56 minutes, color $325
Depression, like other psychological disabilities, is too often understood as a purely clinical or medical issue despite its deep socio-cultural saliency for many of those who have it. For example, educational programs and services related to depression focus tightly on addressing its clinical or psychological symptoms while failing to address the continued social and cultural stigma attached to this invisible disability. As a result, due to prevailing societal norms which may differ across cultures but remain similarly alienating for those admit to or seek help for depression, most of the people who have the disease never take advantage of available services. A deeper, broader understanding of depression and its social and cultural saliency for those who have it is needed to end this alienation and to encourage more dialogue on depression as an identity issue-a dialogue virtually absent from larger discussions of diversity and multiculturalism.
Despair, produced and directed by Harriet Koskoff, can play an important role in initiating that dialogue. Released in 1995, the film was one of a rash of documentaries produced in the mid-1990s that explored the lives and experiences of people with psychological disabilities. Unlike most of the films released during that period, tending to highlight either the scientific expertise of mental health professionals or the social and cultural narratives of people with various psychological disabilities, Despair emerges as the one that seamlessly merges the two. The film effectively weaves the stories of people who have depression with those of their families, mental health professionals, counselors, and spiritual advisors.
But the complexities examined by the film do not stop there. Despair is the first film to explore intersections between depression and other dimensions of social and cultural identity. Its consideration for the illness as it relates to racism and racial identity, heterosexism and sexual orientation, faith and spiritual identity, poverty and classism, and other important identity dimensions makes Despair a ground-breaking film, in both a clinical context and a general social justice education context. The film shows an undisputed need for, and demands, greater cultural sensitivity in clinical practice and greater social awareness of the possible ramifications of continued social misunderstanding of depression.
Despair also touches on the connection between creativity and depression, particularly highlighting the lives and deaths of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, poets who wrote extensively about their depression and eventually committed suicide. The film includes an interesting discussion about this connection and whether, and in which direction, the relationship is causal.
Its attention to the complexities and intersections of identities makes this an important educational tool in a variety of fields including psychology, counseling psychology, American studies, and multicultural or social justice education. It provides an excellent opportunity to discuss psychological disabilities with a wider perspective or to explore a new angle on racism, heterosexism, classism, and other forms of oppression.
Despair is appropriate for all age groups, but will likely be most effective for older teenagers and adults.