When compared to the depictions of mental illness from the 20th century, it’s clear that there was a major shift in modern pop culture’s portrayals of it with the turn of the new century, albeit gradual. Even when the topic of mental illness was discussed, it was sensationalized. Take Britney Spears's breakdown in 2007, in which the media described Spears as irrational and crazy, with headlines such as "'Britney's suicide drama!', 'Britney Shears!' and simply, 'Insane!'" (Lunn, Vogue). However, the 2010s showed an improvement towards a different, more serious approach to mental illness. With TV series and video games such as Euphoria and Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, the decade gave us more nuance to our perspective and conversation of mental health.
If the later 20th century was when discussion of mental health began, then the 2010s was when our pop culture began to take those talks more seriously. During this time, we started to see shows like Euphoria, which focuses on many mature topics such as dating violence, toxic relationships, relapsing, and much more. We also saw the release of prominent video games which portrayed a more nuanced side to mental illness. One of these video games was Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, which covered the main character's journey while she was suffering from her psychosis and the loss of a loved one. In an era where mental illness was considered more of a curse, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice explored this idea and showed the different sides of this "curse.” Another game of note is Omori, a game that was released during the COVID-19 pandemic, which dealt with trauma from the past and repressed memories in RPG-style gameplay. A final game to mention is Night in the Woods, which focuses on neurodivergent thinking and finding your place in a world where you are different from everyone else. When compared to 20th-century media, 2010s media contained a plethora of stories and characters representing different mental backgrounds, which is what Arcane was preceded by.
When comparing Arcane with a few of the prior works created during this century, there are plenty of similarities and differences simultaneously. For starters, Omori and Hellblade center around characters struggling with grief and attempting to reconcile and move on from the loss of their loved ones. Night in the Woods is about finding your own place and identity. Arcane focuses on both, with Jinx’s own identity in question after her past came back via hallucinations that haunted her and took the form of her dead family. Regarding the differences, it’s more about how these struggles are pictured in their settings. Hellblade’s depiction is a constant internal battle in Senua’s mind, Omori's depiction utilizes emotions and dreams to show the psychological trauma and depression Sunny is going through, and Night in the Woods's depiction is a narrative exploring its characters' struggles with their identity. These games were all created before the release of Arcane and contributed bit by bit to breaking down the stigma of mental illness. This is the essence of Arcane: a milestone of how far we have come in exploring and discussing mental illness, yet also a reminder of how much further we need to go to truly understand this topic and debunk stereotypes. That is the beauty of time: it allows us to look at our past to see what we can improve in the present to make way for a better future.
References:
Lunn, Oliver. “From ‘bunny Boiler’ Stigmas to Brave Storytelling, a Timeline of Mental Health Narratives in Pop Culture.” British Vogue, 3 Oct. 2020, www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/mental-health-narrative.
Pence, Nicholas. “10 Best Games about Mental Health, Ranked.” DualShockers, 22 Jan. 2023, www.dualshockers.com/best-mental-health-games/.
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