I understand that I have this platform to create, and I want to produce media that educates, change perspectives and that expresses freely. I want my work to have an impacting effect on audiences’, or at least create something that will keep their attention. This does not mean that I believe I can change the world, I just sincerely believe (as Akira Kurosawa once said) that ‘a film must be made with the heart, not the mind’ (Maani Petgar:1994). Therefore, as I have witnessed and been surrounded by friends and family who have suffered from mental health disorders. I aim to create a documentary in solidarity with those who may feel alone, or even feel the burden of the stigma surrounding the topic.
A current issue that pushed me to create this documentary further was the news that, a 12 year old girl committed suicide, and live-streamed the act online (Jay Greenberg:2017)… This posed many questions within my mind, and through reading the article and conducting research, events like this will only get worse. As there will be an increasing to 1 suicide every 20 seconds by the year 2020 (Creative:2016). As mental health is present in over 90% of suicide cases, this correlates to an increase in mental health issues also (Creative:2016). This also shows that this is a current topic that needs to be discussed, in order to prevent a increase in suicide and mental health cases.
Even though we live in a world full of different ways to communicate, not everyone's voices are heard. Some things that are communicated through the internet, creating trends and showcasing topics of the majorities interest. Take for example, this 'meme' below that is quite popular on social media at the moment. many things circulate the Internet, even topics related to mental health.
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Due to the language, you can tell that it is aimed at a young target audience. Although this post is somewhat effective, I also believes it is easy to ignore and ‘waters’ down the importance of the topic. Therefore, it can be misinterpreted and misunderstood. The way that I believe that I can make an effect on the audience is through slowly revealing the topic. As this will hold the audience's attention, until the end. However, this could be a difficult task as some viewers may not enjoy certain elements within this documentary. Therefore, I must aim to play close attention to the pacing within my documentary, for maximum effect.
My overall narrative will be a mixture of stories, which create one story. I intend to do this by talking to as many victims and peers as possible in order to gain a coherent understanding,of what has been felt by those affected by mental health. As some mental health issues have symptoms of other conditions. I aim to use different people's stories in order to express in the most effective way what has been felt by those victims and peers. This may be a difficult task, as some stories may not link all to well together. However, during the interviews I will conduct with my subjects, I aim to ask specific questions that will keep the narrative going in a similar direction.
I want to use creative means of expression, through uses such as art, dance, poetry and sound instalments, which will portray the emotions of those affected by mental illnesses. My documentary will be poetic and experimental as it will challenge the conventional modes of documentary due to the constructed visual. Through taking this experimental approach, I hope to challenge the stigma of mental health as well as the conventions of documentary. Thus, making it less likely to avoid the topic as the visuals will be very pleasing. This documentary can still be considered a documentary as although it has constructed visuals, the story and narrative is an actuality.
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Bibliography:
9GAG (2017) When the whole squad hits you up [online] available from <http://9gag.com/gag/aQM742e/when-the-whole-squad-hits-you-up> [16 January 2017]
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Creative, B. (2016) Suicide statistics [online] available from <http://www.befrienders.org/suicide-statistics> [16 January 2017]
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Greenberg, J. (2017) 12 year old girl commits suicide on live stream over the Internet [online] available from <http://www.neonnettle.com/features/664-12-year-old-girl-commits-suicide-on-live-stream-over-the-internet> [16 January 2017]
Aim & Ambition
(9GAG:2017)