Bedlam

I was quite moved by this film. While I had some familiarity with the topic, I in no way understood the extent and seriousness of our society's disfunction when it comes to caring for those with serious mental illness. Not only was the film an eye-opener, I also now better understand some of the mental health-related reforms being proposed to policing. Also, the interplay between the director's family story and the societal story is really powerful. I highly recommend this film.

Kenneth Rosenberg's documentary, Bedlam, is our Mental Healthcare version of Fast Food Nation. Bedlam holds nothing back about the shameful, unethical way our society treats those suffering from severe mental illness. We ended the horrors that existed in the state asylums of the 1950s and 1960s, but we didn't improve the plight of those afflicted with severe mental illness and in desperate need of care. We simply emptied out the hospitals and dumped these untreated suffering souls on the streets, until they landed in prisons and jails for petty crimes. Today our prisons have become our 21st-century mental health hospitals. This raw, candid story is difficult to watch, but it's a must-see. Bedlam is a call to action that should be required viewing for every legislator in America, and every American who cares about humanity.

This documentary does a great job explaining the history of mental health care in this country as well as showing the effects of our current system on the families who deal with mental health issues and on the greater society.

Bedlam goes straight to where the rubber meets the road in the mental health crisis that the country faces - the psych ward of an ED of a major urban hospital (LA), telling the story of day-to-day life from the perspective of both patients and providers. It's real, raw, and compellingly honest, including the filmmaker recounting his family's own struggles with mental health. The lack of a safety net in this country (inadequate funding, no transitions to care or ensuring Rx compliance) is fully exposed and it's hard not to walk away from Bedlam without wanting someone, somewhere to fix the problem.

This documentary is the best one I've ever seen. Never realized the history of mental illness and the result of two presidents virtually destroying the institution. It was shocking to find out that California's prisons are the forerunner for this crisis because of the lack of hospital beds. Jails are the mental illness caretakers. The largest mental health treatment centers are the jails. About 3/4 II had to stop watching the documentary because I started to cry. I will finish it when it is shown again on PBS.