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 Sep 5 2005, 10:47 PM
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Admin Team
Group: Super Administrators
Posts: 9,745
Joined: 15-June 04
From: United States
Member No.: 4
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NAMI StigmaBuster alert: August 27, 2005
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www.nami.org/stigma
Contact: smarch@nami.org
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Reader's Digest: That's Outrageous!
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In the September 2005 issue, Reader's Digest columnist
Michael Crowley ("That's Outrageous") calls for schools to
fire incompetent teachers, but in doing so, disparages
people with mental illness.
Wayne Brightly, a middle school teacher who flunked a state
certification test twice, had a friend, Rubin Leitner, use
a fake ID and take the test for him. Cheating is bad -- no
argument there. But Crowley writes (p.39): "Even though
Leitner was no Einstein -- he has a history of mental
problems and had once been homeless -- he scored far better
on the test than Brightly ever did."
No Einstein? Mental problems? Homelessness? Reader's Digest
needs to know that intelligence has no relationship to
mental illness or homelessness. People with mental
illnesses who may become homeless are not stupid -- nor
does their medical condition reflect a lack of integrity.
**Abraham Lincoln had "mental problems" that disrupted
early stages of his career.
**Nobel Prize winner John Nash, whose life was portrayed
in "A Beautiful Mind," lived with schizophrenia and for a
time was homeless.
**Einstein's family had a history of mental illness.
Ask them to apologize. Send a message, including your full
name, address, email address and daytime phone number.
You Said It (Letters)
Reader's Digest
Box 200
Pleasantville, NY 10572-0200
Letters@rd.com
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Television: Humor vs. Stigma
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Fall is the season when TV networks premiere new shows. One
show we've been fighting since spring. Two others are
tasteless. And another show is borderline and requires
monitoring.
**Loonatics**
On September 1, Warner Brothers (Kids WB!) premieres the
new cartoon series, Loonatics. NAMI StigmaBusters protested
the show in March and June 2005. WB has stonewalled. Let's
try again. Also send letters to local newspapers protesting
the irresponsibility of a television network
that "programs" kids with offensive slang that undermines
the U.S. Surgeon General's call to end stigma.
March alert
http://www.nami.org/Templat....%202005
June alert
http://www.nami.org/Templat....%202005
**Change the name!
**Don't program offensive slang and stigma to kids.
**Don't insult people with mental illnesses or their
families.
**Don't encourage schoolyard taunts and bullies.
**Support the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
anti-stigma campaign.
David Janollari
President
Warner Brothers Entertainment
4000 Warner Boulevard, Building 34R
Burbank, CA 91522
818-977-6200
818-977-6203 (fax)
David.Janollari@warnerbros.com
**Starved**
The FX cable network recently unveiled Starved, advertised
as "a shamefully funny comedy about splurging and purging."
The National Eating Disorders Association says there is
nothing funny about anorexia or bulimia. NAMI agrees.
Support NEDA by contacting FX and the show's commercial
sponsors.
Starved
http://yahoo.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,17082,00.html?tnews
NEDA
http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/p.asp?WebPage_ID=833
John Landgraf, President and General Manager
FX Networks
2121 Avenue of the Stars, 19th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90067-5010
Executive Assistant: collette.wilson@fxnetwork.com
John Solberg, Senior Vice President of Public Relations
John.Solberg@fxnetwork.com
**Crumbs: Crummy**
It's not clear yet whether Crumbs will premiere in the fall
or mid-season on ABC. But its plot line doesn't sound
promising: "Estranged brothers Mitch and Jack Crumb reunite
in their small hometown to deal with their mother Suzanne,
who is being released from a psychiatric country club and
has yet to discover that her ex-husband is about to have a
baby with his new girlfriend." In a short video on its Web
site, Mother Crumb (Jane Curtin) says about her
discharge: "I could go home on Thursday, but the
schizophrenics are performing Grease [that night]. There's
only two of them, but they do all the parts. I couldn't
miss it."
Crumbs
http://abc.go.com/primetime/schedule/2005-06/crumbs.html
**Tell ABC that this is one show we would rather miss.
**Drop mental illness from the plot.
**Don't make mental illness the butt of jokes.
**Share a story about stigma and your family's experience.
Steve McPherson
President, ABC Primetime Entertainment
500 S. Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521-4551
Audience Relations Department: netaudr@abc.com
**Head Cases**
Advertising on Fox TV in advance of the premiere on
September 14th (9:00 PM ET) has been offensive, but Head
Cases, about two lawyers, one with anxiety disorder, the
other with an "explosive" disorder, may still have the
potential to become another Monk. When Monk first appeared,
its premiere also rang stigma alarms. This year, it won a
SAMHSA Voice Award.
Headcases
http://www.fox.com/schedule/2005fall/headcases.htm
Voice Awards
http://www.allmentalhealth.samhsa.gov/voic...ds/winners.html
Where does humor end and stigma begin? Right now, Headcases
is borderline. NAMI is in contact with Fox TV raising
concerns and they are talking with others. The network says
the characters will be shown "gaining the upper hand on
those who attempt to stigmatize them [and] triumphing over
adversity." Ironically perhaps, actor Adam Goldberg, who
appeared in A Beautiful Mind, is one of the show's stars.
NAMI will continue to monitor the show and raise concerns
directly with the network. Please watch the premiere and
tell us what you think.
Whether the show survives is another matter. It will be
competing against ABC's Lost in the same time slot, as well
as two other new shows: Criminal Minds on CBS and E-Ring on
NBC. It may not be around long.
Stella March, National Coordinator
NAMI StigmaBusters
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~Lindsay, Forum Super Administrator   Hotlines
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NAMI StigmaBuster Alert: August 27, 2005 |
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