Hey! Maybe “mental illness” is finally begining to lose some of its stigma! It isn’t funny but the trend to dropping the word “manic” for “bipolar” was a good start. Now even Broadway is on the bandwagon. “next to Normal” etc. was a start.
It is, in any form, very prevalent but is not the explanation for everything terrible we see being done every day. It is in one or another form very common and not really that funny. I imagine that it is a personal Hell for the victum and any person close to them.

Hey! Maybe “mental illness” is finally begining to lose some of its stigma! It isn’t funny but the trend to dropping the word “manic” for “bipolar” was a good start. Now even Broadway is on the bandwagon. “next to Normal” etc. was a start.
It is, in any form, very prevalent but is not the explanation for everything terrible we see being done every day. It is in one or another form very common and not really that funny. I imagine that it is a personal Hell for the victum and any person close to them.
P.S. - Sorry, forgot to tell you great post!

Man…I had no idea that mental illness plays such a prominent role in this movie. That’s disappointing.

My take on the use of mental illness for humor is this: until the public’s understanding of mental illness reflects the growing science behind it, effective treatment is widely available and ineffective treatment is not, and the bulk of coverage on the topic is empathic rather than critical, jokes like that won’t be funny. The balance, as it is, favors inaccurate portrayals of mental illness, insensitive perspectives on what that experience is like, and the perpetuation of idiotic approaches to treatment, which makes any jokes about mental illness, witty though they might be, destined to fall flat.

Mental illness will never be funny in and of itself, but there might come a time when the fundamentals of the situation are strong enough that we can find humor in a difficult situation. Right now, that just isn’t the case. If we could, I suspect Seth Rogen would be the guy to pull it off, but it just isn’t going to work right now.

http://www.psychotherapybrownbag.com

How many people who have actually suffered from mental illness are willing to make the blanket absolutist statement that “mental illness isn’t funny”?

I’m not.

There’s humor in everything. Including tragedy. That the moviemakers failed to accomplish it is a separate contention entirely.

To be honest, I’d be far more concerned about the ‘date rape scene’, as it is called.
In all seriousness, I can deal with people making jokes about depression or my ED and may do so myself, whether to defuse a situation or simply because, yes, there is humour in that…
But really, laughing about a dude sleeping with an (at least priorly) unconsenting woman who is drunk, passed out and covered in her own puke is about as funny, as… um, a dude sleeping with an unconsenting woman? – Which, in my ideolect, is but a long-winded description of rape.
Or is the funny that uh, he’s a guy and he’s bipolar and, er, she’s got issues, so, well, that’s what we ought to expect? Because then, really, I’d recommend the viewers turn to the news for laughs and save themselves the money.

?Can’t we grow up?

Who are we to seek control of all other people everytime we do not like something.

Never mind that laughter is a protection against tragedy.

We do not all have to like everything, we are not children. There are other people who like things we do not, so what? Do you want them to stop you from enjoying things you like?

I find religion and organised sports to be an embarrassing use of human abilities, dogs are very good at chasing balls, why should we? And who would take a 10 year old seriously who still believes in Santa? How is an adult believing in god any less ridiculous?

Before you ask someone to not do something think of what you do and what they could ask of you. Just because we are offended by something does not mean we should be able to control other people. We do not have to control others just ourselves. Don’t see the movie. Don’t watch sports. Stay out of church. What ever we don’t like we have the responsibility to avoid.

Our first move should not be fascistic control of others, or plaintive whining about everything that comes to our attention that we personally don’t approve of.

@Robert Martin-Hill II:
I for one would be the last to suggest this movie be censored (same as I don’t call for the abolishment of the church or the NRA), but certainly you, as someone who seems to value freedom of both speech and artistic expression as highly as you, will allow women to express their serious concern over a portrayal of a scene that comes across as ‘a little more harmless’ than it actually is?

While some women will disagree with me and find it all to be in good humour, I think many of us (and, from what I read, thankfully many men as well) are both disturbed and concerned.

True, it’s not going to inspire an immediate wave of date rape (hopefully), but still: The movie seems to condone this behaviour, depicting taking advantage of a helpless person (whatever the gender or condition) as a fair target. And, please excuse my quaint views, but in my moral universe it isn’t – and no, this opinion is not based on Christian values, it stems from a conviction that unless we are all given the equal opportunities, rights and levels of safety, a society in which free speech and artistic expression are for each and every one of us will not be possible.

If you afford religion or football the courtesy of acknowledging their right to existence, if you ask that you not be subject to the rules or values of these organisations, why complain about other peoples views? I really would like everyone to think whether they want increase this movie’s revenue – but if you for instance come to the conclusion that, yes, you do… then go and enjoy the movie, by all means.

So: Call for censorship? Certainly not. Chipping in my 2 cents? Oh yes.

I know nothing about the movie so I can’t say if the humor is insensitive or inappropriate.

I do think humor is valuable in dealing with the realities of having a mental illness. I’ve had some incredibly devastating things happen due to my mother having bipolar (she ultimately committed suicide) & then I’ve had my share of difficulties with having the disorder myself.

I do use humor quite a bit as does my husband & children. He sometimes calls me “Lucy” as in Lucy Ricardo, because I can do incredibly “screwy” things & he says I have a very creative mind as I come to conclusions in a very unique way (my thinking skills have been affected by medication as has my memory).

At work one day I could not for the life of me remember a woman’s last name & I needed to write it on an invoice. I have known her for 20 years so I did not want to admit that I could not recall her last name so I thought I would be really sly & told her I couldn’t remember how to SPELL her last name. She looked at me funny & said S-M-I-T-H. All I can do is laugh at that ploy of mine to try to hide my deficiency & instead looked even more stupid.

I’ve tried every sport in the book & failed miserably. I have no eye-hand coordination & have actually had a tennis teacher tell me to stop wasting my money on lessons. So I finally decided my “sport” is “competitive knitting.” I just haven’t found a team to join.

When I’m anxious (which seems to be most of the time), I make really stupid remarks so much that I wish we could move so I could escape seeing the people who have heard me spout off ridiculous remarks. I’m embarrassed about people remembering what I’ve said.

I asked my husband if he could get transferred to Moscow or somewhere where they don’t speak English so no one would understand when I say what I call my “blurt-outs.”

One of the many therapists I’ve had told me that I should get off my meds for bipolar 1 (!) as they “blunted my emotions.” I was amazed as she had not seen me before I was on meds. I was pretty much huddled in a corner, crying all the time. I discontinued seeing her, but now when I’m getting too wound up I’ll tell my husband to “Get me a pill & blunt me!” I am authorized to take Klonopin during the day, but it makes me sleepy so I very rarely do–but just sometimes I can diffuse my anxiety by thinking of that therapist.

Being mentally ill is not funny, but it is the reality so humor helps me deal with it.