Afflictions: Culture and Mental Illness in Indonesia: Difference between revisions
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==Overview== |
==Overview== |
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"'''Afflictions: Culture and Mental Illness in Indonesia'''" is an [[ethnographic]] documentary film series of six films on the lives of the severely [[mentally ill]] people living on the islands of [[Bali]] and [[Java]] in [[Indonesia]]. Each film documents the personal journey of a patient’s diagnosis, care and treatment and the impact of culture, family and community on the course of their illness. |
"'''Afflictions: Culture and Mental Illness in Indonesia'''" is an [[ethnographic]] documentary film series of six films on the lives of the severely [[mentally ill]] people living on the islands of [[Bali]] and [[Java]] in [[Indonesia]]. Each film documents the personal journey of a patient’s diagnosis, care and treatment and the impact of culture, family and community on the course of their illness. |
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Revision as of 18:36, 18 April 2012
Overview
"Afflictions: Culture and Mental Illness in Indonesia" is an ethnographic documentary film series of six films on the lives of the severely mentally ill people living on the islands of Bali and Java in Indonesia. Each film documents the personal journey of a patient’s diagnosis, care and treatment and the impact of culture, family and community on the course of their illness.
The films were directed and produced by ethnographic filmmaker and psychological anthropologist Robert Lemelson in conjunction with Elemental Productions. The films were released in 2010 and 2011 and are distributed by Documentary Educational Resources. The films are based on ethnographic research Lemelson conducted in Indonesia, from 1997-2010, about the relationship of culture to psychiatric and neuropsychiatric disorders.
| Volume | Film Title | Release Date | Short Synopsis | TRT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volume 1: Psychotic Disorders | Shadows and Illuminations | 2010 | Shadows and Illuminations follows Nyoman Kereta and explores how non-normative mental events and behavior, including auditory and visual hallucinations, can be understood or interpreted in multiple ways outside the confines of western psychiatric diagnosis. | 35 min |
| Volume 1: Psychotic Disorders | Memory of My Face | 2011 | Memory of My Face follows Bambang Rudjito and illustrates how the residues of colonialism and the pervasive influence of globalization affects the subjective experience of mental illness. | 22 min |
| Volume 1: Psychotic Disorders | Ritual Burdens | 2011 | Ritual Burdens follows Ni Ketut Kasih and questions how communal spiritual obligations may be folded into personal schemas of stress to trigger episodes of mental illness | 25 min |
| Volume 2 : Neuropsychiatric Disorders | The Bird Dancer | 2010 | The Bird Dancer follows Gusti Ayu Suartini and focuses on the social stigma of neuropsychiatric disorder and the human suffering it entails. | 40 min |
| Volume 2 : Neuropsychiatric Disorders | Family Victim | 2010 | Family Victim follows Estu Wardhani and examines the bi-directional influences between an individual considered to have a disruptive or troublesome personality and his social world. | 38min |
| Volume 2 : Neuropsychiatric Disorders | Kites & Monsters | 2011 | Kites & Monsters follows Wayan Yoga from boyhood to manhood and discovers the influential and protective aspects of culture that may guide developmental neuropsychiatric processes. | 22 min |
The film series is unique as it is the first film series on mental illness in the developing world and integrates over 13 years of ethnographic research and footage. Some of the themes that emerge are the way in which family members treat the mentally ill shapes positive and negative outcomes, how culture has the power to protect and buffer the mentally ill or exacerbate their condition, how pharmaceutical treatment can be effective and unsuccessful, and that to understand the experience of the mentally ill, it is essential to understand their cultural context and values.
Reviews
Karen Nakamura, an anthropologist and ethnographic filmmaker at Yale University in the leading anthropological journal, American Anthropologist, claimed these films “represent a significant contribution to ethnographic film as a whole and to the cross-cultural visual representation of mental illness in particular. As the culmination of over a decade of close and continuing interaction with his informants, the films show cultural and visual anthropology at their best.” [1]
Awards
- Award of Excellence, Best Shorts Competition
- Award of Merit, Best Shorts Competition
- Award of Merit, Indie Fest
- Cine Golden Eagle Award
- Nominee, Best Limited Series, International Documentary Association
Festivals
- Jean Rouch International Ethnographic Film Festival
- Taiwan International Ethnographic Film Festival
- Globians World + Culture Documentary Film Festival
- Society for Visual Anthropology Media Festival
References
- ^ Nakamura, Karen (25 Nov 2011). "Afflictions: Culture and Mental Illness in Indonesia [The Bird Dancer, 40 min.; Family Victim, 38.; Shadows and Illuminations, 35 min". American Anthropologist. 113 (4): 655–656. doi:10.1111/j.1548-1433.2011.01382.x.
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