criminals with complicated psychological issues that aren't as cut and dry as, say, 'HELLO I'M ROBBING THIS BANK FOR MONEY'

[(Anonymous)]

Nothing on this show is portrayed accurately.