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Since many people don’t come in contact with the mentally ill/disabled, where do they get their beliefs or understandings? The bulk of perceiving the mentally ill/disabled comes through stereotyping, and all the outside influences that generate ones beliefs. Besides the fact that some people are a little slower or have a disability, they live their lives as ordinary people. When one visualizes a mentally ill/ disabled person, most people envision someone that has a deformity, a violent behavior, or an altered state of mind that isn’t considered normal. All of these perceptions that people carry can be misleading and inaccurate. Instead of looking at a mentally ill/ disabled person on an individual basis, society has stereotyped the mentally ill and disabled into what they believe the category entitles. Stereotyping the mentally ill/ disabled, falls into the social-conflict paradigm. This unending inequality has demeaned the social prestige of anyone that may have a mental/physical disability. There are many outside influences that contribute to the misperceptions of the mentally ill/disabled, but in most recent times, the World Wrestling Federation has become the nucleus in which society gets their information on the mentally ill/disabled. The constant use of wrestlers that are scripted to have a mentally illness/disability has not only created many misperceptions, but frustration to the mentally ill/disabled and their families to live their lives. The stereotypical view of the mentally ill/disabled person, stems all the way back to biblical times. But what is a mentally ill/disabled person? Well, anyone that falls into this category must have a psychological or behavioral syndrome, which is not typical of ordinary human beings. It seems that society has always had a negative view on anyone that wasn’t considered to be “normal.” The Bible for instance depicts that insane people was a punishment by God himself. “The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart” (Deuteronomy 28:28). Rather than generating ones own view or stand on such people, society has created their perceptions through a source, other than their own. In ancient times it was from the Gods, deemed the mentally ill/disabled because of some kind of wrongdoing. In today’s age however, the media is the prime source for producing societies insight on the mentally ill/disabled, especially TV programs, which are mostly fiction. The mentally ill/disabled wrestler is one that gets it’s roots from the early 1900’s. Although there are few professional wrestlers who fill the criteria of being one in today’s age, the whole focus of professional wrestling was based on the mentally ill/disabled wrestler. No matter how good a wrestler was, wrestling was for the “freaks.” A promoter of wrestling in the 1930’s had this to say about wrestling. “Freaks I love and they’re my specialty. I am very proud of my monstrosities. You can’t get a dollar with a normal looking guy, no matter how good he can wrestle” (Wrestling 2). Crowds came to see such freaks of nature for mere entertainment, rather than for wrestling. One of the first wrestler’s ever, Maurice Tillet, suffered a facial disfigurement. Because of this people disregarded him as a human, but rather a “ferocious monstrosity” (Wrestling 2). In today’s day and age, professional wrestling, along with other television shows has created a plethora of misconceptions. The influence of the media and these programs has led people to believe that what happens on these shows is real, which becomes their basis of social reality. In a telephone survey conducted in 1991, most people stated that the media was the most influential source of knowledge about mental illness (Wrestling 2). Another study was done in the early 1990’s that focused on the family members of those who were mentally ill/disabled. The survey found that 85% of the family members blamed the media for the harmful stigma placed on their loved ones (Wrestling 2). A thirteen year old girl, had this to say about the mentally ill/disabled. “ I say that mentally ill people are general quite likely to be violent. I got my ideas from television or newspaper reports as I have not seen any mentally ill people in real life” (Wrestle 2). It’s amazing to see how much society has been engulfed into the information that the media sends out to the world. Unless one has a mentally ill/disabled family member, the chances of seeing one in your everyday schedule is slim to none, so people base their attitudes on what they read or see on TV. Professional wrestling today, mainly in the WWF (World Wrestling Federation), and WCW (World Championship wrestling) exemplifies the growing concern for the misrepresentation of the mentally ill/disabled. The WWF though, has one major distinction that separates its self from the WCW, its use of mentally ill/disabled wrestlers. Researchers in the early 1990’s came up with verbal and visual indicators that depicted the mentally ill/disabled. From their findings, four central themes were established. They are Stigmatation and stereotyping, Belittled and marginalized, obsessed with pain, and must be controlled. The WWF grows much more popularity than the WCW because of this as well as the consistent use of other stereotypes and graphic content in todays professional wrestling there is a common criteria for wrestlers. One must be physically fit, muscular and in most cases tanned. Why is it that the wrestlers that portray the mentally ill/disabled have none of these qualities? Two wrestlers for the WWF for instance, Kane and Mankind distinguish themselves apart from the other wrestlers. Both wrestlers were masks to cover their faces because of some sort of facial deformity. For Mankind it is a cut off ear, and for Kane a bad eye. Commentators at these wrestling matches as well as viewers claim they were masks because of their hideous faces as well. The wrestlers behavior is also astonishing. Mankind, for instance, walks clumsily, leaning on one side, and tilts his head while he speaks (Wrestling 4). Kane, on the other hand, has a slow voice and is quiet. These characteristics are often falsely given to those with developmental disabilities. A common characteristic that all groups carry that are out of the norm, whether it’s the mentally ill/disabled, “geeks”, or even different races, is name calling. For instance, at the ‘Summer Slam’ event held at the Madison Square Garden, commentators had a field day making fun of Mankind. “Ross: You have to wonder if Mankind has all his faculties. Lawler: You have to wonder if he ever had them. Ross: (after Mankind is pummeled by an opponent): The human anatomy isn’t meant to be treated that way! Lawler: But Mankind, he ain’t really human” (Wrestling 5). All though most people in society know that professional wrestling is staged, they believe that the disabilities or mental state is real, especially little children. Of course many will believe this when even the commentators as well as the wrestlers themselves make such comments, and when other “normal” wrestlers are not singled like the mentally ill ones. Anyone in his or her right mind doesn’t get any pleasure out of pain. The mere thought of it, gives a person bad thoughts of what generates pain, whether it be a broken arm, gun shot, or stabbing. Only the deranged wrestlers in the WWF find pleasure in pain. They seem to have something to gain from it while other wrestlers use pain to end a match. Perhaps wrestlers like Mankind and Kane love pain so much is because they are deserving of it. This can go back to ancient times, when the Gods were punishing people who committed wrongful acts, and their suffering was therefore earned. At the ‘royal Rumble’, held in Anaheim, California in 1999, Mankind’s tolerance for pain was tested when he wrestled the good-looking, muscular Rock in an ‘I quit’ match that wouldn’t end until one of the wrestlers said “I quit.” Throughout the match, Mankind was beaten with chairs, barbed wire, and thrown from a fifteen-foot ledge onto the floor. Mankind never gave up and seemed to enjoy the beating. One commentator had this to say about the sever beating. “This is what Mankind wanted! He wanted the ‘I quit’ match” (Wrestling 6). Mankind, along with all the other so called mentally ill/disabled wrestlers would rather wrestle to the death, than a simple ‘1-2-3 your out’ match. A common perception that most of society shares, is that most mentally ill/disabled people are locked up in mental institutions and need to be controlled. People consider them dangerous, but in what way? How is one dangerous when most people don’t even come into contact with a mentally ill/disabled person. These stereotypes are formulated from the media and their attitude towards these people. The WWF uses other wrestlers for instance, considered to be the guardians of the deranged wrestlers. They come when someone like Kane for instance gets out of control and needs to be calmed down or put in a strait jacket. In one wrestling match involving Kane, men in white lab coats rushed to the ring and told him to obey their orders to leave the match, and if he didn’t, he would be sent back to the insane asylum. Lawler, a commentator said, “That’s where Kane grew up, in an institution! He should be institutionalized!” (Wrestling 6). All of these circumstances suggest that the mentally ill/disabled are lunatics and need to be guarded at all times, for they will flip out on ordinary people. When people fear or dislike something, they tend to have a negative attitude toward whatever it is. In regards to wrestling, people believe that wrestling is mere entertainment and by not critically watching these events will lead to misinterpretation. This is why not only the mentally ill/disabled, but any social group can be vaguely represented. Also, the history behind the mentally ill/disabled makes any effort to change societies perception hard to swallow. The images that the WWF produces on the mentally ill are perhaps the most gruesome of any other form of media representation. Everything from wearing a mask to cover facial deformities, slow speech, a distinctive walk, tolerance for pain, and violent behavior are all exaggerated. These messages sent out to viewers can be misleading to the youth especially, who don’t have a clear understanding of the mentally ill. So, in turn they fear them and then label them as deviant and undesirable. All in all I found that the WWF has an overwhelming grasp on the conception’s society generates on the mentally ill/disabled. I, myself, aren’t a fan of wrestling but can see where people, especially the youth formulate their ideas on these people. But It’s not only the WWF that portrays such a negative view on this social group, but other TV shows, such as ‘ER’, or movies like ‘Silence of the Lambs.” When it all comes down to it, “violence involving mental illness is even more terrifying, more morbidly fascinating to the public, more likely to receive splashy coverage, and more important more likely to sell than other kinds of violence” (Wrestling 7). It is easy to fall into a negative attitude towards mentally ill people, and if society doesn’t view programs such as the WWF critically, then such shows will continue to strive, creating more and more stereotypes. Bibliography: Word Count: 1899
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