Madness and Civilization
Madness and Civilization by Michel Foucault is a book looking into the evolution of how mental health is viewed, and how people with mental health issues are treated. In it, Foucault speaks as if he was an expert from the time period he is writing about, and in doing so, invites the reader to compare the views of the past to those of the present and wonder if the modern views on mental health are really so different from those of the so-called "Dark Ages."
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is a video game that tells the story of Senua, a viking woman who is looking to rescue the soul of her lover from the underworld. The issue with it being that she has hallucinations, and can’t tell what’s real or not. This issue transfers to the player, from seeing things that aren’t there to hearing voices, some that give you encouragement and advice, some that insult and degrade you, and some that straight up lie to you. This technique allows people without mental health disorders to feel just a little like what it’s like to have them. This got me thinking about how else people could make art in a way that can share just a bit of their experience, and maybe leave the world a little bit more understanding.
The Yellow Wallpaper
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is written as the journal entries of an anonymous woman in the late nineteenth century who suffers from what we now recognize as postpartum depression. Her husband is a doctor who decides to treat it by isolating her in a country manor. The reader follows her as her isolation breaks her down mentally until, in the end, she is entirely convinced she came out of the manor’s yellow wallpaper. This story shows how people with mental health issues, and women in particular, were historically viewed as shameful things to be hidden away from the eyes of the world. This viewpoint has lessened in the modern era, but still persists to this day.
Future Planning Podcast
Future Planning Podcast is a podcast by The Arc Minnesota about planning for the future when you or the ones you love have developmental or intellectual disabilities. They give advice and speak about what services The Arc Minnesota offers to people who have developmental or intellectual disabilities and their families. This is important because oftentimes, people with disabilities of all kinds are dependent on these kinds of services, and this podcast offers a free and easy introduction to a few of them.
MagnifiqueNoir Book One: I am Magical by Briana Lawrence
I am Magical by Briana Lawrence tells the story of three, young, black, queer women who use the magic powers they have to defend the city they live in from monsters. While the story doesn’t revolve around social justice issues, the fact it stars who it does makes writing it an act of resistance against the systems in place that hold women, people of color, and LGBTQIA+ people down. This story makes me think about representation, and how it really affects those who aren’t often represented in the media.
Bunnybear by Andrea J. Loney
Bunnybear by Andrea J. Loney is the tale of a bear who is actually a bunny, and a bunny who is actually a bear! In this children’s picture book, Loney explains what it is to be transgender in terms that even the youngest among us can understand, and in a way that won’t enrage their parents. This makes me wonder how people could teach children about social justice issues