Między fascynacją a dystansem. Społeczny odbiór osób chorych psychicznie a ich wizerunek w kulturze masowej – analiza wybranych przypadków

The aim of this paper is to juxtapose the image of mentally ill persons in the world cinematography with the perceptions of this social category in the Polish society. Analysis made by the author was based on the selection of well known movies to compare with some results that are available in the reports published by CBOS (a Polish Public Opinion Research Centre). In both sources the social isolation of mentally ill people is a key trait of their image, moreover, the way mental illness is shown in movies is relatively stereotypical and departs from scientific knowledge, whereas people interviewed in the surveys regarding their contacts with and attitudes toward the mentally ill individuals reveal their apprehension and willingness to keep a distance.