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Psychiatry and the movies: Men in Black

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Steven Naylor*
Affiliation:
Carn Brea Eldercare Centre, West End, Redruth TR15 2SF
Andrew Wilkinson
Affiliation:
Carn Brea Eldercare Centre, West End, Redruth TR15 2SF
*
Correspondence
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This family blockbuster film is about aliens given asylum on earth on condition they follow certain rules. Basically these are to live in a stated place, to allow access to the Men in Black and to remain in human disguise while in public places so as to not frighten the natives. The heroes are human secret agents who monitor the well-being of the aliens and ensure that they abide by their conditions of residence. Striking parallels with recent mental health developments are evident, particularly to at-risk registers and supervised discharge orders. This paper discusses these similarities and their possible consequences referring to events in the film to illustrate relevant points.

Type
Psychiatry and the Media
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1998 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
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