Blog post 4: Peer Review Task
I was immediately attracted to Raquel’s concept design and its backstory as soon as I saw it. I have only concentrated on one theme throughout this Better Lives unit and that is sustainability. She mentioned that there would be an anxiety feeling floating in the air if the topic sustainability were to be mentioned. I could not help but wonder why because I did not have the same sentiment as her.
It is really interesting to see another person’s opinion on the same topic. Her point of view was a real eyeopener for me because I would have never linked mental health with the 3 themes given. It showed me a different way to comprehend the 3 themes.
In her description for the character, she mentioned about a vaccine creation that allows people to be aware of their own mental health condition by having obvious coloured pigmentations displayed on the facial features. I think it is a hyper realistic idea that could actually be invented (someday). Many of us tend to prioritise our physical wellbeing over mental health issues just because the latter is not something we can all ‘see’. Having this vaccine could raise more awareness for mental wellbeing and also create a society where people with mental health issues could be assisted promptly.
I like how she used the word ‘fragility’ to describe the makeup look to seem as though it could be scratched off easily and that represents self harm which is usually a method to show distress. She gave us an example of her character with blue and purple pigmentations on the nose and cheeks area. I think the placement of the makeup really brings out her character’s design because the nose and cheeks areas are the most prominent parts of the face. It draws you in and makes you wonder why. It saddens me when she mentioned that the pigmentations can only be seen by the character and invisible to others. This is stated to match with our actual life’s oblivious society. Just like I have mentioned in the second paragraph, people are likely to dismiss one’s mental health issue or take no notice of them because mental illnesses are often not presented physically.
Reading Raquel’s sentiments has not only given me an opportunity to think differently about the themes, it has also taught me a valuable lesson which is to reach out to those in need. Her character design’s backstory drew me in and made me want to educate myself on the controversial side effects our industries have caused, be it knowingly or unknowingly. She has ingeniously taken all 3 themes into account and created a character that could be realised as a mental health awareness campaign.