Course Description - Through the lens of cinema, this course examines representations of various mental health struggles and deconstructs pathological notions of social and relational being. To provide context, we will take a close look at various models of “mental illness” (e.g., moral, medical, social, cultural), and via film, attend to how dominant discourses are reproduced, contested, and negotiated. Supplemented by readings of first-person accounts, we will also examine alternative and grass-roots perspectives based on the lived experience of the so-called mentally ill. Ultimately, this course seeks to destigmatize mental health struggles and challenge contemporary notions of what it means to be normal. Students will watch one film together per week during a separate screening period. In small groups, students will also have the opportunity to produce a short film, which will be showcased at the end of the semester.