Boston.com has published an article about the Mad In America Film Festival, running through this weekend in Medford, Massachusetts. “Making people rethink psychiatry ā the medical science of the mind ā is the aim of this weekendās Mad in America International Film Festival, a four-day, 40-film deep dive into the past, present, and future of how mental illness is diagnosed and treated,” reports Boston.com. “The festival… is out to move the conversations and thought surrounding mental illness to a different place.”
āWhen you are called crazy, it means that your voice at any moment can be declared invalid or āinsane.ā This essentially robs you of having a legitimate or valid say in your life, care, and recovery,ā said MIA Blogger, ex-patient and festival organizer Laura Delano, explaining why it is important to give a larger public voice to ex-patients and others with alternative points of view on psychiatry. āWhen you are committed against your will [to a hospital], your life and liberty is completely in the hands of those who donāt know you, donāt know your life story and who decide when you are fit to leave. They own you. They decide when you get fresh air, what goes in your body and what doesnāt. They essentially decide whether or not you will be free… But a lot of people donāt see that because it falls under this umbrella of care and treatment.ā
Mad Film Festival Challenges Boston to Rethink Psychiatry (Boston.com, October 10, 2014)
Also see:
Mad in America International Film Festival: New perspectives on mental health (The Tufts Daily, October 9, 2014)
In Arlington, Mad in America Film Festival looks at concerns about mental health care (MetroWest Daily News, October 10, 2014)
