A look into the stigma of mental illness in society by Lauren Niemeyer

show the differences in portrayals of mental illnesses and which ones were put in a
positive light or a negative light. This will help students with their final project of
analyzing a mental illness in literature and acknowledging how society views the
characters.
Niemeyer 6
The final project will be a film project. This will allow students to show what they
have learned through alternative means to writing a paper. In groups the students will
look in depth to an assigned mental illness. They will find characters in literature, songs,
or movies that suffer from the mental illness. Through the video, students will show
pictures or film that teach the rest of the class about their assigned mental illness. They
will also explore how society views that particular mental illness and if it has changed
over the years.
The goal of this unit is to open students to the world of mental illness in society.
From this unit, students will see examples of people suffering from the illnesses, they will
learn more about specific illnesses, and they will be able to form their own opinions of
how mental illness already is dealt with and what changes should be made.