Donnie Darko and Mental Illness

I think Donnie Darko is a rare sci-fi\horror film in that it does not trivialize mental illness or the suffering mentally ill people go through, but tries to understand what the experience of mental illness might be like for those suffering from it. It is never quite clear whether Donnie is himself mentally ill or the saviour figure he perceives himself to be. What is clear from the film is that the societal standards governing mental illness in the eighties (the time period in which the movie is set) are designed to create a joyocentric, self-absorbed society that does not truly care about how the mentally ill perceive things. Donnie Darko, as a film, contrasts the possibly schizophrenic Donnie, with his razor sharp analysis of hypocrisy, with the shallow eighties motivational speakers that dominate his school. In doing so, Donnie Darko remains the definitive cinematic statement against the Norman Vincent Peale school of "Positive Thinking", which currently dominates cognitive behavioral psychology. For that the producers of Donnie Darko have my gratitude.

Holoaddiction

This is from a Brit tabloid, but I'm pretty sure it's true, as I heard about it several years ago. My students four years ago thought I was more than a bit nuts when I warned of the possibilities of virtual sex getting out of hand, including the possibilities of online pedophilia, rape of virtual characters, etc. Having done enough research into transhumanism, I knew that more than likely I would be unfortunately proved right, and sure enough, its happened. Japanese gaming companies now sell rape simulators like Rapelay, which have provoked outrage in the west.
With all that being said, it begs a question about the holodeck? Does it have an ESRB rating? And should it? The most obvious danger of the holodeck is that it would allow people to act out ANY thought or fantasy. Imagine a Nazi sympathizer in the 24th century, reenacting the Shoah? Or a white separatist reenacting slavery? There is literally no limit to what can be done with the holodeck, and that is the direction current computer and A.I. technology is taking us. Can we really trust a machine that makes any fantasy come true, that allows any desire to be fulfilled? I for one, am a little reluctant to play God to my A.I. creations. I hope the rest of the human race agrees with those sentiments. Otherwise, Reginald Barclay is going to be doing a little more than kissing Counselor Troi on the holodeck . . . if you know what I mean!

Star Trek Next Generation and Mental Illness

I think I've posted on this before, but you should really check out STNG's treatment of mental illness. Particularly the episode "Frame of Mind". STNG manages to be sensitive to abuses in mental health care without joining the fanatic anti-psychiatric bandwagon of certain psychologists and science fiction writers (including the one we dare not speak his name . . . I think you know who I'm talking about). My computer here does not let me copy and paste dialogue, so I can't highlight the excellent aspects of this episode. I think it's significant that STNG is the first series to have a professional counselor on board its ship, and one of the only series to deal realistically with mental illness, through the character of Reginald Barclay. British series have also dealt with mental illness, particularly Blake's 7 and The Prisoner, but have tended to take a somewhat anti-psychiatric bent, not because they are against the mentally ill, but because they were made in an era where psychiatric abuse was more widespread. STNG also dealt with the possibility of new mental illnesses, namely holoaddiction, that is addiction to the virtual reality of the holodeck. I think tomorrow I will deal with that particularly fascinating, though underexplored part, of STNG.