By Chi, Justina, and Yi Zhen
30th and 31st July are the dates to remember… mark them down in your calendar and be ready for one hell (or heaven?) of a show!
For USP students, by USP students: Showtime by the Batch Project (BP) Groundwork committee hopes to facilitate difficult yet essential discussions about mental health through exploring works of art.
All around the world, people are becoming more concerned about mental health. Apps are being developed, a new generation of socially conscious youths are speaking up and facilitating conversations, and there are various organisations who have been working on this issue for years (including our home-grown Singapore Association for Mental Health, SAMH).
But it wasn’t that long ago that mental health was not only cast aside by most, but even stigmatised and thought of as a form of weakness or shamefulness. It isn’t so hard to see why it is still hard to strike up conversations about mental health – whether of yours, or those around you.
And herein art enters.
For many generations, art has been a portal to access another world, a safe platform to venture into the deepest thoughts and ideas. Art does not shy away from topics deemed as taboos – it bravely tackles them face on.
Showtime utilizes art as a conversation opener on a topic that some may deem intimidating and avoid. To bring something intimate to connect with the audience, and at the same time, give them a safe space to open up.
We talked with some of Showtime’s very own presenters and asked them what we can look forward to. From short films to songs, there’s a diversity of art forms awaiting you!
“But Milk Is Important” is one such art piece. Directed by Eirik Grønmo Bjørnsen (observe the “ø”s please) and Anna Mantzaris, this Norwegian stop-motion film delves into the topic of social anxiety, adding comedic elements to a topic usually deemed uncomfortable. The result? A poignant masterpiece that connects deeply with its viewers. Part of the group presenting this piece, Yu Xin explains that “[t]his short animation focuses on social anxiety, and how one learns to embrace it while trying to overcome the challenges [they] may face. It also personifies the internal struggles that [some]one with social anxiety would face, which serves as a great insight to what we usually don't or can't see.”
Not too keen on indie films? Let’s hope music’s down your alley because you can also look forward to jamming to familiar (and not-so-familiar) songs during Showtime. And as you enjoy these songs for their musicality, the Showtime presenters will bring you a step further to ponder their lyrics and meanings.
Xiao Yu tells us her group chose a song written by an artist who underwent cognitive behavioural therapy; the song recounts the artist’s frustrations with the current mental health systems. While not composed by a Singaporean, Xiao Yu’s group believes that the stages of emotions and different problems faced by the songwriter will resonate with people fighting mental health issues and seeking assistance here. Her group aims to use this song to raise awareness of the struggles these people face.
Presenting “Pretty Hurts” by Beyonce and “Skinny Skinny” by Ashton Irwin with her group, Natalie shares with us that body image issues can stem from consuming social media content unhealthily. On social media, users are exposed to unrealistic beauty standards of influencers and peers who present an ideal body type. They may then begin to obsess over their physical beauty and nitpick non-existent physical flaws. Such attitudes manifest in using photo editing apps and even changing their lifestyle to “look good for the ‘gram”. Hence, her group has aptly titled their sharing “Picture Perfect”.
Every one of our interviewees are extremely passionate about analysing how art can relate to us and our mental health, some of whom have had experiences interacting with persons fighting mental health issues.
Be it a way to “help one express [oneself] when words fail” (Yu Xin), to “share meaningful discussions about them with other people” (Xiao Yu), or to “understand the creator’s intent and message behind their work” (Natalie), art definitely has great potential to break down our stigmas against mental health.
Natalie also shared an interesting insight that “[s]uch works of art [on mental health] are able to portray the creator’s experiences, emotions and thoughts in ways that articles or research papers cannot accurately depict”.
Want to hear more insights from these amazing presenters? Showtime will be happening on the 30th (Fri) and 31st (Sat) of July.
Mark down the dates and look out for sign ups via the USC Channel and BP Instagram! We promise you won’t regret it ;)
P.S. Special thanks to our 3 interviewees who more-or-less wrote half this article for us XD
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