Afflictions: Culture & Mental Illness in Indonesia
| Afflictions: Culture and Mental Illness in Indonesia |
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| Directed by |
Robert Lemelson |
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| Produced by |
Robert Lemelson |
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| Country |
Indonesia |
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Afflictions: Culture and Mental Illness in Indonesia is a six-part ethnographic documentary film series on the lives of the mentally ill living on the islands of Bali and Java in Indonesia. Each film documents the personal journey of a patient’s diagnosis, care and treatment and the impact of culture, family, and community on the course of their illness. The films were directed and produced by ethnographic filmmaker and psychological anthropologist Robert Lemelson. The films are based on Lemelson's ethnographic research from 1997 to 2010 on the relationship of psychiatric and neuropsychiatric disorders to culture. It is the first film series on mental illness in the developing world. Some emerging themes include: attitudes of family members, the power of culture in mental health outcomes, the merits of pharmaceutical treatment, and the importance of cultural context in understanding the experiences of the mentally ill.
| Volume | Film Title | Release Date | Short Synopsis | TRT |
| Volume 1: Psychotic Disorders | Shadows and Illuminations | 2010 | Shadows and Illuminations follows Nyoman Kereta and explores how non-normative mental events and behavior, including auditory and visual hallucinations, can be understood or interpreted in multiple ways outside the confines of western psychiatric diagnosis. | 35 min |
| Volume 1: Psychotic Disorders | Memory of My Face | 2011 | Memory of My Face follows Bambang Rudjito and illustrates how the residues of colonialism and the pervasive influence of globalization affects the subjective experience of mental illness. | 22 min |
| Volume 1: Psychotic Disorders | Ritual Burdens | 2011 | Ritual Burdens follows Ni Ketut Kasih and questions how communal spiritual obligations may be folded into personal schemas of stress to trigger episodes of mental illness. | 25 min |
| Volume 2 : Neuropsychiatric Disorders | The Bird Dancer | 2010 | The Bird Dancer follows Gusti Ayu Suartini and focuses on the social stigma of neuropsychiatric disorder and the human suffering it entails. | 40 min |
| Volume 2 : Neuropsychiatric Disorders | Family Victim | 2010 | Family Victim follows Estu Wardhani and examines the bi-directional influences between an individual considered to have a disruptive or troublesome personality and his social world. | 38 min |
| Volume 2 : Neuropsychiatric Disorders | Kites & Monsters | 2011 | Kites & Monsters follows Wayan Yoga from boyhood to manhood and discovers the influential and protective aspects of culture that may guide developmental neuropsychiatric processes. | 22 min |
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