Not Funny Business –
APRIL 4, 2019- Even though people with mental illness are less likely to commit violent crimes than the mean, and are more likely to be victimized by them, the news media regularly speculates as to whether certain violent criminals have mental health issues (as opposed to just being, you know, bad people). Film and television reinforces this by frequently giving their character an explicit or implied diagnosis to explain why they’re bad, whether it’s James McAvoy’s villain in the 2017 movie “Split,” Anthony Perkins’ legendary portrayal of Norman Bates in the 1960 movie “Psycho” or the entire fictional universe of mentally unwell evil-doers established in the Hannibal Lecter series.
