TV series’ depictions of mental disorders have received considerable scholarly attention.
However, few studies have considered the role of aesthetic elements in representing mental disorders.
Therefore, in this study, we analysed how aesthetic features influence the representation of “psychopathy” in British coming-of-age TV series through the case study of The End of the F***ing World.
We chose to analyse psychopathy due to its over-representation in the media and its often-mistaken
conflation ...
TV series’ depictions of mental disorders have received considerable scholarly attention.
However, few studies have considered the role of aesthetic elements in representing mental disorders.
Therefore, in this study, we analysed how aesthetic features influence the representation of “psychopathy” in British coming-of-age TV series through the case study of The End of the F***ing World.
We chose to analyse psychopathy due to its over-representation in the media and its often-mistaken
conflation with the actual mental disorder of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). We applied
an aesthetic methodology in our analysis. We analysed the series in terms of language, appearance, behaviour, music and sound, technical devices, and intertextuality, closely observing three
sequences of various episodes that correspond to the character’s symptoms, diagnosis, medication,
and treatment. Our findings show that the aesthetic characteristics, characters, and events of the plot
can act as expressive means through which the experience of living with a mental disorder can be
accurately represented and simultaneously entertain viewers with drama and suspense. The series
challenges the reductionist perspective and previous stereotypes of audio–visual pieces related to
ASPD, suggesting that future TV series can better represent mental disorders with the correct use of
television aesthetics and cinematic devices.
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