I was interested in how the media portrays people with psychological disorders. I wondered if the negative really outweighed the bad. I found that many other portrayals of people with mental illnesses were negative. Children feed these negative stereotypes that they learn from these movies and TV shows. This will most likely result in the continued development of stigma against people with psychological disorders. Throughout history, movies and television shows have often featured characters suffering from mental illnesses. Unfortunately, many of these portrayals are negative. Because of these portrayals, many people incorrectly assume that the mentally ill are dangerous and cannot be productive members of society. The media stereotypes people with psychological disorders as violent and dangerous, which increases social stigma. Stigma prevents people with mental illness from fully participating in society. People's negative attitudes greatly affect not only the lives of people with mental illness, but also their recovery. Most scientists agree that stigma doesn't just appear in adulthood. These stereotypes are perpetuated from childhood. Children gain their knowledge and understanding of mental illness in several ways. Scientists agree that one of the most effective ways is through the media. Images of mental illness are common in the media and are more often negative than positive. Whether in movies, TV shows, books, or comics, these images are everywhere. Many villains in comic books start out as a scientist who then goes insane; essentially stating that madness turns good people into bad people. In the Harry Potter book and film series, Harry is warned to stay away from Sirius Black because he is crazy. A study conducted in New Zealand by Wilson showed that 46% of the episodes of children's programs they watched contained one or more