Moral Panics, Mental Illness Stigma, and the Deinstitutionalization Movement in American Popular Culture

This book argues that cultural fascination with the madperson stems from the contemporaneous increase of chronically mentally ill persons in public life due to deinstitutionalizationthe mental health reform movement leading to the closure of many asylums in favor of outpatient care. Anthony Carlton Cooke explores the reciprocal spheres of influence between deinstitutionalization, representations of the murderous, mentally ill individual in the horror, crime, and thriller genres, and the growth of public associations of violent crime with mental illness.

Puts forth a new theory of the "panic figure" in American fiction, drama, television Uses cultural and critical analysis to illustrate the link between mental healthcare discourse and popular representation Offers perspectives on representation of mental illness stigma from the turn of the twentieth century to the end of the twentieth century Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Autorentext

Anthony Carlton Cooke is Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Writing and Linguistics at Georgia Southern University, USA. His work has been published in journals such as Journal of Black Studies and Psychoanalysis, Culture and Society. In addition to his academic work, Anthony has published poetry and fiction in the African American Review and the Arkansas Review.

Klappentext

This book argues that cultural fascination with the madperson stems from the contemporaneous increase of chronically mentally ill persons in public life due to deinstitutionalization the mental health reform movement leading to the closure of many asylums in favor of outpatient care. Anthony Carlton Cooke explores the reciprocal spheres of influence between deinstitutionalization, representations of the murderous, mentally ill individual in the horror, crime, and thriller genres, and the growth of public associations of violent crime with mental illness.

Inhalt

1. Introduction: Popular Panics.- 2. From the Feebleminded Offender to the Sexual Psychopath.- 3. Deinstitutionalization and the Rise of the Slasher.- 4. The Forensic Detective as Panic Figure.- 5. The Panic Figure and the Psychopath: A Psychical Correspondence.- Conclusion.