Before me and April chose to explore personality disorders, we looked at other teenage characters from various Teen Dramas and other programmes that suffered with a form of mental illness, to analyse how the characters were portrayed in each Teen Drama series. Here are a few that we discovered.
Effy Stonem (Skins)
The fourth season of 'Skins' saw one of main lead female characters Effy develop psychotic depression and later admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Before developing mental health issues, Effy's character was portrayed as confident and independent, and was admired for being popular and for her beauty. Since developing psychotic depression, Effy began showing signs of manic behaviour and attempting to commit suicide. After leaving the hospital she is seen transformed into a completely different person, by rejecting her old life including her friends and even her own identity.
Tate (American Horror Story)
'American Horror Story' character Tate's mental illness is unknown however it is clear that his character is very mentally disturbed, by killing several main characters in the programme, along with causing a mass shooting which killed fifteenth students.
Silver (90210)
Silver's character is first introduced in season 1 of '90210' as a strong, independent character who resents the stereotypical cliques at 'West Beverly High School' and their lifestyles, and makes fun of her peers on her online blog. Her character begins to change after becoming romantically involved with one of the male lead characters Dixon, where she makes a sex tape of the two of them, breaks in and vandalises a teacher's home and attempting to run away to Kansas. After these incidents occur, Silver's character is diagnosed with bipolar disorder and is seen residing at her sister's house and being taken out of West Beverly High School.
Newt (Hollyoaks)
Newt's character was introduced to soap opera 'Hollyoaks' in 2007 as a teenager who had a rough start in life. Newt is quite a shy, reserved character. Not long after his arrival in Hollyoaks, Newt begins having hallucinations of his childhood friend Eli, (who had committed suicide a few years earlier) who Newt thinks is real, and who proves to be a bad influence on Newt. He is also involved with a suicide pact with another friend Rae (who also turns out to be a hallucination). Newt is later hospitalised and is diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Rae (My Mad Fat Diary)
Rae is introduced to the audience as quite a quirky, funny character, despite her past. Her character has just been released from a psychiatric hospital for having mental health and body image problems. We see her character struggle to fit back into a normal routine after leaving the hospital, and watch her overcome her demons. Initially shy after befriending a local clique, they all begin to accept Rae for who she is, resulting in Rae feeling more secure in herself and overcoming her mental health issues.
Silver (90210)
Silver's character is first introduced in season 1 of '90210' as a strong, independent character who resents the stereotypical cliques at 'West Beverly High School' and their lifestyles, and makes fun of her peers on her online blog. Her character begins to change after becoming romantically involved with one of the male lead characters Dixon, where she makes a sex tape of the two of them, breaks in and vandalises a teacher's home and attempting to run away to Kansas. After these incidents occur, Silver's character is diagnosed with bipolar disorder and is seen residing at her sister's house and being taken out of West Beverly High School.
Newt (Hollyoaks)
Rae (My Mad Fat Diary)
Rae is introduced to the audience as quite a quirky, funny character, despite her past. Her character has just been released from a psychiatric hospital for having mental health and body image problems. We see her character struggle to fit back into a normal routine after leaving the hospital, and watch her overcome her demons. Initially shy after befriending a local clique, they all begin to accept Rae for who she is, resulting in Rae feeling more secure in herself and overcoming her mental health issues.
This is fantastic work; a detailed description of your ideal audience, with clear links to audience theory (demographics, etc). I also like the way you have compared your ideal viewer with the main character of the film (as this is a clear selling point of the film itself!) Fantastic work here!
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