Open letters are written with the intention of being read by a wide audience that is not limited to the addressee (Merriam-Webster.) The “delivery” of these letters varies, but can be published on blogs, websites, and various newspapers, with the hopes that it will be circulated and read by a wide audience. The motivations for writing open letters are infinite, but a few concrete reasons include asking for judgement on a topic, to state a stance on an issue, to start a wider dialogue, and for humor (Paton, McSweeny's.) Some examples of open letters include many of the epistles of the Bible, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “The Letter from Birmingham Jail,” and Audre Lorde’s letter about racism to Mary Daley.

            My open letter will be motivated by a few factors, including my desire to start a wider dialogue around the issue of mental illness and an attempt to focus attention on the letter’s recipient. Mental illness is often sensationalized in the media today. From inaccurate portrayals of a particular illness to creating an entire horror situation based on a character’s mental state, movies and television shows today want to create a shock factor that will make audiences keep watching. These portrayals, however, often do more harm than good. According to an article written by Kirstin Fawcett in 2015 about mental illness in the media, “research also suggests most media portrayals of mental illness are stereotypical, negative or flat-out wrong – meaning many people gain an unfavorable or inaccurate view of those with psychological disorders simply by skimming a few sentences or picking up a remote control” (Fawcett.) In my open letter, I want to draw attention to this fact, and thank the writers of Shameless for resisting the temptation to sensationalize real people’s suffering. I want other people to read it, too, hoping that it will bring a problem they might not have known about to light.