Week 13: Cultural Analysis

Studio 13’s animated documentary, ‘The Black Dog’ explores a young man’s experience with depression, based off an individual's authentic experience. The narrative takes place in a Pixaresque world; by using 3D animation we were able to retell the story in a captivating way whilst keeping the identity of the interviewee anonymous. One of the earliest representations of depression as a black dog was used by the Black Dog Institute in 2002 (Black Dog Institute, 2017).

Since then the black dog has become more universally accepted as metaphor for depression (World Health Organisation, 2012). Throughout most of the film, the black dog is portrayed as a 2D silhouette of ever-squirming lines, to represent that the dog is not physically present, but only present in Jordan’s (protagonist’s) mentality.

Image taken from https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/about-us/who-we-are

Studio 13’s take on the black dog is different from former representations in the media (usually a large, droopy dog), illustrating that depression can affect people in different ways. The dog starts off small and frisky, bothering Jordan at night and depriving him of sleep. Jordan transitions into the Pixel world of Nermura City; he uses online gaming as “a way to escape the dog for a time.” (Hind, 2018). Nermura is the Japanese word for sleep and the pleasant, ambient atmosphere of the online game represent that this is Jordan’s ‘happy place.’

It is widely accepted by many experts that, beyond a certain threshold, gaming can become an addiction and magnify symptoms of mental illnesses like depression, rather than to be used a coping mechanism. However, there have been many studies that show that, in moderation, gaming can have significant benefits to one's intelligence and mental health. A study conducted by cognitive neuroscientist Dr Daphne Bavelier, came to the conclusion that “in reasonable doses … games have quite powerful effects and positive effects on many different aspects of our behaviour.”

Even in Nemura the dog breaks through and the giant, obscure, glitchy dog in act three shows how overpowering depression can be, especially when facing it alone. Jordan’s friends persist in supporting him through social media, represented by the encouraging text messages that create a barrier between Jordan and the giant dog. “Social isolation is a known predictor of poor mental health and may also be a cause. More than 50% of Australians own an internet-enabled mobile device and research shows young people in particular are very comfortable using their mobile devices for their mental health needs.” (Black Dog Institute, 2017). In the last act, we see the dog is still there but is quieter.

In conclusion, The Black Dog, with all its use of mixed animation styles, effectively communicates how a young person like Jordan has struggled with his particular type of depression, and how he used social gaming as a coping mechanism and as an outreach point between him and his friends. However, I’d be more careful at showing how gaming as a coping mechanism when dealing with depression (especially at an unhealthy hour like 4am at night), as research shows there is a very delicate threshold where it can turn into an addiction and emphasise symptoms of some mental illnesses rather than decrease them.

References

Ruffin, J & Hind, S, Studio 13 Production Document, 2018

Blackdoginstitute.org.au. (2017). Our history | Black Dog Institute. [online] Available at: https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/about-us/who-we-are/our-history [Accessed 24 Aug. 2018]. Scott, J. (2016). Episode #175 - PAX South Panel 2016: Traversing the Cow Level - The Challenges of Gamers' IRL. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAvO5WYOgd4&feature=youtu.be [Accessed 24 Aug. 2018]. World Health Organization. (2018). I had a black dog, his name was depression. [online] Available at: http://www.who.int/campaigns/world-health-day/2017/videos/en/ [Accessed 24 Aug. 2018]. YouTube. (2012). Your brain on video games | Daphne Bavelier. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FktsFcooIG8 [Accessed 24 Aug. 2018].