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Amnisias' TV seal of approval
Thursday, 31 May 2012 09:02 pmI've been planning to make this post for a while now, but I only got as far as doing the screen caps and then RL interfered. So now this story is yesterday's last year's news. But who cares? Not me... :)
You might remember that I posted about Homeland back in October when the pilot aired, and after the finale I had the strong urge to post again. Partly just because the show delivered on all the point I had hoped: the acting, the writing, the pacing and the visuals. But it also scored in an area I did not expect, and that's really what compelled me to post. The thing is, apart from my love of TV I also have a strong interest in mental health issues. And I gotta say, the two don't normally play well. I made my peace with that and just don't have any high expectations when it comes to mental health on TV. It involves a lot of handwaving, everytime mental illness is completely misreprensented or just used as a plot device, or when writers use psychology or mental illness as a free for all to explain a character's inexplicable actions. After all, shows are no public service announcements.
So, I was not expecting Homeland to have a character with mental illness. I was even less expecting that the mental illness would depicted with any degree of accuracie. But what really bowled me over was the last episode, where they tackled the issue of ECT, and didn't get it wrong. They neither demonised it, nor glorified, but actually just showed it the way it is, and had characters voicing reasons for and against it without resorting to platitudes or polemics. And in the end they aloud the patient to chose the treatment she wanted. Yes, the mental illness was there to serve the story, and the writers took some liberties with the facts to make it work, but that is okay. Because, you know, it's TV, not a documentary.
If you're interested,here and here the views of somebody with first-hand experience of the disorder.
Or, if you just here for the picspam, go here (warning, contains spoilers for season 1 and a picture of ECT):
( Or, if you just here for the picspam, go here (warning, contains spoilers for season 1 and pictures of ECT): )
You might remember that I posted about Homeland back in October when the pilot aired, and after the finale I had the strong urge to post again. Partly just because the show delivered on all the point I had hoped: the acting, the writing, the pacing and the visuals. But it also scored in an area I did not expect, and that's really what compelled me to post. The thing is, apart from my love of TV I also have a strong interest in mental health issues. And I gotta say, the two don't normally play well. I made my peace with that and just don't have any high expectations when it comes to mental health on TV. It involves a lot of handwaving, everytime mental illness is completely misreprensented or just used as a plot device, or when writers use psychology or mental illness as a free for all to explain a character's inexplicable actions. After all, shows are no public service announcements.
So, I was not expecting Homeland to have a character with mental illness. I was even less expecting that the mental illness would depicted with any degree of accuracie. But what really bowled me over was the last episode, where they tackled the issue of ECT, and didn't get it wrong. They neither demonised it, nor glorified, but actually just showed it the way it is, and had characters voicing reasons for and against it without resorting to platitudes or polemics. And in the end they aloud the patient to chose the treatment she wanted. Yes, the mental illness was there to serve the story, and the writers took some liberties with the facts to make it work, but that is okay. Because, you know, it's TV, not a documentary.
If you're interested,here and here the views of somebody with first-hand experience of the disorder.
Or, if you just here for the picspam, go here (warning, contains spoilers for season 1 and a picture of ECT):
( Or, if you just here for the picspam, go here (warning, contains spoilers for season 1 and pictures of ECT): )