Stella Bolaki
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781474402422
- eISBN:
- 9781474418591
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474402422.003.0007
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
The key focus of this chapter is Animated Minds (2003), a series of short documentaries created in the UK to raise public awareness of different forms of mental distress including schizophrenia, ...
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The key focus of this chapter is Animated Minds (2003), a series of short documentaries created in the UK to raise public awareness of different forms of mental distress including schizophrenia, agoraphobia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and self-harm. These documentaries were created in a collaborative manner, and use real testimony for their soundtrack and various animation techniques by professional animators. By bringing together scholarship on the animated documentary as a genre and on witnessing in illness narratives, the analysis examines the animated documentary’s evocative power, which allows it to penetrate subjective experiences that are difficult to represent, and the ethical encounters it stages for viewers. As the only chapter of this book to explicitly discuss mental health issues, it also returns to common critiques of narrative/narrativity in the field of illness narratives, specifically the problematic assumption that certain forms of mental distress are inherently ‘anti-narrative’. By looking closely at the Animated Minds audio testimonies, the chapter underlines the urgency of paying attention to such narratives and the experiences they document, many of which are surrounded with stigma, beyond an emphasis on pathology.Less
The key focus of this chapter is Animated Minds (2003), a series of short documentaries created in the UK to raise public awareness of different forms of mental distress including schizophrenia, agoraphobia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and self-harm. These documentaries were created in a collaborative manner, and use real testimony for their soundtrack and various animation techniques by professional animators. By bringing together scholarship on the animated documentary as a genre and on witnessing in illness narratives, the analysis examines the animated documentary’s evocative power, which allows it to penetrate subjective experiences that are difficult to represent, and the ethical encounters it stages for viewers. As the only chapter of this book to explicitly discuss mental health issues, it also returns to common critiques of narrative/narrativity in the field of illness narratives, specifically the problematic assumption that certain forms of mental distress are inherently ‘anti-narrative’. By looking closely at the Animated Minds audio testimonies, the chapter underlines the urgency of paying attention to such narratives and the experiences they document, many of which are surrounded with stigma, beyond an emphasis on pathology.
Eileen Anastasia Reynolds
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781496826268
- eISBN:
- 9781496826299
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781496826268.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, Film, Media, and Cultural Studies
The author shares her directorial experience in the making of her short film where she invited her aunt to participate in the production process. As her aunt had been diagnosed with schizophrenia in ...
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The author shares her directorial experience in the making of her short film where she invited her aunt to participate in the production process. As her aunt had been diagnosed with schizophrenia in the past and was going through depression when the film was planned, it was supposed that perhaps the film-making process would help improve her mental health with her being part of a creative project. From script-writing, to acting, and even animating, the author had fully engaged her aunt from start to finish. The essay documents the author’s reflections of her aunt’s participation and how her sense of mental wellbeing improved dramatically as the film project progressed. The issue of exploitation is also considered in the essay as there is a difference between engagement and empowerment as opposed to deception and participation. Though the film did not win any awards at the 48-Hour Film Festival; the cinematic therapy experience highlighted the potential of seeking new pathways in supporting mental health patients.Less
The author shares her directorial experience in the making of her short film where she invited her aunt to participate in the production process. As her aunt had been diagnosed with schizophrenia in the past and was going through depression when the film was planned, it was supposed that perhaps the film-making process would help improve her mental health with her being part of a creative project. From script-writing, to acting, and even animating, the author had fully engaged her aunt from start to finish. The essay documents the author’s reflections of her aunt’s participation and how her sense of mental wellbeing improved dramatically as the film project progressed. The issue of exploitation is also considered in the essay as there is a difference between engagement and empowerment as opposed to deception and participation. Though the film did not win any awards at the 48-Hour Film Festival; the cinematic therapy experience highlighted the potential of seeking new pathways in supporting mental health patients.
