Ichigo
Student
- Jun 15, 2023
- 102
Woman always have to be portrayed as attractive to be allowed to exist in media. They have to be pretty because that's what makes them sellable, marketable and appealing to the mass audience.
Similarly It seems like mental illness can only be portrayed in a glamorized way because other wise it's too much to stomach for the average person...
"A ugly crazy mentally ill chick" can't be glamorized.
But a hot crazy mentally ill chick? now we got something to work with. Add in the fact that's she specifically a hot ANIME girl who's desperate for you and your attention?
Now that's a INCREDIBLY appealing idea.
It's like that yandere trope. Being pursued by someone who's not only extremely hot but also extremely obsessive and dangerous lover. It combines all these conflicting ideas,to make something that's a appealing narrative that's beautiful but dark and I think that's what draws people in.
But even if it were just a regular plain looking woman who happened to be mentally ill , nobody would be saying shit like "where can I find me a girl like Ame-chan" or "I could fix her"
But also her being a fictional character removes it away from reality enough to where people don't have to think about the real life implications of what having a mental disorder is like. They don't have to look at the ugly parts of being mentally ill in it's raw form. So despite the game saying it's shining a light on mental illness, it's still only showing a very curated and romanticized form of it.
What bothers me is that people act like media like this deepens people understanding of mental illness and increases mental health acceptance, but in reality it only does for people who fit the beauty standard. and even then It's conditional on the fact that she's mentally ill in a romanticized fashion. someone like ame-chan was real, they would support her and be understanding, but as soon as she would do something that genuinely showed signs of a real mental illness she would be considered unhinged and they'd leave her.
Similarly It seems like mental illness can only be portrayed in a glamorized way because other wise it's too much to stomach for the average person...
"A ugly crazy mentally ill chick" can't be glamorized.
But a hot crazy mentally ill chick? now we got something to work with. Add in the fact that's she specifically a hot ANIME girl who's desperate for you and your attention?
Now that's a INCREDIBLY appealing idea.
It's like that yandere trope. Being pursued by someone who's not only extremely hot but also extremely obsessive and dangerous lover. It combines all these conflicting ideas,to make something that's a appealing narrative that's beautiful but dark and I think that's what draws people in.
But even if it were just a regular plain looking woman who happened to be mentally ill , nobody would be saying shit like "where can I find me a girl like Ame-chan" or "I could fix her"
But also her being a fictional character removes it away from reality enough to where people don't have to think about the real life implications of what having a mental disorder is like. They don't have to look at the ugly parts of being mentally ill in it's raw form. So despite the game saying it's shining a light on mental illness, it's still only showing a very curated and romanticized form of it.
What bothers me is that people act like media like this deepens people understanding of mental illness and increases mental health acceptance, but in reality it only does for people who fit the beauty standard. and even then It's conditional on the fact that she's mentally ill in a romanticized fashion. someone like ame-chan was real, they would support her and be understanding, but as soon as she would do something that genuinely showed signs of a real mental illness she would be considered unhinged and they'd leave her.
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