Gen V might be a superhero show, but it’s also a series about college students.
A lot of shows about young adults cover topics related to mental health, such as Overcompensating, which examines how difficult it can be to be in the closet while starting college.
While Gen V Season 1 references mental health struggles, the most recent episodes of this The Boys spinoff tackles this issue head-on.
After all, one of the episodes was titled “The Kids Aren’t Alright” to drive the point home.
Unfortunately, the show fails to provide commentary skillfully on the need for mental health support among young adults.
As a show, Gen V already has to cover a multitude of bases, including expanding the universe of The Boys and delivering a great superhero show.
Gen V Has Already Stretched Itself Thin
Adding the topic of mental health to the storyline, amid the chaos of trying to move the story along in a short 8-episode season, is no easy task.
My biggest gripe is that the mental health storylines feel like they are tacked on to the show, even though they are related to the main characters’ powers.
For example, Emma’s eating disorder and Marie’s struggles with self-harm are hardly ever fully reckoned with, just portrayed as means to an end for them to use their powers.
Even worse, the show recently brought these topics up but portrayed them as issues that arise during hard times, such as when they were in prison, because they hate themselves.
This sends the overly simplistic message that these mental health issues are the result of self-hatred without really delving into how they also arise from the fact that their upbringing as superheroes and the pressure they face in college contribute to stress on their well-being.
Also, the show appears to exploit the fact that these young adults are struggling with their mental health and never allows them to seek any support.
Of course, this is set in The Boys universe, so it’s not going to be all sunshine and rainbows.
However, it feels like a disservice to shoehorn in storylines about mental health if they can’t give this topic the proper attention it deserves.
When Talking About Mental Health, It’s Important to Get It Right
One of the most prominent storylines in Gen V is Sam’s schizophrenia.
While the show emphasizes approaching this issue from Sam’s perspective, it also plays into the stigma around this mental health condition by showing how much harm and pain Sam causes because of his hallucinations and mood swings.
On Gen V Season 2 Episode 5, “The Kids Aren’t Alright,” Sam talks with his mother about his disorder and learns that V didn’t cause his schizophrenia.
During this conversation, his mother brings up that the disorder was just bad luck from genes.
While the biological aspect of schizophrenia is part of what psychologists know about this disorder, there are also lots of other factors, such as the environment someone grows up in, that can contribute to this.
By limiting the conversation around such a serious mental health condition to a short conversation with sweeping generalizations, Gen V is doing a disservice to those trying to raise awareness about schizophrenia.
We’ve already seen how misrepresentation of mental health can cause damage, thanks to the way 13 Reasons Why was received.
Additionally, many shows nowadays are thoughtfully addressing mental health, such as Shrinking, which centers on therapy and the importance of seeking help during challenging times.
Going forward, Gen V should consider these criticisms and determine how to frame mental health not just around struggles, but also around the potential support that can help improve the well-being of young adults.
What’s your take on Gen V’s portrayal of Mental health, TV Fanatics? Do you think the series needs to do a better job?
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