User blog comment:BradP27/Total Drama--An Serious Discussion that Needs to Happen/@comment-1037137-20131203193941/@comment-1888444-20131203213015

Hey Fire Eater,

I guess I didn't make my point clearly enough. The problem I brought up doesn't have anything to do with the quality of the TD series overall--that's another discussion. Rather, this is a part of something much bigger, that goes beyond how good or bad a show is.

One in five individuals in the United States struggle with mental illness, but even though so many people suffer from it, there are many common myths and negative stigma associated with it--that these people are "crazy," that they are violent, that you can "snap out of" mental illness if you try hard enough. These negative myths and stigma, in turn, can cause people with mental illness to feel bad about themselves, which makes the problem much worse. Unfortunately, negative and inaccurate portrayals of mental illness in the media--such as the way Mike is portrayed on Total Drama--only make these misconceptions all the more common.

Folks here spent a lot of time discussing the quality of the series, whether it's getting better or worse, etc. But we also need to think long and hard about how the portrayal of characters such as Mike in total drama--and our other favorite shows--can advance an unhealthy image of people with mental illness in the minds of the children who watch them, and what we can do about it. Similarly, Fresh TV needs to realize its mistake and correct it.

Here's some reading you might find worthwile:

I highly recommend this article, about a teen's struggle with mental illness and the way negative stereotypes and stigma affected the way others treated her: http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-45-fall-2013/the-shame-game

Common myths about mental illness: http://www.mentalhealth.gov/basics/myths-facts/index.html

A good overview of the way negative stereotypes actually do have an impact on our thinking: http://www.livescience.com/8480-negative-stereotypes-stick.html

A study on how children learn and are influenced by stereotypes on television (focusing on sexism and gender roles, but still enlightening): http://gozips.uakron.edu/~susan8/arttv.htm

I agree with you that there are issues with the quality of the show that are worth addressing. But we should also--and have yet to--recognize this serious issue, and we need to do a better job of being aware of it.