Whilst Men’s Mental Health has only recently been started to be acknowledged and recognised, the process of bringing recognition to the topic has been happening for many years. Historically, Men’s Mental Health has been a topic that was misunderstood and stigmatized, this has led to the silencing of men’s issues and the inadequate support being offered to those who needed it. Until the late 20^th century, the concept of addressing Mental Health, particularly in men, was something that wasn’t heavily looked into. This itself, wasn’t helped by the aftermath of the 2^nd world war and the societal anxieties that came with it, such as the likes of post-war tensions and the constant threat of communism. These factors contributed to the stigmas surrounding Men’s Mental Health and aided the opinion that men shouldn’t be open about their emotions. This ideology was led by the expectation that men should be fulfilling traditional roles such as the need to provide and protect, which in itself had a major effect on mental health factors. In fact, during this time, the stigma became so bad in fact, that families were fearful of another member being diagnosed with such conditions, due to the threat of social repercussions. It has been noted, that these stigmas stem from as early back as the 1800’s when men were expected to be ‘strong’ and ‘silent’, where the idea of expressing or talking about said emotions showed a sign of weakness within a man and their social status. However, the stigma itself doesn’t just stem from there. Signs of the stigmas have been dated back to as early as the Egyptian era, where through societal and religious lenses, mental illness was often seen as a sign of the supernatural. Treatments for these included exorcisms in Egypt and bloodletting in Greece, as they believed that it stemmed from imbalances of bodily fluids.

In the modern era, mental health itself particularly amongst men is becoming more recognised and accepted, however despite this there is still that reluctance amongst men that is preventing them from being able and free to open up about their emotions. It is factors such as this., that have led to the suicide rate being 75% males, in the stats are only rising due to the stoicism of modern men who believe it isn’t masculine to talk about their feelings.

Documentaries

Documentaries themselves, date back to the early 1900’s. despite film and the experimentation being around prior to this, the category of documentary films was first named in the 1920’s by John Grierson which officially marked the start of the popular genre. Originally, the first recorded experiments of a documentary film were made by filmmakers and pioneers, Thomas Edison and the Lumiere Brothers, during their experiments with motion pictures. Following this, the documentary genre itself has constantly evolved into what it is today, with them evolving into shorter ‘actuality films’ that have captured real events in relation to more structured narratives in the late 20^th century. Now in the modern era, documentaries have evolved further into a crucial role in shaping realism through film and motion picture. These products have been created and produced in various styles and formats across the world, which have contributed greatly to both entertainment and educational factors.