Afflictions: Culture & Mental Illness in Indonesia, Volume 1: Psychotic Disorders (2010)

"Afflictions: Culture and Mental Illness in Indonesia" is a two part series of films on mental illness and neuropsychiatric disorder in Indonesia, based on material drawn from 12 years of person-centered research by anthropologist Robert Lemelson. Volume 1 focuses on 3 individuals of different ages and background with psychotic disorders. "Memory of My Face" illustrates how the residues of colonialism and the pervasive influence of globalization affect the subjective experience of mental illness. "Shadows and Illuminations" explores how non-normative mental events and behavior, including auditory and visual hallucinations, can be understood or interpreted in multiple ways outside the confines of western psychiatric diagnostics. "Ritual Burdens" questions how communal spiritual obligations may be folded into personal schemas of stress to trigger episodes of mental disturbance.