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Big Mouth, Big Problems: An Analysis of Depression in Adolescents


Nethra Palepu


Big Mouth is a TV show that centers itself around the lives of a group of adolescents and their experiences while they deal with puberty and related sexual encounters. This show is distinct in its personification of certain people, objects, or emotions through “monsters”. For example, each child has a Hormone Monster or Monstress that handles everything in the department of puberty, essentially acting as a kind of sex and puberty-related “shoulder angel”. There is also a Shame Wizard that appears every time the child is ashamed of something that they have done, a ghost of the Duke of Ellington, a talking and sexually active pillow, among other characters.
Jessi Glaser, one of the main teenagers in the show, is a 13 year old girl who is going through an especially difficult time. Apart from the general ups and downs that come with puberty, Jessi’s parents are also getting divorced, her mother recently came out as a lesbian, and her father is a burn-out with a marijuana addiction. As a result, Jessi begins showing evident signs of depression. APA defines depression as “a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think, and how you act, leading to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease a person’s ability to function at work and at home.”
Big Mouth portrays these changes in the way Jessi feels, thinks, and acts, in a way that is both accurate and progressive. The show explicitly depicts a variety of DSM-5 categorized depression symptoms including low mood, loss of interest and enjoyment in everyday activities, feelings of worthlessness and guilt, and a loss of confidence. It tactfully puts forward the trajectory of Jessi’s downward spiral – starting off with her deliberately acting out and having emotional breakdowns to her finally realizing that she is depressed and needs help. Apart from a symptomatic depiction of adolescent depression, the show also portrays the importance of social and familial support, the need for healthy relationships with adults, and the necessity to accept that you have a problem in order to be able to fight it.
Jessi began to act out by getting into a physical relationship with a guy that she knows is no good, attempting to run away from home, and by constantly fighting with her parents. Her low mood and loss of interest is seen in her disengagement in school activities that she once enjoyed as well as her no longer hanging out with her friends. In an attempt to help Jessi fight these issues, all the other “monsters” in her life have a meeting -- including the Intellect Sphinx, the Anxiety Armadillo, the Ambition Gremlin, and the Hormone Monstress. During this meeting, they collectively decide that they need help from the “Depression Department” for Jessi’s case, and at this point emerges the Depression Kitty. She takes over as Jessi’s “shoulder-angel” instead of the Hormone Monstress -- this is where the show’s portrayal of depression gets especially interesting and precise.
The Depression Kitty is a literal personification of what depression feels like. She is a blue-coloured cat with a voice that is slow and drawly, in a way that is relaxing and almost comforting. Almost immediately, the Kitty takes Jessi into the “Depression Chamber”, a completely padded, grey room, with no doors or windows. There is only a TV on the floor and a bed next to it. As she takes her in, the Kitty asks Jessi if she has ever “laid on her side, facing away from the television – listening to a Friends marathon while it’s raining outside and she’s wearing double socks”, which Jessi and her immediately begin to do. This portrays a common symptom of depression – a disinterest in her usual every day activities and the lack of motivation to do anything properly, even watch a TV show.
Jessi eventually says that she should probably get up because it’s “weird” to be in bed in the middle of the day – signifying a realization that there might be something wrong with her. At this juncture, the Kitty goes from being sweet and comforting to aggressive and sinister. The Depression Kitty argues that there is nothing wrong with what they are doing and almost forcefully lies on top of Jessi, to which Jessi says “you’re a little heavy – I can’t really move.” This heavy weight -- the feeling like you cannot get up even though, theoretically, you know that you should, as well as the internal battle between your “depressed self” and your “actual self” is put forward in this particular scene. The idea the depression holds you down, almost physically, in a dark, comfortable space is also portrayed here.
At this point, Jessi’s friends come looking for her in the Depression Chamber. They begin to shout for her and the Depression Kitty gets extremely aggressive in response. She covers Jessi’s mouth and says “You belong in here, with me.”. Jessi begins to struggle and screams “I need help! Let me out!”. One of Jessi’s friends tries opening the door to the Chamber but can’t find a doorknob. This is indicative of how sometimes the people in your life want to help you, but usually don’t know how to or don’t have the means to. Jessi now begins to aggressively fight the Depression Kitty, with all her friends and her Hormone Monstress cheering her on. With one final blow, she manages to kick the Kitty and pushes herself out of the Depression Chamber.
After “defeating” the Depression Kitty, Jessi has a pleasant conversation with her mother for the first time in weeks. She says: “You were right, I do need help. I want to talk to that therapist.”. This entire scene depicts the need for help from your loved ones in order to combat depression, even if the “help” is them just cheering on the sidelines while you fight the battle yourself. Here, Jessi’s friends are fully supportive of her and don’t treat her any differently just because she is depressed. This is also indicative of how depression is an internal battle between what feels like two different people, and that only once you make an effort to fight for yourself do you begin to make progress.
Big Mouth, therefore, not only portrays distinct DSM-5 symptoms of depression throughout a series of episodes, but also looks at the social implications for an adolescent who has depression. It treats depression almost nonchalantly, with no associated stigma or differential treatment towards the affected individual. This is also seen in how Jessi’s journey with depression was never the central plot of any of these episodes, but was just one of the many things that were happening. The show also displays a healthy relationship between Jessi and the adults in her life – one that is based on trust and mutual communication, as opposed to unequal power dynamics and a lack of understanding.

Bibliography

Nick Kroll, A. G. (Creator). (n.d.). Big Mouth [Motion Picture].
What Is Depression? . (2017, January). Retrieved November 28, 2018 from American Psychiatric Association : https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression (n.d.).



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