Harvie Krumpet and Normalizing Mental Illness

I was honestly very surprised by how much i enjoyed watching Harvie Krumpet. I went in expecting a story about a main character that is never able to be completely “happy” because of how different his mental illness made him from society. Instead, I got a story about a man who is trying to find happiness and fulfillment out of life just like everyone else. I was very happy to this type of portrayal because I feel that this doesn’t happen nearly enough in mainstream media. Mental illness is often wielded as an unspoken fear in media. It seems that a mentally ill character is always defined first most by their illness, and nothing else. It’s frustrating to see, as it doesn’t offer up any positive images for mental illness or help audience members understand what mental illness is. In Harvie Krumpet, there is a very conscious effort to not simply define Harvey by his illness, but not ignore it either. It’s only once in the beginning of the film that the narrator even acknowledges that Harvey has Tourette Syndrome. For the rest of the film, Harvey appears to be just like any other person, one who simply wants to find happiness and live a fulfilling life. This doesn’t mean Harvie is flawless, he still makes mistakes and get upset. However, the difference is Harvie’s behavior is treated a simply a part of who he is. I especially like how the filmmakers used his fact book as a way to show the audience how Harvie sees the world. It felt like the filmmakers respected Harvie as a character and wanted to show the audience how Harvie’s views of the world was different from what we typically see. I feel that having that type of respect for mental illness is what’s needed to better represent it in the media. A current example is the introduction of a autistic character to Sesame Street. The character, Julia, has been in the works for the last two years, and is now being revealed on the television series. The series worked with several different specialists to help bring the most genuine representation to the show. I feel that with this care and attention has helped create a more genuine character that will be able to be a positive role model to children with autism. Overall, I really enjoyed Harvie Krumpet and only wish that this type of representation for mental illness would be used more in mainstream media.