Why have psychologists said much more about one celebrity suicide than about a teenager’s tragic death and the ensuing protests and riots? We knew Robin Williams in ways we never knew Michael Brown. Is our relatively greater response because of familiarity, race, complacency, information overload, or specificity of issues like suicide, depression, and Parkinson’s disease?
Category Archives: Psychology Today: Beyond Heroes and Villains
Star Trek vs. Star Wars: A Look at Bullying on Any World
Psychologists and actors compare depictions of bullying in Star Wars and Star Trek science fiction franchises. Children are not the only ones who might find themselves mocked, insulted over nerdy interests or anything else they enjoy as others try to suck the fun out of their lives. Can fantastic fiction empower us and teach lessons on responding to bullies in real life?
Ferguson Protests, Riots, Power Abuse, and Not-So-Quiet Rage
Numerous professionals have shown restraint in covering Missouri’s rioting crisis over an incident in which a police officer killed an unarmed young man. Some tweeting about Ferguson in social media have compared it to Milgram’s obedience study, but wouldn’t Zimbardo’s Stanford prison experiment teach us more about how authority roles can create and escalate conflict?
Healer, Teacher, Hero, Villain from Mork to the Angriest Man
Robin Williams played healers, teachers, heroes, and villains. Did he play so many doctors and educators because he wanted to heal and teach, because he yearned for healing and learning, or because we wanted him to help himself and others grow better? Because of his very humanity, because of how he conveyed his humor and his pain, he appealed to the misfit in us all.
Guidelines for Covering Suicide: How Many Have We Violated?
We have a lot to say about the death of Robin Williams, and for a lot of different reasons. In our need to express ourselves and to reach out to others who may need help, have we been careful in what we’re doing? The World Health Organization has published a set of recommendations for anyone writing about suicide in general or specific (especially celebrity) cases.
End Bullying! Responding to Cruelty in Our Culture
Have you or someone you love been a target of bullying? How will media affect attitudes toward bullying and other cruelty? Authors and actors analyze a range of bullying behaviors as the Pop Culture Anti-Bullying Coalition delivers a powerful discussion on how to overcome bullying, including strategies to create witnesses and allies out of bystanders.