By Iyan, Zhi Yang and Grace
Mental Health. Everyone knows of it, everyone cares about it, but not everyone knows how to talk about it. This year’s USP Batch Project (BP) focuses on opening up a conversation about Mental Health and helping us better understand what makes, or breaks us.
Over the past few weeks, our three Subcommittees (Groundwork, Storyblogging, Dance) have been hard at work preparing activities, presentations and content, and it'd be a shame to let it all go unnoticed!
Today, we'll be focusing on the Groundwork (GW) committee and what they've been up to thus far.
GW is a subcommittee in BP focusing on facilitating the topic of Mental Health. Groups can choose to participate in either the Showtime or Scratch programmes or both. The former focuses on using short films, photographs or music related to mental health in order to generate discussion points. The latter focuses on programming to create animation projects and virtual games for our clients, SAMH.
Intrigued by what has been going on behind the scenes our team interviewed 3 members in GW - Rachel and Lutfil for Showtime and Bob (Anonymous Name) in Scratch.
Our first question was on why they were interested in joining GW. For Rachel, it was the opportunity to expand her social circle and make friends through a meaningful initiative. She also wanted to contribute to the discourse surrounding mental health, having enjoyed similar experiences in school before. Similarly, Lutfil joined with an open mind, wanting to learn new skills and gain new experiences especially in the field of mental health. Bob concurred, having joined GW mainly to meet new friends and work on a meaningful initiative before school officially started.
As a whole, it seems that the three individuals have had positive experiences so far in GW. They cite the reason being the opportunity to interact with batchmates from a range of majors. This allowed for a whole gamut of insights and approaches during the ideation process. The atmosphere has also been overwhelmingly supportive as everyone takes turns to teach each other and contribute. Even though most members come from differing majors, they are cognizant of each other’s strengths and weaknesses and strive to work towards a project that is inclusive and groundbreaking at the same time.
Below, we will share more on what these 3 individuals have experienced with Showtime and Scratch.
Showtime, the first prong of Groundwork, places USP students in the director’s chair as they “catalyse discussions about mental health using [various forms of media] as a starting point,” as explained by facilitator, Lutfil. In Showtime, students strive to curate an immersive multimedia experience for attendees and this preliminary planning stage has seen them trawling through a vast array of source material in search of hidden gems. Lutfil further elaborates that this had been the very thing that drew him to Showtime - Its harnessing of “media as an avenue to convey social issues” and how it demands a critical “[analysis of] different creative works of art”.
Stepping into the shoes of casting directors has not proved easy for our facilitators! Rachel and Lutfil both shared similar sentiments on tackling the “complex and abstract” nature of some of their first picks - ranging from the profound musings of Emily Dickinson to the elusive meanings of indie film creators. Rachel shares that her team was mindful to tread the fine line between the “too abstract, general or unrelatable” as they went about their brainstorming process. After careful deliberation, the two teams settled on the film ‘But Milk is Important’ and the song “Clinic” by Muncie Girls as their muse.
Without spoiling the experience waiting in store for attendees, we asked Rachel and Lutfil to indulge our curiosity with a bite-sized synopsis of what’s to be expected!
Rachel shares that Clinic emerged as their chosen candidate because it proved to be the most thought-provoking and targeted in its depiction of the complicated emotions that arise when seeking help for one’s mental health. More interestingly, its upbeat pop-punk vibes paired with despairing lyrics creates an unsettling listening experience.
Similarly, Lutfil elaborated on the lingering first impression ‘But Milk is Important’ left on him through the “[perpetually voiceless] main character” and “haunting” sound effects used to “underscore the anxiety that people face when going through a panic attack”. While both works undoubtedly make different stylistic choices, both Showtime teams are eager to share the insights gleaned from their analysis. Lutfil admits that the process has not always been straightforward, with his team having to “[take a day]” to let the initially perplexing film stew in their heads before returning to the drawing board. Nevertheless, this thoughtfulness only makes us more eager to finally experience the fruits of Showtime’s labour.
Moving on, we have Showtime’s twin - the Scratch Program!
This year, BP is making use of Scratch to reach out to participants, in partnership with the Singapore Association for Mental Health, in order to help equip both facilitators and participants with valuable programming skills. As COVID-19 has restricted us from physical in-person activities, Scratch fills the gap by providing a gamified and engaging way for everyone to learn together!
Scratch also serves as a way for freshmen to get closer to each other, as they collaborate and go through the motions of learning an entirely new programming language. We’ve spoken to a few Scratch members and the general consensus is that the past few weeks have been an invaluable learning journey for them, and they cannot wait to put their plans into motion.
Their first official workshop will be hosted on 9th July so stay tuned for further updates!
As we come to a close, it was certainly interesting to hear from these wonderful individuals about their riveting experiences. Mental Health is not an easy topic to break into, after all it is a rather delicate topic where discussion is often rife with misunderstandings and heated arguments. But with GW, the participants hope to “dive deep into the issues of mental health. in order to provide logical insights towards discussions about related media” as described by Luftil. Through this experience, it is hoped that both participants, clients and perhaps others who fortuitously stumble upon this project are able to develop a more nuanced understanding of what Mental Health is.
The various groups under the Groundwork committee have been hard at work for the past few weeks and have had a fruitful and positive experience. While it was not easy at the start, being strangers and all, the Groundwork members have managed to build lasting friendships, partnerships and acquired new meaningful skills along the way. As they begin to put their plans into motion and proceed with their official workshops, we cannot help but feel excited and proud of what they have accomplished thus far and what they will do in the future!
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