The representation of depression and anxiety in film

Abstract

Having experienced bouts of anxiety at various stages of my adolescent and adult life, the subject of mental health has always been of interest to me. This, combined with the events of recent years, has increased my fascination in the subject, and a particular desire arose to examine the ways in which depression and anxiety have been depicted in the medium of film. This dissertation shall be investigating the films and television shows having depression and anxiety as a crucial part of the storyline. In this analysis, attention shall be paid to the cinematic devices used by filmmakers in order to illustrate these two conditions on screen. Any discussion on this topic, naturally falls on the portrayal and representation, which today, more than ever, has increased the pressure on filmmakers to ensure that subjects, such as gender identity, race, and mental disorders, are being represented in the appropriate manner. This has created numerous opinions on how best this can be done. In view of this, the first Chapter shall explore the various theories of representation adopted throughout the years, starting off with the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (‘CMT’), which assumes that in order for persons to be able to understand complex occurrences, a process of metaphorization in more concrete basic phenomena needs to be made, with particular reference to Charles Forceville and Sissy Paling’s paper on the topic, which is focused on the application of the theory exclusively to non-verbal animated film. This dissertation seeks to assess whether this could be expanded to include live-action film and television particularly with the development of technologies today which have made it possible to integrate symbolic elements into live action work creating richer storytelling. In their study, Forceville and Paling provide examples of numerous metaphors which have been used to describe depression. Specific reference shall be made to the metaphor of ‘depression as a monster’, with reference to Season 4 of the science fiction show Stranger Things, which focuses on group of children in the 80s who come across supernatural forces in their town of Hawkins, and perfectly combines the elements proposed by Forceville and Paling but transposed into the live action sphere.