For far too long, topics relating to depression, mood disorders, and anxiety have been labeled taboo. It’s time to tear off the veil of secrecy surrounding mental health issues.
Sadly, those who were brave enough to come forward with their mental health struggles were frequently stigmatized by society at large. As a result of this intense, unwarranted judgment, many individuals felt there was no choice but to keep their disorders a secret.
With the passage of time, we’ve seen a turn of the tides in the US surrounding topics relating to mental illness. Now that research sheds light on how common these issues are, many people are encouraged to speak out about them. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 1 in 5 individuals in the US struggle with issues relating to mental health.
Celebrities open up about mental health issues
For decades, mega-stars did their best to present only the most polished and sparkling versions of themselves and even give off an aura of mystery.
But nowadays, many celebrities are opening up to fans about their mental health struggles. Consumers of pop culture seem hungry for shared stories and experiences that are transparent and relatable rather than glamorized perfection. This cultural shift permits movie stars and pop sensations to get real with the world about personal issues that are far from picture-perfect.
Eliminating the stigma associated with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and more
When megastars get vulnerable and share about their behavioral health issues, individuals who are battling with mental illness feel seen. Knowing that their favorite actors and musicians also deal with anxiety, OCD, and depression can help so many people feel less alone.
And, fans can feel less ashamed about their own personal struggles when the people they look up to face similar obstacles.
If Selena Gomez can release an entire documentary about her experiences with bipolar disorder, it takes a weight off of people’s shoulders. If Megan The Stallion can shamelessly drop a track called “Anxiety,” fans can feel a sense of validation for their emotions. There’s something so comforting about knowing these mega-stars really are “just like us.”
But are these celebrities oversharing about their mental health?
Are Celebrities too candid with fans?
Not everyone is on board with this newfound transparency. On the other hand, a growing number of pop culture consumers think these celebs’ first-world issues have no relation to real-world problems and leave them totally out of touch.
Considering how wealthy most A-list stars are…some are convinced that celebrities will never understand the tribulations that lower and middle-class people face. As a result, some argue that celebrities have resources and access to things most of us could never dream of so they should have less mental stress.
Back in 2022, Bella Hadid was famously dragged when a resurfaced clip featured her crying when she couldn’t have a designer bag.
Of course, we’re all aware that Kendall Jenner has faced years of criticism for using her platform to talk about her crippling anxiety,
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“There is going to be those people that say, ‘Oh, OK, what does she have to worry about? What does she have to be anxious about?” the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star said in an interview with Vogue.
While Jenner goes on to acknowledge her privilege, she also says that fame doesn’t automatically preclude her troubles with mental illness. The reality star adds, “I’m still a human being at the end of the day.”
And let’s not forget during the height of the pandemic, when A-listers were brutally attacked online for complaining about being stuck inside their homes despite living in million-dollar mansions. In this instance, the masses were not so quick to sympathize with celebrities’ complaints.
When Ellen Degeneres whined about being unable to go outside during the pandemic and compared it to “being in jail,” the general public called her out.
Sophie Turner and other celebrities use their platform to advocate for mental health
But the notion that celebrities are out of touch when it comes to their first-world struggles is only half the argument.
Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan stirred the pot when he suggested many celebrities “fake” mental health issues in an effort to boost their careers. “Sadly, I know a lot of well-known people (not The Rock) who’ve jumped on the ‘victimhood’ bandwagon to get positive publicity for themselves,” the controversial figure tweeted in 2019. “They do those with genuine mental illness a great disservice.”
His controversial take was met with a wave of backlash from celebs and the general public alike. Game of Thrones superstar Sophie Turner, who is an avid advocate of mental health, clapped back at the Good Morning Britain host.
She responded in a heated tweet, saying, "Or maybe they have a platform to speak out about it and help get rid of the stigma of mental illness, which affects 1 in 4 people in the UK per year. But please go ahead and shun them back into silence.”
Sophie Turner via Twitter
There seems to be a divide over how people feel about celebrities sharing intimate details regarding their mental health affairs. Whether you believe stars are splattering personal concerns all over social media simply to remain relevant or if you genuinely think they do a terrific job destigmatizing mental health problems is entirely up to you.
Personally, I love it when people like Demi Lovato and Ariana Grande reveal their struggles with depression and anxiety because it makes me feel less sensitive and ashamed about my own inner frailties. And I feel less alone.
The way I see it, when someone like Kendall Jenner gets brutally honest about her journey with crippling anxiety, it creates a sense of unity for everyone out there who is dealing with the same thing. Kendall, along with a slew of other celebrities, leverages her platform to build a fervent discourse on topics that have been swept under the rug for far too long.
An Unconventional List of 4th of July Movies
Celebrate the 4th with these flicks!
Americans have always had different interpretations of patriotism. Even the Founding Fathers couldn't agree on what it means to be a "good" democratic citizen: While Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin encouraged citizens to question or even rebel against an overly intrusive government, John Adams believed that publicly criticizing the government could put the welfare of the country in danger. The lines are no less fuzzy in modern history. Was Joe McCarthy a patriot? Is Edward Snowden? Colin Kaepernick? It depends on who you ask.
Judging by our favorite 4th of July movies though, you'd never know that American patriotism was so nebulous or complex, perhaps because the rah-rah films touting individualism and liberty—including favorites like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Forrest Gump, Patton, Independence Day, and Saving Private Ryan—aim to please rather than make us think. These films may go down easy, but they can also be unrealistic, representative of only a small fraction of our population, tacitly xenophobic, or even downright creepy (Birth of a Nation, for example).
We may never come to a definitive conclusion about what it means to be an American patriot, but perhaps that's not the point. Meaningful debate, critique, and reflection could be a healthy antidote to our current culture of division and broad generalizations. So, if you're looking for something that will make you think this 4th of July, here are 10 films, from political thrillers to dramas and biopics, that show America in all its shades of color, not just red, white, and blue.
Three Days of the Condor (1975)
Robert Redford plays a CIA agent, code-named Condor, who must hide out after he finds his colleagues mysteriously murdered in their New York City office. Unsure of where to find safety, he persuades a woman (Faye Dunaway) to hide him in her Brooklyn apartment, where the two of them fall in love and together uncover a government conspiracy, discovering that the line between enemy and ally is dizzyingly blurred.
Do the Right Thing (1989)
On the hottest day of the year in Brooklyn, racial tensions flare between the Italian owner of a pizza shop and his mostly black clientele. Spike Lee's classic summer film captures a slice of New York City, and race relations in America, by weaving together different characters and plot lines. We all have to live with one another, but that doesn't always mean we'll go through the trouble of learning how to get along.
Into the Wild (2007)
Based on the true story of Alex McCandles, a young idealist who wanted to live a self-reliant life a la Thoreau in the great American west, Into the Wild asks crucial, and difficult, questions about American individualism: what does it really mean to be self-reliant? How can we find a sense of connection amid a corrosive culture of consumerism? The movie paints McCandles' romantic idealism in a sympathetic light, but refuses to make him a martyr.
There Will Be Blood (2007)
This visually stunning film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson tells the story an American oilman (Daniel Day Lewis) at the turn of the 20th century who persuades a small town in California to let him drill for oil on their land. About the relentlessness of our capitalist spirit, greed, and the twin rivers of oil and blood, There Will Be Blood offers an unsettling vision of American history.
Milk (2008)
Sean Penn gives an Oscar-winning performance in this 2008 biopic about Harvey Milk, the groundbreaking gay rights activist and politician in San Francisco who was killed while running for office in 1978. A moving tribute to those who have moved the needle on LGBT rights, and those who are still dedicating their lives to making progress 50 years later.
Hurt Locker (2008)
An elite team of specialists led by the sometimes-reckless Sgt. William James, are tasked with defusing improvised bombs in Iraq in this suspenseful film directed by Kathryn Bigelow. Hurt Locker does not romanticize the traumas of war, including those experienced at home and shows a war hero in a more complicated, even unsavory, light.
Selma (2014)
In this historical drama directed by Ava DuVernay, Martin Luther King Jr.'s march from Selma to Montgomery is seen from a different angle. The film shows the backroom dealing and planning that went into the march—including discussions with Lyndon B. Johnson as he wavered on passing the Voting Rights Act of 1965—to show us how history is really made, in fits and starts rather than sweeping, epic moments.
The Big Short (2015)
Based on Michael Lewis's nonfiction book, The Big Short is a cutting, tragicomic re-enactment of the financial players involved in the 2008 housing bubble and eventual financial collapse. A scathing indictment of big banks' greed, the movie still manages to entertain and even explain subprime mortgages, as Margot Robbie does while languishing in a bubble bath, in ways that actually make sense.
Brooklyn (2015)
Based on the book of the same title by Colm Toibin, Brooklyn tells the story of a young Irish immigrant who movies to New York in the 50s during a famine that ravaged much of the Irish population. At first homesick, she soon starts a relationship with a young Italian-American mechanic, and is torn between the possibilities of her new life, and the one she left behind. A tear-jerking but uplifting story that speaks to the immigrant experience in America.
O.J.: Made in America (2016)
This ESPN series is a five-part special about the life and trials of football star O.J. Simpson. Director Ezra Edelman doesn't just focus on Simpson and the murder of Nicole Brown, but also examines the impact of fame and race on matters of justice, and how Simpson's story parallels 50 years of racial conflict in the US, including instances of police brutality. Edelman forces us to question what is "true" in a society where truth and justice are not always aligned.