"Behind the mug shot grin": Uses of madness-talk in reports of Loughner's mass killing

There are few studies of the manner in which media portray the mental state of mass killers. There are also no formally tested frameworks or models for understanding how such portrayals contribute to the stigma of mental illness. In this article we analyzed the initial depictions of a high-profile mass killer applying discourse analytic methods to representations of the Tucson shooter, Jared Loughner, in the New York Times. We identified fourteen items that focused on Loughner and his actions that were published over the 1st week after the shooting prior to any authoritative assessment of his mental state. This study sought to deconstruct this portrayal of the killer as "mad", and to show how the four cultural mechanisms of language in use, culture, social practices, and institutions contributed to that construction. Those cultural mechanisms underpinned links observed in the items between Loughner's behavior, his putative mental illness, and the mass murders. This seamless interplay between the cultural mechanisms as related intertextually enabled the differing representations of Loughner as mad, dangerous, and fearsome. We argue that such a portrayal is a significant contributor to stigmatizing understandings of mental illness and people's fear of mental disorders. Language: en