Afflictions: Culture & Mental Illness in Indonesia

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.

Afflictions: Culture and Mental Illness in Indonesia
Directed byRobert Lemelson
Produced byRobert Lemelson
CountryIndonesia

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.

Films
VolumeFilm TitleRelease DateShort SynopsisTRT
Volume 1: Psychotic DisordersShadows and Illuminations2010Shadows 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 DisordersMemory of My Face2011Memory 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 DisordersRitual Burdens2011Ritual 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 DisordersThe Bird Dancer2010The 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 DisordersFamily Victim2010Family 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 DisordersKites & Monsters2011Kites & 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

Book

Afflictions: Steps Toward a Visual Psychological Anthropology discusses and complements the work presented in Afflictions: Culture and Mental Illness in Indonesia in order to explore issues in the cross-cultural study of mental illness and advocate for the unique role film can play both in the discipline and in participants’ lives. It integrates psychological and medical anthropology with the methodologies of visual anthropology, specifically ethnographic film. Through ethnographically rich and self-reflexive discussions of the films, their production, and their impact, the book at once provides theoretical and practical guidance, encouragement, and caveats for students and others who may want to make such films.[1]

See also

References
  1. Afflictions - Steps Toward a Visual Psychological Anthropology | Robert Lemelson | Palgrave Macmillan.


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