Depression and mental illness affect many and both impede on one’s ability to carry out daily activities. Multiple factors in one’s life can contribute to this: such as their career, their relationships, their studies, and more. Getting away from this is often the hope of a lot of people, including myself at times, so how…
Film
Identity: On screen
Identity, a gripping psychological thriller in its own right, offers an unusual insight into one of the most misconstrued mental illnesses explored on film. The film follows two seemingly unconnected plots – the trial of a serial killer and the mass killing of a group of ten people stranded at a motel. However, with a…
OldVenue, TV
Mental illness on television
Just a warning before I begin, this article discusses the experience and representations of suicide and self-harm in a way that could be distressing to some people. Recently, I had what I’m sure is a very common experience. I turned on the TV and found myself witnessing a scene that, without context, seemed bizarre. A…
Arts, OldVenue
Art and Mental Illness
The image of the tortured artist has been a recurring character throughout history. There’s an idea that all great art must come from experiencing pain or suffering; it’s very much ingrained in our perception of creativity. Art itself is a reflection of our own humanity, and when encouraged, we can channel our emotions through hardship…
Music, OldVenue
Venue’s artist of the month
The kings of early millennium pop-punk, Fall Out Boy, have been blasting their way through the charts since their resurrection in 2013. The aftermath of their hiatus gave them a new type of popularity, pulling new, much younger fans into the scarce remains of a scene that peaked in 2005. Their 2013 release Save Rock…
Film, OldVenue
Mental illness is film
Film is a powerful medium. It can inform, entertain, influence: what we experience on screen feeds into our opinions, whether we know it or not. Mental illness is a subject that has long been popular within cinema, however, with this delicate issue that is often stigmatised or misunderstood, it is unsurprising that its representation can…
Film, OldVenue
Review: Big Eyes
Big Eyes, directed by Tim Burton, is the stunning biopic of Margaret Keane whose husband, Walter, passed off her haunting paintings of big eyed children as his own for ten years. Although the initially brightly lit scenes and lurid colours are uncharacteristic of Burton, the film quickly slides into a darker filter and adopts the…
Music, OldVenue
Musically Minded
It is a truth universally acknowledged – as well as scientifically suggested – that there is often a correlation between artistic genius and mental illness. Many masters of art, literature and music have long been heralded as paragons of this correlation, able to convey a deep inner turmoil through work that is both skilful and…
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