Netflix’s new original teen-drama, To The Bone, is another example of the commercial platform’s attempt to open up a large-scale dialogue focusing on teen angst and wellbeing. The feature film focuses on Ellen – a twenty something year old artist played by Lily Collins – as she questions her life choices and self-worth through the prism of her anorexia nervosa. Mental health as a ‘teen topic’ is not unusual or unprecedented. Youth audiences are regularly exposed to a reflection of their own image on screen, progressing from Jim Stark’s (James Dean) longing for patriarchal domesticity in Rebel Without A Cause (1955), to Effie Stonem’s (Kaya Scodelario) drug taking, ‘born backwards’ ways in Skins (2007). However, although all significant in their contribution to our current conversation, what differs from previous teen narratives today is the rawness and portrayal of mental health itself. Following on from previous rebellious images, usually provoked from the exterior, it is now becomingly increasingly internalized. Moving away from dilution of a ‘teen-gleam’ effect and into the realm of more realist media, surpassing tropes of reckless behavior and existentialism to create realistic narrative arcs, including the actual effects of disorders and illnesses. Consequent to the rise of the Internet and surge of ‘real narratives’ on our private screens, production companies have attempted to replicate what is being seen and experienced by young people themselves and people they know.
Giving catalyst to Netflix’s new mode of production that shows ‘real’ stories, more often than not, with very real consequences that follow. Thirteen Reason’s Why was Netflix’s first mass watched teen-drama. A 13-part series narrated by Hannah Baker’s pre-recorded tapes that followed the moral and emotional aftermath of her suicide. According to Fizziology’s report, the show led to 3.5 million social volume impressions in its first week of release, as audiences from teenagers to government officials published warnings regarding its triggering content and portrayal of mental health. This overwhelming reaction however, contrasts with the lack of response to To The Bones’, raising flags regarding the sincerity of mental illness both on and off our screens. Admittedly, Ellen’s story is less fierce in its portrayal than her predecessor Hannah, consequential no doubt to Netflix’s acknowledgement of responsibility when providing entertainment to an audience of 93.8 million. Yet with a subscriber base of so many and reaction from so little, To The Bone demonstrates how dialogue surrounding mental illness is not necessarily continuous, and is in danger of quickly becoming an out dated contribution to last month’s conversation.
Similar to Ellen’s troubles with food, binge watching Netflix has created an audience culture distracted by quantity over quality. Reflective of the spike in television over cinema in the last 5 years, what audiences once sought from the traditional narrative arcs in cinema has been substituted for 8 season shows on an automatic continuous play. This culture of binging has resulted in a dependence on a singular source provider, whether it be commercial companies like Stan or Netflix, or government initiatives such as iView or SBS on Demand. Issues surrounding the responsibility of cinema have become hazy, as providers now supply for mass audiences as opposed to niches; raising questions about the sincerity and complexity of mental health whilst appealing to a mass audience. Evident by the reaction of Hannah Baker’s story, the stigma of mental health is still as alive as Hannah seemed to be within her tapes. Providers are placed between a rock and a hard place, as they respond to audience desire for ‘real’ content while satisfying a mass audience, and being scrutinized when presenting it. This places us, the audience, in a position of acute hypocrisy as our desire for ‘real’ is now haunted by the controversy of Hannah Baker’s past.
Consequently, Netflix rigorously censored Ellen’s story, filtering her anorexia once again through that teen-gleam lens and inadvertently trivializing her story. As lead doctor, Keanu Reeves projects ideals of simplicity by instructing Ellen to simply tell the voice inside her head to ‘get lost’ in times of strife. The film exposes the dangers and restrictions of commercializing such an intimately complex issue that can have such profound effects on people’s lives. Both audiences and providers are despairing, as Netflix’s initial exploration has ironically enforced future regulation. Witnessing Hannah’s controversy and Ellen’s censoring, dealing with the problematic paradox of representing mental health in our society has led us to pretend to ‘fix’ issues by sugar-coating them away.
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