It’s a Gift

• Leon Williams, Art, University of Delaware

• Jazmyn Crosby, Arts and Sciences, University of Delaware

Mental health, although far less stigmatized today, is an area of struggle for so many that it becomes impossible to ignore. When everybody you know seems to have been diagnosed with something and medicated for another, it begs the question: why? It cannot simply be fabricated or attributed to genetics. Through this project, I aimed to investigate the larger, systemic causes of this struggle as well as the stigma surrounding it. What my research culminated in is a narrative short film illuminating the frustrating and confusing experiences of people with mental illnesses, and their unique journeys to recovery. It follows a young man that struggles with a seemingly unending curse, only to discover that what he possessed was never a curse at all but rather a part of him that he has to learn to live with. Moving images is a medium that I connect with and enjoy as a medium for storytelling. In particular, Gregg Araki’s Mysterious Skin inspired me to share a message with an audience through metaphors and a narrative. It was important to me not to use mental health jargon in my film, although it is undoubtedly about struggling with it, because most people are not immediately given the tools and vocabulary to understand their specific issues. One of the biggest inspirations for this project is Benjamin Christensen’s Haxan, which highlights the historical connections between mental disorder and the supernatural as a way of explaining it. The fear of this unknown is a core concept in this project. By accepting the horror of the uncertain and undefinable, we are one step closer to being able to live with it even in a world that demands constant production, efficiency, and predictability.