Afflictions: Culture and Mental Illness in Indonesia, Volume 2: Neuropsychiatric Disorders
"Afflictions: Culture and Mental Illness in Indonesia, Volume 2: Neuropsychiatric Disorders" is the second half in a series of 6 ethnographic films on severe mental illness in Indonesia. The series is based on material drawn from 12 years of person-centered research by director and anthropologist Robert Lemelson. Volume 2 follows 3 individuals of different ages and backgrounds with neuropsychiatric disorders, and explores the relationship between culture, mental illness, and first-person experience. "The Bird Dancer" focuses on the social stigma of neuropsychiatric disorder and the human suffering it entails. "Family Victim" examines the bi-directional influences between an individual considered to have a disruptive or troublesome personality and his social world. "Kites and Monsters" follows a young Balinese from boyhood to manhood, discovering the influential and protective aspects of culture that may guide developmental neuropsychiatric processes.
