Dissertation Research
As part of my dissertation research, I planned to contact and visit some professional companies and practitioners to ask them some valuable questions and learn about the work they are undertaking that is relevant to the way mental health is portrayed in animation.
So far I have spoken to Darryl Cunningham, illustrator and creator of 'Psychiatric Tales', a graphic novel about his time as a mental health worker and the difficulties he encountered. I emailed him regarding his views on the way in which animation depicts psychological issues and what he would do differently if he were to create an animated piece of his illustrated works. He replied with a very detailed and helpful response as he agreed that it can be very difficult to appropriate animation in a way in which is suitable and with the sole purpose to inform without being offensive or too controversial. Facts are key to authenticity:
"Hi Grace
Thanks for your kind words. I'm always pleased when people tell me that my work has helped or inspired them. I've tried to answer your questions below...
Yes I do think they're appropriate. Why not? As long as they are respectful to the people documented and are backed by facts rather than myths, then I think both illustration and animation have a lot to offer. They are easy to consume and can present a great deal of information quickly. My own approach, no matter what the subject, is to make the drawing within my comic strip panels as simple as possible. I often have a lot of information to present, so I don't want the reader to be confused by difficult page layouts or confusing imagery. Just because something looks easy to read doesn't mean that it can't resonate with people on a deep level and contain complex messages.
For people who suffer from a mental illness reading can be therapeutic, assuming of course, that they have the concentration. For those who are distressed it will help distract them from tormenting thoughts. Watching an animation might be even easier as a way of giving therapeutic help.
Hope that helps
Best"
I contacted Allie Brosh ('Hyperbole and A Half: Adventures in Depression' creator) to ask his opinions on animated works tackling this subject. However, there has been no reply despite a few pokes and nudges of encouragement. On a brighter note, I will be visiting Thought Bubble 2015 to try and hand out a questionnaires and achieve a response rate of at least 200+ people (I'm probably being ambitious!) I have yet to hand out the questionnaires to a smaller group within college to see whether or not it will be successful on a larger scale.
The plan is to contact David Firth of Fat Pie for his opinions on 'Salad Fingers' and mental health. One of my chapters/topics I chose to write about was the sensationalisation of mental health and how this can affect an audience into believing illness is a 'trend'. I believe that certain cartoons and pieces could well be seen as culprits for popularising topics such as depression, anxiety, and psychosis to name a few. I wish to understand why he chose to deliver 'Salad Fingers' in such a shocking way.
I also wish to contact Biomation in York who work on mental health animations aimed a younger audience. This would be particularly helpful as I would like to understand the differences between how this subject is shown and appropriated for different audiences. Biomation use characters and puppets to relate more to the audience and have a more personal connection without being too heavy.
I'll be visiting LIFF (Leeds International Film Festival) soon to go and see The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari as research into style and how German Expressionism was used to influence Tim Burton (who hints at mental health with his creepy style and techniques), and to watch a talk on 'Film to Change', a talk and screening on mental illness and animation.
I've also been looking into an 'Animation and Public Engagement Symposium' at the Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle with HEART (Healing Education Animation Research Therapy). This would be relevant for a couple of modules as I'm looking into teaching and art therapy so might be worth going to just to see what's going on. Animation Therapy 2015
