Flipping Between the Channels
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This PDF is interactive! Click around to view more. Bipolar Disorder FLIPPING BETWEEN INSTEAD OF WATCHING Midsommar (2019) THE CHANNELS Midsommar takes both a step forward and a step back for its representation of mental health on screen. While their depiction of anxiety and PTSD in the main character Dani (Florence Pugh) of mental illness representation is chillingly accurate, Midsommar’s portrayal of bipolar disorder leaves us sighing at the obvious inaccuracies: bipolar disorder WRITTEN BY CAROLINE PETERSEN means you’re a murderer waiting to happen. WITH CONTRIBUTION FROM WANDILE DLAMINI TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of suicide and self-harm representation in TV series and films The film starts with Dani finding out that her sister, who has bipolar, murdered their parents in their sleep and then killed herself. The choice to make Dani’s sister bipolar, prompting a murder-suicide, is both unrealistic and irresponsible, further perpetuating myths about bipolar disorders. According to the B D Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA), the statistics M I : E show that people with bipolar disorder have a higher risk of C R U dying by suicide than actually killing or hurting others. O S E G A M I RATHER WATCH Euphoria (2019) D Rue (Zendaya) is a Gen Z teenager who has recently been released from O O rehab for her drug addiction – a habit acquired as a consequence of her W H T anxiety disorder, depression, OCD, and ADHD diagnoses. In episode 7, Rue U O S starts to suspect she may have bipolar disorder. According to the Counciill E T A of Medical Schemes in South Africa, people with a bipolar diagnosis have K Y B “feelings [that] include severe depression, feelings of extreme happiness, H P A or a combination of depression with restlessness”. R G O T O H What’s refreshing about the representation of a bipolar disorder in Rue P S compared to other characters we see on the silver screen, is that Rue is D R A not portrayed as a violent killer waiting to be unleashed. Instead, Rue goes W A If you’re living with a mental illness, you have one of through depressive episodes where she binge-watches 22 hours of Love P M I two responses to television and films about mental , Island and can’t even find the energy to pee. She also experiences manic A Netflix has a wide variety + P health: a gleeful spring into the air or a hefty face- : episodes where she chugs coffee to keep herself awake and obsessively E C of viewing options, palm. There’s no acceptable grey area. Filmmakers R collects pictures and evidence to try to connect the dots as she U O and showrunners often hit the nail on the head. The S especially when it comes investigates the sticky situation she suspects her friend is caught in. UK- E hard work of psychologists, experts, and those with G based social worker Dr Ruth C. White is both professionally and A M to content on mental I lived experience in the writing room pays off in the personally invested in bipolar disorders as she also lives with the illness, health. film! Other times, they get it so wrong that you writing “It’s really important for people not to think of [people living But, do they wonder if their only exposure to mental illness was with bipolar disorder] as walking time-bombs that will destroy other people”. always get it right? from a dictionary definition. Here’s what to watch (and what to avoid) for your Bipolar isn’t just another added characteristic to make Rue “crazy”. This is a realistic depiction of what people next movie night in. living with bipolar experience. It’s raw, it’s real, and it’s an important representation in the sea of movies and 16 || Don't Be S(ill)y series that mystify and villainise individuals with bipolar disorders. Don't Be S(ill)y || 17 Depression Dissociative Identity Disorder INSTEAD OF WATCHING INSTEAD OF WATCHING 13 Reasons Why (2017-) Split (2016) Split is about Kevin (James McAvoy), a man with dissociative identity 13 Reasons Why is Netflix’s unwelcomed and irresponsible ‘gift’ that disorder (DID). He has 24 personalities and one of them is a murderous keeps on giving. Based on the book by Jay Asher, 13 Reasons Why is the villain who can climb walls and has super human strength. So, it’s no story of Hannah Baker’s suicide. Hannah lists thirteen reasons why she surprise that Split is on our “BIG NO-NO” list. Kevin’s DID is the focus killed herself and leaves the tapes behind for each person (each of the film: it ignites the action, it provides thrill to the audience as he ‘reason’) to listen to so they can understand how they contributed to kidnaps three young girls, and it’s the overall supervillain of the film. her suicide. Not only is this real mental illness reduced to a sensationalised plot device, but this poor representation of DID in Split promotes Netflix knew they were on the wrong track when the psychologist they misconceptions that people with DID are not quite human and c onsulted during the production strongly discouraged the project. dangerous to others. Instead, Netflix ignored his advice. In season 1 alone, 13 Reasons Why features rape, sexual assault, self-harm, a graphic suicide scene, and N In reality, according to the South African Federation for Mental Health, O even more irresponsibly, a glorified idea of suicide. Targeted at teens – B Z D A DID, also known as multiple personality disorder, “is characterised by a M I M who are especially impressionable – the show misleads audiences to : A E : disruption of identity with two or more personality states being C E R C believe that suicide will serve as vengeance, a final act making sure U R present in the same individual”. U O S O others will eternally regret their wrongful actions. As psychologists S E E predicted, many teenagers attempted copycat suicides after the show G A G A Inaccurate representations in popular blockbusters has consequences – M I M I aired. Although Netflix removed the suicide scene, it was just a little it perpetuates fear and myth around those living with DID, pushing the too late. RATHER WATCH illness to the fringes of mental health discussions. BoJack Horseman (2014-) RATHER WATCH B u s t l e describing BoJack Horseman as “[depicting] depression more Mr Robot (2015- ) honestly than any other show on TV” is a grand claim to make. But Netflix K R Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek), a self-described “average cyber security proved themselves capable of depicting an accurate portrayal of someone O W T engineer”, is a vigilante hacker by night. He is lured into a hacking group living with depression, and their subsequent struggles with addiction. E N by their enigmatic leader Mr Robot (Christian Slater). At the end of the A S U : first season it’s revealed to the audience (and to Elliot) that he had been Washed-up 90s sitcom star BoJack Horseman has it all: attention, E C R Mr Robot all along. But there’s more: Mr Robot is Elliot’s manifestation nostalgic fans, money, a huge house, and parties galore. But where this U O S of his deceased father. Yet, this shocking reveal is not just a plot-twist series gets it right is in its depiction of how someone can have it all and E T G I for drama – it provides viewers with an intimate and sympathetic A still struggle with depression; breaking a common misconception about D D M I E understanding of DID. R mental illness. According to the South African Depression and Anxiety , A L Group ( S A D A G ) , a depression disorder is a “whole-body illness”. It can last K R A Although not definitively known, a widely-accepted hypothesis of the from weeks to years and can present itself in feelings of hopelessness, B Y K cause of DID is that the condition is a coping mechanism for young pessimism, and a loss of interest in activities and hobbies you may have C I N children to grapple with trauma. What Mr Robot does so elegantly is previously enjoyed. It affects your concentration levels, your sleep : E C show how this could be true as Elliot responds the trauma of his father’s patterns, your appetite, and can ruin social relationships. And just like R U O death by creating the character of Mr Robot. Common to DID is also S BoJack Horseman, it can lead to increased use of alcohol and drugs. E G experiencing memory gaps between identity states, which explains how A M There’s no glamorisation, no overly-dramatic scenes, and no weepy tears I its unbeknownst to Elliot that he indeed is Mr Robot. for BoJack – just a relatable depressed character trying to make his life a little more purposeful. Elliot is neither a villain nor a hero. Elliot is just a person, grappling with politics, power, and his position in this world. Elliot is so much more than his DID but so much of him is his DID. 18 || Don't Be S(ill)y Don't Be S(ill)y || 19 Now, you can argue that films are just that: films. They’re fiction, purely for entertainment and escape. But the consequences of misinformation about mental health that TV series and films distribute are far scarier. Stigmatisation and inaccuracies about mental illnesses can lead to those suffering further isolating themselves and feeling unwarranted shame.