Abyss

Abyss is a short film inspired by A.S. Byatt’s “A Stone Woman” and David Lodge’s Therapy. The short film follows the eyes and mind of an individual suffering from an anxiety disorder, very much like the protagonist in Therapy. Like the novel, the short film aims to show what anxiety is like via the first person point of view, throwing visuals into the mix. However, rather than simply narrating a typical day, the narration is actually piece of spoken word poetry. In having a slightly more fantastical voiceover, a contrast is created between the mundane, ordinary visuals and the slightly elevated language of the spoken word. This hopefully shows how things can appear ordinary, but it is the thoughts that an individual has that determines the anxiety in their lives. An everyday may hence consider the footage to be ordinary, but it may not for someone suffering from a mental illness.

Animation within the short films is an example of the “extraordinary”. Stairs are simply stairs to abled individuals, but can be sharp cliffs to the handicapped. Like in “A Stone Woman”, the narrator finds her own way of reconciling with her illness. In this case, it could even be of restitution narrative. The narrator may not have fully recovered, but in reconciling with her anxiety, she effectively resumes normal daily life. Abyss basically aims to show a more personal view of the mental disorder. That being said, every person’s experience with mental disorders is different and subjective. This short film is merely a portrayal out of the many.