My Mad Fat Diary (2013-2015)
A diary turned into television introduces us to Rae Earl, a teenager who must merge back into her old life after time in a psychiatric ward. Thrust back into the world, she makes new friends and learns to cope with her mental health problems.
The series is exceptional when it comes to giving perspective and defying convention. Whilst we are with Rae every step of the way, there is a much richer understanding of her and the themes because of the time spent surveying each character. The pairing of “the fittest boy” with a girl nicknamed after Jabba The Hut shows us the idiocy and harm of “norms”.
Rae is desperate for sex and a boyfriend, so the unabashed conversations are bound to make you laugh. Although the series is set in the nineties, the issues tackled (mental health, sexuality, identity, body image problems) are still prevalent today. It gives a deep understanding of the struggles of teenage life and learning to come to terms with who you are, but remains entertaining.
Pure (2019)
Delving into mental health as its subject, Pure is centred around a type of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder where the sufferer experiences intense, disturbing, and inescapable thoughts. We see the condition through Marnie’s eyes, a young Scottish woman who moves to London seeking answers about her consuming sexual thoughts. The series deals with sex, identity, and the effects of Marnie’s mental health condition on day-to-day life.
Marnie’s awkward nature is relatable and amusing, with the voiceover hyperbolising the situation in a comical manner. The camerawork gives us a great understanding of her thoughts, utilising point-of-view shots of nudity and sex intercut with expressions of pain. If you want to understand more about OCD, this series is one to watch. It depicts the difficulty of the condition perfectly whilst still making you laugh.
Words by Isla Glen