MHA's Blog: Chiming In

Well folks, we’re at the halfway point of American Horror Story: Asylum.  So far, we’ve seen alien abductions, rape, murder and mutilation.  We’ve got a possessed nun, a Nazi doctor, a serial killer and Anne Frank.  We’ve had forced sterilization, conversion therapy, ECT and canings.  I almost don’t know where to go from here, and I don’t think the writers do either.  This season is actually more coherent, plot-wise, than last season was, but it’s still just what the writers think will be scary all thrown together.  Instead of tension or character-driven horror, we’re getting big set-pieces of scary.  But why do the writers think these things will be scary?  Why are we so conditioned to fear mental illness?

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I really thought an episode of American Horror Story named “I am Anne Frank, Part I” would be more offensive than what I saw. As you may know, AHS is not a restrained show, and they like to push the boundaries of decency in every possible direction. But when dealing with Nazis and the Holocaust, the show was mercifully restrained.

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Oh American Horror Story. This week you gave us a possessed Sister Eunice, a vengeful Dr. Arden, an escape scene, a rape scene and The Sign of the Cross, the great 1932 Cecil B. DeMille movie. More importantly, you also brought to the front the thorny (but evolving) history of religion and mental health.

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By Taylor Rhodes

American Horror Story Asylum’s second episode expanded on the two major topics identified in the first episode: sexuality and religion vs. science.  Two more were added: the role of women in religion and psychiatry and the use of mental health treatment as punishment.   There was an exorcism, a murder and lots of abuse heaped on both patients and doctors.  These big topics are going to reappear throughout the show, so I’m going to focus on one-sexuality.  In particular, the characters of Lana and Dr. Arden. 

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Hello! Since this is the first Mind Over Pop Culture blog entry, I’d like to start by introducing myself. My name is Taylor Rhodes, and I’ve been a staff member here at Mental Health America for almost four years. I have a degree in psychology from The George Washington University, with a minor in English literature. I’m also a pop culture junkie who watches way too much TV and way too many movies. All of this makes me uniquely qualified to discuss the intersection of mental health and pop culture, both good and bad. This column is the first of an ongoing series, and we’re going to start with the new season of American Horror Story, subtitled Asylum.

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