Date of Award
5-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
Digital Production Arts
Committee Chair/Advisor
Dr. Eric Patterson
Committee Member
Dr. Cynthia L. S. Pury
Committee Member
Professor Anthony Summey
Abstract
Mental illness has always been a tricky subject for us to tackle as a society due to the social stigmas surrounding it. Historically, people with mental illness were seen as violent and unstable and would often need to be committed for public safety; however, a large majority of people with mental illness do not fit that bracket and often don’t reach out for help due to that fear of being “othered” by society. As time went on, these tropes faded to purely entertainment mediums but the stigmas still remain. Many video games specifically hold onto these tropes for shock value and eerie atmospheres, but in turn they also perpetuate these stigmas against the mentally ill. However, there are also games that address the issue in a healthy and respectful way. Both the positive and negative sides of the topic will be discussed as well as detail how I utilize the information I have learned to create respectful renditions of the symptoms of anxiety and depression as boss creatures for a hypothetical video game addressing the concept of psychological courage.
Recommended Citation
Wendell, Christine, "Rated T for Therapy: How Video Games Portray Mental Illness and Their Effects on Social Stigmas" (2023). All Theses. 4036.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/4036
Included in
Digital Humanities Commons, Other Film and Media Studies Commons, Psychiatric and Mental Health Commons