This document summarizes a workshop on movies for mental health hosted at Penn State University Park. The workshop was facilitated by L'Oreal McCollum and focused on using movies and discussion to address topics of mental health, stigma, and wellness. Participants engaged with short films depicting various mental illnesses and had discussions in small groups about the portrayals and filmmaking techniques. A panel of students and mental health resources then shared ways participants can support others and continue the conversation around mental health.
2. About Your Facilitator
L’Oréal McCollum
L’Oréal McCollum, MSW, M.Ed.,
is a sexuality and mental health
educator, consultant, and actress,
based in Philadelphia. She is
thrilled to be working with AWI to
create space for young people to
learn and connect through art and
media - two of her greatest loves.
IG: @lorealmccollum
3. Brought to you by…
• Campus workshops
• Monthly short film competition
• Short film production grants
• Global community
#Movies4MentalHealth
4. Here’s the Plan
• Quick Introduction
• Setting the scene together
• Mental Health
• Stigma
• Watch and discuss films
• Panel of students and resources
#Movies4MentalHealth
5. Where were you right before
coming to the workshop?
#Movies4MentalHealth
6. Heads Up
• Mental health is personal – YOU are the expert on
your own experience
• Public space – no confidentiality
• It’s okay to feel!
• Films and conversations might be triggering
• Please take care of yourself however you need,
including asking for help
• If you don’t want your photo taken, please let us know
#Movies4MentalHealth
9. MH Across Languages and
Cultures
If English is not your first language, does your
language have words for mental health, mental
illness and mental wellness?
Do these concepts exist in your home culture?
10. Some movies and tv shows that
show mental illness…
The Politician
13 Reasons Why
Euphoria
Shameless
American Horror Story: Asylum
Forrest Gump
A Beautiful Mind
The Joker
Atypical
Big Mouth
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
#Movies4MentalHealth
11. Characters with mental illness
are portrayed as…
“One-sided,” don’t overcome their issues
Isolated
Chaotic and unpredictable
Identity revolves around the illness
Something is wrong with them
“Saved” by one individual
“Handicapped”
Reliant on medication
“Stupid”
Lazy
Super reliant on the people around them
#Movies4MentalHealth
13. Stigma
•A judgment or stereotype that is:
• Always negative
• Always untrue
• Can be internalized
#Movies4MentalHealth
14. How does stigma feel?
Narrow-minded
Discounts who you are outside of the role/box
that people put you in
Very judged or surface level
Unfair
Suffocated
Invalidating
Denies you your own agency
Very limiting
Hurtful
Threatening
#Movies4MentalHealth
15. Three
By Karen Hua
AWI Winner, June 2015
Content heads up: obsessive compulsive disorder,
social anxiety, bulimia
#Movies4MentalHealth
16. Discuss in groups of three…
• What did you think?
• What did you feel?
#Movies4MentalHealth
17. What did you think? What did you feel?
Thoughts
Man with bulimia
Appreciated the dancer wasn’t
living with the eating disorder
Everyone had their own silent
struggle and there was unity,
anyone can go through this--
even if they don’t talk about it
The camera angles and the
sounds was intentional
Feelings
Got anxious with the buildup of
the tapping
Was chaotic for the viewer and
everything was coming to a
head, the sounds were intense
18. How did the filmmaking
techniques help tell the story?
There was no dialogue or monologue.
The sound
The pacing (sound, movements, angles, etc.)
POVs
The setting
Back and forth between characters
#Movies4MentalHealth
19. The Blind Stigma
By Stacy-Ann Buchanan
AWI Winner, May 2015
Content heads up: depression, anxiety, eating
disorders, cultural stigma
#Movies4MentalHealth
20. Discuss in groups of three…
• What did you think?
• What did you feel?
#Movies4MentalHealth
21. What did you think? What did you feel?
Thoughts
This was a good example of
community of what was
mentioned on the MH across
languages and cultures slide.
Important to show how many
folks of color (black, African,
etc) could use more support in
talking about this and
resources
How honest it was (“I thought it
was a “white girl problem’”)
How age can play a factor in
mental health (elders and their
challenges)
Interesting that it touched about
masculinity and mental health
Feelings
Felt that the closing with the
music and shots of each
individual really personalized
the film
Related to it (“In my family, no
one really talks about it.”)
Psychology can misrepresent
and underrepresent
Felt the frustration of the man
who stated that he can’t speak
to anyone about his
experiences
22. Why don’t people get help?
May not have the resources available to them
Some people don’t know the severity of the
issue, not having awareness
Cultural barriers
Fear of admitting that help is needed, as well
as getting a diagnosis
Some people may have the resources but don’t
know how to navigate the process
People may feed into the stigma, internalized
Depending on the community, the pain may not
be recognized at all
#Movies4MentalHealth
23. Mind Matters
Content heads up: depression, cultural stigma
#Movies4MentalHealth
By Josef Adamu
AWI Winner, November 2019
24. Responses and Reactions?
#Movies4MentalHealth
- Talked more about coming from a religious background and that as a
means to working through the illness, first time seeing that ever
depicted
- The contrast of the water and the waves = “drowning”
- Showed how the media and substance use can affect our internal
experiences
- Made me think about if I’m doing the best I can to support friends in
need
- Made me wonder what would have happened if the friend would not
have checked back in, sometime we may not understand the gravity of
things
- Accurate depiction of substance use and dependency--also, how some
communities may be disproportionately affected because of the
“invisibility”
- The voicemail was inspiring, felt supported, needed someone to reach
out
- The most relatable, “I struggle silently,” the internal experience and
constant battle
25. What can we do?
- Come together more often to talk about mental health and wellness in
spaces like these (colleges, universities, community centers, etc.)
- Be there for peers and reach out to friends, if you can tell they are
having a hard time--”active/empathic listening”
- Constantly reminding ourselves that everyone around us may be
struggling and put our judgments aside, creating safe spaces as best
as you can
- Continuing the conversation and resource sharing (“It’s okay to ask for
what you need”)
#Movies4MentalHealth
27. Meet the Panel
bit.ly/M4MH-Penn-UP
Ryan Castillo
Penn State University Park Student
Colleen Conway
Penn State University Park Student
Giovanni Meza
Penn State University Park Student
Anna Barone
Director, Student Care and Advocacy, Penn State
studentaffairs.psu.edu/studentcare
Erin Raupers
Assistant Director, Health Promotions and Wellness, Penn State
studentaffairs.psu.edu/health-promotion
Leanne Lenz
Executive Director, CentreHelps, centrehelps.org
28. Stay in touch!
Don’t forget to leave your name
and email on the sign-up sheet!
@artwithimpact
info@artwithimpact.org
#Movies4MentalHealth
