Research Journal II

The preliminary research stage revealed the common characteristics of the representation of depression from both mass media and individual perspectives. The open submission for individual narratives were left open for more submissions from the public, unfortunately no further reply was received since the first data evaluation. For the purpose of further research, it is decided that the open submission of personal narratives on the experience of depression will remain open. To have a comprehensive research project and consider other unconventional representations of depression, I decided to look into non visual depictions of the mental disorder.

Noise annoyance has been recognized as a major environmental stressor, yet its association with mental health have not been explored. However through a study conducted by The Gutenberg Health Study (Beutel, Jünger and Klein, 2016), it is found that there is a strong correlation between the environmental noise annoyance and depression and anxiety, in fact the latter increased with the degree of overall annoyance. Among the list of potential noise sources, aircraft noise appears to have the most notable results in degree of annoyance. Another study stated that as people with depression experience overwhelming thoughts in their head, they tend to be more sensitive towards external noise, such as the the sound of a ringing telephone is a source of stress, not to mention the prospect of making a phone call. These discoveries while unrelated to artistic expression, provide and insight in the experience of depression through auditory perception which could be implemented in the final work in an attempt to create a more immersive emotional experience.

Although the research progress was going well, it was necessary to revise the research specification to rediscover the initial purpose and direction of the research project. The aim of the research project was essentially to gain a better understanding of individual experience and expression of depression while taking into consideration the social implication of popular media representations. Up to this stage, the research was moving towards the conventional representation of depression as multiple similarities were found between the individual narratives and mainstream media, both in written and visual languages. After reevaluating the initial intent, I have decided to work with a participant to focus on the individual experience as compared to a collective experience. I plan to create an artwork based on my interpretation of the participant’s narratives while being aware of the existing expression in popular media. The final result will be shown to and evaluated by the participant, thereon a comparison between personal narratives and popular media can be made on the topic of depression. At the same time, it is important to bear in mind, my role as a third person interpreter and consider its implications on the final outcome.

Of the three submissions received, only one shared their contact information and stated that it does not matter if the submitted narrative was kept anonymous, the only and most suitable participant for the research project at this point. I reached out to “X” (that was the name stated on his/her submission form) and requested permission to work with the submitted narrative and explained the intention of using the narratives without giving out too much that will lead to bias opinions towards conventional media depiction towards the end. After successfully contacting and receiving consent from “X”, I contemplated if I should ask “X” to elaborate on her description, such as the details of her scene and description of her “inner monster”, I realized that by doing so I may be trying to lead the participant to provide specific information. While a conclusion have not been reached on that matter, I will proceed with the research project with the main focus on this particular individual’s description on their experience of depression at the same time be aware of my personal biases so as not to interfere with the research outcome.

The current idea is to create a virtual reality depiction of the “feeling” of depression based on “X”’s description of his/her personal experience. As for the visual elements, experimentations will be carried out with or without further input from the participant. After determining the direction of research, it is important to consider the potential final outcome of the research project. Simultaneously, the research on the portrayal of the experience of depression as well as other relevant area relevant to the topic of depression will resume as not to rule out further possible beneficial information that would aid the development of the research project.

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References

Beutel, M. E., Jünger, C., Klein, E. M., Wild, P., Lackner, K., Blettner, M., Binder, H., Michal, M., Wiltink, J., Brähler, E., … Münzel, T. (2016). ‘Noise Annoyance Is Associated with Depression and Anxiety in the General Population- The Contribution of Aircraft Noise.’, PloS one, 11(5), e0155357. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0155357. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4873188/ (Accessed: 19 March 2019)