Hey, Oscar: Is the Academy Doing Enough for Mental Health?

Hey, Academy, this world is in a mental health crisis, and you can play a role in making things better. As an educator teaching the next generation of filmmakers, I find mental health is everyone's number one concern. However, each year, you continue to honor spectacle (Top Gun: Maverick) and over-the-top bloodshed (All Quiet on the Western Front) in your best-picture category. Why aren't you recognizing films that delve deeply into mental health? You've done it before. You can do it again.

Source: 2022 AZ Celtic Films

It's not that there weren't excellent mental-health–focused movies this year, Academy. Aftersun did nab a best-actor nomination, but it was by far the best film produced, so why is it missing from the best category? It's a sensitive portrait of a father and daughter and subtly paints a picture of depression and implied suicide. The film shows how a family member's mental illness can have lasting effects over the decades. The cinematic techniques utilized are poetically unique. All ingredients for a best picture nod. But you ignored it.

Similarly, this was one of the best years for horror films, a genre that often contains some of the most nuanced portraits of mental health and trauma caused by racism or other institutional ills. For example, although not as neatly constructed as Get Out, Nope was a tricky reflection on racism, power, the mental illness of an image-obsessed society, and, yes, trauma. The Watcher recreated a Hitchcockian sense of paranoia and stillness, of watching and being watched. Resurrection brought to life the fear of past abuse—all conversation starters around mental health. On and on.

Okay, I'll admit one of your best picture nominations delves into mental health in a meaningful way. Everything Everywhere All At Once presents a compelling portrait of alienation, ennui, parent–child strife, and, if I read the daughter's character correctly, melancholia and depression. And while another film, Women Talking, presents a compelling and poetic story about physical violence toward women and, yes, accompanying emotions as well, it's arguably more about the physical.

You've rewarded mental-health–themed movies in the past. You know how to do it: Ordinary People, Good Will Hunting, and Silver Linings Playbook come to mind. Given how prevalent mental health concerns are these days, one would have thought we'd see more movies being made and more acknowledgment at the Oscars rather than less. The film industry and you can do better.

Yes, I know, who ends up on the Best Picture list has a lot to do with who has the biggest campaigning budget—you know that's true—and I also know mental-health—themed movies take a lot of work to do well. Some feel inauthentic, created by those without lived experience, or need to be better researched. Some insist on a happy ending when sometimes mental health is more of a long-term project. Others are accurate but are bleak. That's why it's essential to acknowledge what was done well and what work is possible in this realm. And that sometimes audiences don't always need a happy ending.

Anyway, Academy, I know you hope more movies around mental health are made, but for that to happen, more must be acknowledged. It'll feel great knowing that you're helping mental health stay front and center as a concern for all and helping—in your small way—to realize the long-range goal of seeing mental health normalized in our society.