Art
Presenter(s): Ryan Gimeson
Advisor(s): Sam Risak
The purpose of my project is to address the harmful effects of depression and how it is more subtle and less dramatic than most people realize. According to an article by Vice, horror films “effectively throw mental health issues under the bus”; horror is so concerned with telling stories that prey on our fears about the unknown, that they exacerbate the pain and suffering of those with preexisting conditions to inadvertently shape our opinions about them.This is wrong, not simply because it can be (and generally is) very offensive, but it makes the mistake of attempting to categorize and scrutinize a subject that unaffected individuals will never even begin to fully comprehend in a real life situation. In my project, I want to create something that speaks from my experiences with an individual who dealt with the complexities of the condition, as opposed to a filmmaker or storyteller who would potentially only research the project and not seek to understand anything but the broadest concepts. Truthfully, I do not know what creative medium would bring this condition the most justice. However, I know that I do not want to portray depression as “the condition where you cry a lot”, as so many films have done. Depression operates in the shadows and behind closed doors; that is a metaphorical concept that I want to experiment with as tastefully as I can, and the hope is that creating this project will provide levity to those who feel misrepresented in society.