Representations of ECT in English-Language Film and Television in the New Millennium :

To explore the state of knowledge and attitudes toward electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) among a sample of the adult British general public (n = 70) in comparison with a sample of medical students (n = 70) and MRCPsych students (n = 20). Despite documented efficacy, an uncritical anti-ECT stance is often adopted by the media. It has been suggested that medical students are relatively unfamiliar with ECT. If they do hold the same misconceptions as the general public, there are implications for the future use of ECT. Participants were opportunistically recruited for a Likert scale questionnaire developed for this study and designed to investigate the source of ideas about ECT, extent of knowledge, and lasting impressions of ECT as portrayed in films. The lay sample was significantly less knowledgeable and had less positive attitudes and greater fear of ECT than the medical students. The aspects of ECT that medical students were least knowledgeable about were the potential risks and side effects involved. Popular films portraying ECT still seem to have a negative impact on their audiences. The targets for education both in the public forum and in medical schools should be the procedure of administering ECT and explanation of the associated risks. Outdated and inaccurate depictions of ECT in films are still a frequently reported source of knowledge of ECT for both the general public and medical students.

To describe the portrayal of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in American films. This has not been systematically studied previously, despite some notorious ECT scenes in the history of American cinema and the impact of films on audiences. All movies depicting or making reference to ECT were identified from a number of sources. Available movies were viewed on at least two occasions. 22 films, beginning with The Snake Pit and ending with Requiem for a Dream, portraying or making reference to ECT were made between 1948 and 2000. 20 (91%) of these movies were obtained and viewed. Having commenced its movie career as a severe but helpful remedy for personal distress, ECT on film has become a progressively more negative and cruel treatment, leaving the impression of a brutal, harmful, and abusive maneuver with no therapeutic benefit.

There is little literature on the depiction of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in movies. In India, Hindi cinema is an important source of public information and misinformation about ECT. We identified depictions of ECT in Hindi cinema through inquiries with e-communities, video libraries, and other sources. We also searched the PubMed database using search terms related to ECT and movies. Between 1967 and 2008, 13 Hindi movies contained referrals to or depictions of ECT. By and large, the depictions were inaccurate, distorted, and dramatized. Electroconvulsive therapy was administered to punish, to obliterate identity, to induce insanity, and for other rarely clinically valid indications. Electroconvulsive therapy was almost always administered by force. Premedication was rare. Genuine ECT devices were uncommonly used. Electroconvulsive therapy stimulation almost invariably appeared to cause pain. Multiple shocks were frequently delivered in the same session. The convulsions were usually bizarre. The treatment caused mental disturbance, amnesia, weakness, and even a zombielike state, thought not mortality; clinical improvement was rare. There was no pattern of increasing accuracy of depiction of ECT with recency of movie release. We examine the extent to which the identified inaccuracies are practically important and offer reasons for the inaccuracies. Although the inaccuracies are a cause for concern, we suggest that because Hindi cinema is generally hyperbolic, the public may be willing to distinguish real life from reel life when facing clinical decisions about ECT. Nevertheless, considering the potential for harm in the dissemination of misinformation, filmmakers should exhibit a greater sense of ethics when creating impressions that might adversely influence health.