Representation in Film: Exploring Online Safety and Mental Health
When creating the opening for our final film project, my group and I began discussing the important issues of representation. We decided on the themes of online safety and mental health. Our film's narrative centers around a girl who meets a guy online, agrees to meet up with him in person, and then goes missing. The ending of the opening scene will shift focus to her best friend, who is in therapy, struggling with the aftermath of her friends disappearance. While the first two minutes of our film is focused on the issue of online safety, the rest of the film is imagined to represent mental health, specifically how her best friend copes with the loss of someone she loves. Online safety is a crucial issue especially in todays digital age where social media and dating apps expose young people to potential dangers. This theme is addressed head-on in the opening scene, setting the stage for a narrative about the consequences that can happen when caution is not kept in mind.
The rest of the film (after the two minutes we shoot) will portray representation of mental health issues. The idea is that the rest of the film will follow the best friend's everyday life as she learns to cope the loss of her friend. By showing the best friends therapy session, we aim to show the deep isolating experience of grief and mental health challenges teens face as they try to process trauma and cope with the disappearance of a loved one.
Researching Our Representation Issue
To ensure that our portrayal of online safety is realistic, I researched how similar themes have been explored in other popular films. One inspiration was the 2019 film Searching, which covers the issue of online safety and the dangers of meeting strangers. In the trailer of this film, we see how the protagonist's daughter's online interactions lead to her disappearance. This movie relies on a screen-based format. The daughter's interactions were presented through split screens, text messages, and video calls, which draws the audience into her virtual world. For our opening scene, I want to use a similar approach. For example, opening with an over the shoulder shot with a computer being the main focus. On the computer will show things like text messages, pictures of the victim, and other eerie things, all shot through the perspective of the antagonist.
Another film I took inspiration from was Ordinary People. In the film, the protagonist's struggle with grief after the death of his brother. The therapy sessions in this film stand out because they capture the vulnerability in a way that feels real. The use of long takes and close-ups show the emotional distance felt by the character without needing to fully show it. This inspired me in how to create the therapy scene in our film opening. Instead of focusing on therapy as a highly dramatic scene, I want to show the quietness of the best friends grief. She's sitting in therapy, reflecting on the disappearance of her best friend, and the emotions come from the stillness of the moment rather than over the top dialogue.
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