Netflix recently added to their list of angsty teen series a Channel 4 UK original: The End of the Fxxxing World. People are already binge watching it, and giving their praise to the well written and executed drama. The main story follows James and Alyssa, two discordant teens who run away together from their broken families. Alyssa believes that just like her, James is tired of dealing with an asphyxiating home life. However, James has other reasons, he believes he is a psychopath, and his goal is to, at some point, murder Alyssa.
From this point on, there may be some slight spoilers. That being said, I don’t want to focus on the great soundtrack, or the crazy situations the characters get into, and not even on the way they portrayed sexual consent. Although all of those are good points, and I encourage everyone to watch the series and make their own conclusions about the different strategies and portrayals. However, I want to focus on mental health.
Arguably the most important development in the show is, James’ realization that he is not a psychopath.
What he does have is a trauma caused from watching his mother deliberately drive a car into a lake, committing suicide. Growing up he never received any therapy after this event, and instead developed a closed off personality. He did not connect with people, did not express his feelings or a sense of humor, he killed animals and hurt himself.
Although his father cared for him and tried his hardest to provide a caring environment, he never offered James the professional help and support one needs after such event. James’ mother could have presumably suffered from depression or some other mental illness which led to her suicide; making it that much more important for James to seek help and care for his mental instability. Throughout the series however, in his journey and interactions with Alyssa, James comes to the conclusion that he isn’t a psychopath.
There is a moment in the series where he has to take a stone and kill a dog who is suffering, but is unable to go through with it; even though in the past James had killed animals. His relationship with Alyssa helped uncover hidden feelings that he was unable or unwilling to express before.
Now, I’m not saying that you should run away and murder someone to solve your issues, but the fact is that many people incorrectly self diagnose with mental illness and never seek further professional help. Therefore you could live your whole life never understanding yourself or feeling inadequate. It is important, for everyone, especially for teens, to talk about their mental health.
The End of the Fxxxing World, did an excellent job at portraying two teens, who desperately cried for help, for an understanding of themselves and the things that happened to them; they ask to understand why the world around them pushed them to mental breakdowns, and traumatic events. In society we are exposed to many harmful situations, like the ones depicted in the series, and we may feel like we have to deal with it alone, but we don’t. Many movies and shows romanticize the idea of sadness, loneliness and mental illness, so it is that much more important to show the need for self care and mental health awareness. The media needs to evolve from just showing teens and young adults acting recklessly and killing themselves, and they have to show development, and ways in which we can take care of ourselves, better our health and seek help.