A wrinkle in time.

SPOILER ALERT!

I watched this movie on my way to Las Vegas in June. Read below for my interpretation of specific scenes using a Mental Health lens!

Speaking in Colors

The first clip that made me think about how this movie is a great way to understand mental health was when the flowers speaking in colors showed up. Meg showed the flowers her locket, which contained a picture of her father who was lost somewhere in the universe. The graphics were incredible as the flowers moved towards Meg and began speaking, in their own way of course. Meg is confused as she doesn't understand and Mrs. Whatsit begins to listen in order to give a translation.

Oftentimes, people refer to color as they describe their emotions. An example of this is the oh so classical "I'm feeling blue" for when someone is feeling sad. Oftentimes bright colors signify positivity while darker colors can take more of a negative route. In psychology, which was one of my majors in college, there are actually some theories surrounding how color affects our mind. Most of all, cultural stereotypes map out what colors should evoke which feelings resulting in an entire population of people associating yellow with happiness and red with anger, for example.

In addition to the maybe obvious point made above, I wanted to focus on why Mrs. Whatsit was the go-to person to understand and translate. This situation reminded me of how not everyone who is exposed to our feelings can truly understand them and it takes a great deal of emotional intelligence to empathize. Mrs. Whatsit understands because she put a great deal of work into seeing how flowers speak and with this, she was always watching and listening. I think this is the biggest takeaway from this scene since people may be the type of listen to talk rather than listen to understand at times. Let's all be better at listening to our peers, friends, family, and people we generally interact with when they are speaking in colors since we don't always use verbal communication. Non-verbal cues are things we need to learn about each other in order to enhance our interactions and being able observe and interpret is a big part of maintaining healthy relationships.

Mr. Murry

Mr. Murry is the epitome of goal-oriented and unstoppable. Despite being way advanced of his time, he has the knowledge to complete his aspirations and he will do them -- no matter what it takes. One of the things that stuck out to me abut him was the way he was thinking in order to help find solutions. While this scene may be a bit obvious, I wanted to point out that sometimes we run based on instinct no matter how sophisticated us humans believe ourselves to be. At times, we process only through our amygdala (the center of our brain that handles all incoming information and drives our instincts) as we prevent the data from traveling to our prefrontal cortex (the front of our brain that handles our complex thoughts and decision making). In this moment, the process of consciously realizing our thinking process allows us to move from our emotion driven automatic processing to more coherence and rational. Think about this scene whenever you feel like your amygdala is not sharing with your prefrontal cortex.

Another scene that was incredibly powerful was when Mr. Murry said, "You can do this, you’re choosing not to." I have to pause every time I think about this quote because isn't this all of us summed in one sentence? How many times have we come up with excuses when taking on a daunting task? Haven't you prevented yourself from achieving your goals by either never really getting started or stopping prior to your accomplishment? This is all something we needed to hear, whether we like it or not. Rather than focusing on our abilities, we should focus on what steps we need in order to first get through the door and worry about what comes next later. So, remember, you are your own obstacle.

When Meg thought, "what if he doesn’t want to be found?" regarding her father it just broke my heart to pieces. Here we have a young girl who is going through all the trials and tribulations of growing up, but she also has to deal with her father's disappearance and being made fun of for it. Not only do you have "daddy issues," but no one really think it's real! Now, that's tough. Regardless, not wanting to be found has a certain meaning when we look at the context. Sometimes, people disappear on purpose because they in fact want to go into hiding and it's up to us to give them the resources to come back. Think of someone who you think may have been depressed and went into social isolation, but eventually came back through some consistency from their loved ones. We know this is not the case because Mr. Murry actually disappeared by mistake and is desperately trying to get back to his family. I can relate to Mr. Murry because sometimes my own struggles with my mental health makes me lost, but not because I want to since I always fight my hardest to come back no matter how long it takes. At the end of the day, we know that they were all reunited because Mr. Murry wanted to and all efforts could have been lost if the intent wasn't there. Think about this analogy the next time you're facing maintaining a healthy relationship with someone who is having a rather difficult time, whether they acknowledge it or not.

"It’s okay to fear the answers" has got to be my favorite quote from this movie. This made me think about how sometimes we have rhetorical questions that we just don't really want the answer to and it's always been a weird phenomena to me, but it's really embedded in our culture. Asking questions we don't want the answers to is part of our desire to find a resolution, but also a fear that it's not the one we were looking for. While it's extremely difficult to get rid of our expectations and it's never truly possible, we need to work on recognizing that there are many different paths to the same destination. It's alright to not be ready for what we receive, but it's all about how we deal with it.

The last part I wanted to touch on has to do with the parental relationship in the Murry family. While Mr. Murry focuses on the big universe, Mrs. Murry focuses on small particles. This was incredibly fascinating to me as they both had a general similar interest, but focused on different theories. Despite the difference in theories, they found a way to make it work together and even began to research in coherence. If you think about it, Mr. Murry represents the entire brain working as a whole while Mrs. Murry represents the synapses that drive our brain to work in small steps. While both can't work without each other, some people focus on the big idea while others focus on the small details. Do you focus on the whole, or the small details?

Meg Murry

Oh, Meg. Her name always reminds me of the teenager in family guy, but she's so different. I love her character because although she is young and scared, she doesn't let it become an obstacle to what she truly desires. Despite everyone telling her Mr. Murry abandoned his family and that traveling through space and time is not real, she doesn't let that stop her. Although she's got the concentration and work ethic of her father, there are still immense struggles that consistently get in her way.

First of all, Meg is the only character on this mission to find her father who is not able to tesser without feeling pain. This fact is extremely symbolic to me because while the rest of the characters are able to tesser effortlessly due to being sure of themselves. Meg, however, is the only one who is unsure of herself. So, what does this mean? Having confidence in your own abilities will definitely affect your journey. While you may be able to complete goals related to the paths you take without having much confidence, it definitely won't be easy -- and it may hurt. This theme throughout the movie reminds me of how taking the first steps in receiving help when dealing with mental illness is difficult not only due to the symptoms you have, but also because we are in physical pain. While having external support from people who care about us may help, similar to how the rest of the characters aid Meg, we won't truly succeed until we can believe in ourselves. By the end, Meg starts the tesser to go back home just at the time where she discovers what she is truly capable of. Don't let your self-doubt hold you back from tessering.

Another important scene is when Meg realizes we are only able to tesser where we find light, not darkness. No matter how hard we try, we won't be able to go somewhere that isn't going to be ideal for us. This means that although you may want to save someone from the darkness (could be an analogy for depression, for example), you won't be able to because 1. it's too dangerous for your own being and 2. they need to be able to find a bit of light before you can go to them. Sometimes, it's difficult because we want to travel to the darkness on behalf of helping someone else -- but, we can't help someone who doesn't want to help themselves. In addition, the universe works against us going to a place that isn't safe whether it's a literal or figurative sense. Don't ignore the signs the universe is giving you.

Meg not wanting to leave her dad in the darkness because she thought that there must be a way definitely tore up my heart strings. This is someone who is experiencing loss before the loss even happens. She sees right before her eyes how she could possibly lose her father and although everything is beginning to shatter, she still wants to go after him without taking consideration of the costs that are inevitable. At this point, Meg is also someone who needs saving and the other character's quick thinking throughout the film have helped her survive. But at some point, we all have to be selfish and think about our own needs -- especially when we're stuck in a life or death situation. Meg reminds me of every person who's an empath and just cannot help giving all of herself to others in order to save them, although she is going through her own struggles as well. There is always a way out of the darkness.

"Funny how it took me a trip around the universe to get there" - Meg

The surprise that I felt when Meg's will to find her father took over the tesser and redirected her from earth was crazy. This scene was completely unexpected from someone who hasn't read the book and I truly thought all hope was lost, but I was also in denial because this movie can't have a sad ending! The lesson learned here will be left up to interpretation, but I will offer that sometimes, we know what's best for us and ours.

The last point regarding Meg is when we're exposed to the idea that faults are actually a gift. This idea really touched me because a lot of the time we are self-deprecating due to the desire to always be perfect. In fact, if we were all born perfect we wouldn't have any space to grow. Therefore, having faults is one way to measure progress. The seeing glasses given to Meg by Mrs. Who allows her to see what others cannot and reinforces the idea that faults are in fact a gift since they both wear glasses. In addition to the latter, this scene makes me think about when one of my professors in college sat me down to have a similar talk. I was extremely depressed and anxious -- even told to take a medical leave during my last year. I was very much in fact having a mental breakdown and wanted to drop one of my majors (I was a double major and had a minor #TwoDegrees). She told me that the diversity in my courses was not only amazing, but was expected of someone like me who had so much going on I couldn't help but feeling empathy for others. Our faults end up aiding us in understanding others because we can relate.

"The It"

"The it" relates to the flowers speaking in colors, except it's the complete opposite. Rather than being dainty effortlessly bright and beautiful, "the it" is the stark contradictory image. It's completely black, extremely huge, and pointy. When given the choice of holding "the it" or the flowers who speak in colors, it's pretty obvious which one people are going to go toward. In essence, "the it" is everything that is wrong with the universe and it won't be bad all by itself -- it spreads.

"The It" for me represents a lot of things. For one, it can represent the big bucket of where all the bad things accumulate. As horrible things happen in this world, they are absorbed by "the it" and it expands its size. I'm talking about war, poverty, world hunger, racism, sexism, you name it. As our world becomes increasingly driven by negativity that influences billions of lives, "the it" will continue to expand and it will become a contagion to those who weren't exposed to "it" before. This is something I continue to think about everyday as our real world becomes engulfed in quite literal and figurative flames, but there doesn't seem to be an end in site. Will there be a Meg to come save our universe?

In addition to "the It" representing all the ills of our sinful Earth, I also really thought about "the it" representing mental illness. While I suffer from multiple Depression and Anxiety disorders, I couldn't help but think about how "The It" can also be inside all of us as well. This isn't to say that people who have mental illnesses are "The It" because I'm thinking quite the contrary. Instead, those of us who have received the gift of neurological diversity have an "it" we are constantly trying to keep at bay. At times, "the it" may be extremely small and unnoticeable as it doesn't completely impair our lives -- similar to the beginning of the movie where the characters were just unaware of what "the it" was doing. Other times, "the it" becomes extremely large and engulfs our whole beings -- much like how Charles Wallace was affected.

Charles Wallace became possessed by "the it" as he followed Red into his demise. I can't really blame him because he's an innocent kid, but this can also show how we can make choices that lead to our struggles while also showing that we can't be held 100% accountable because there is always evil on the horizon. Charles Wallace turned into a completely different person while possessed, which may seem dramatic, but that's how some people who have neurological diversity may be affected in real time. Not only was he possessed, but he also dragged other characters to the it. This really shows that negativity in one person really does affect an entire village.

I for one, am extremely high functioning and goal-oriented, similar to Charles Wallace. However, once I am possessed by "the it," I don't feel like myself anymore. Chronic Depression, Major Depressive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety, and Panic Disorder all contribute into my specific "it" sometimes taking control as I fight within myself to gain control. Sometimes, my "it" is so possessive that it travels outside of me and attempts (sometimes succeeding) to affect those around me as well. I think this is a great example of symbolizing how not only is there an "it" in the universe that harvests all of the world's negative energy, there may also be an "it" inside all of us and the only difference is its size and level of control.

Did you all realize that "the it" desires our strongest lights? Wanting the strongest lights is so ironic because I was expecting "it" wanting someone already engulfed by darkness, or at least pretty close to it. This shows that darkness is non-discriminatory and actually gravitates toward light, much like we do. While some people may be more susceptible to the darkness, it's important to not give in. Even after being possessed by "the it," it always shows a better version of you -- and that's extremely symbolic. All those who are willing to face the darkness bring the best of themselves to the light. Don't worry about what you're going through now because it will only strengthen your character.

Although Charles Wallace was being held hostage by the darkness, the team couldn't take him and had to come back for him. Ever need to take a break and reassess before coming back to help someone you love? When the team came back to save Charles Wallace, "the it" was defending itself from love. "The it" did not want to be helped no matter how much light Meg was returning to Charles Wallace because this was in fact, destroying "the it." When someone doesn't want to be helped it's because the darkness has become a part of them and no matter how much it hurts to be possessed by "the it," destroying that part of themselves will always be painful at first. The team was giving everyone on earth a real chance by weakening "the it," so we don't all end up like Charles Wallace.

Closing Points

Center Central Intelligence is an entity that attempts to control an individual's thoughts and decisions. In this town, everyone is identical down to the clothes they wear and the routines they practice. Here, the population's greatest fear is to be different and stand out. In this sense, Center Central Intelligence represents everything about our society that attempts to control us. Think about our social norms and stereotypes that dictate what is appropriate for people of our gender, sexuality, race, social class, and any other group we are placed in. Will we fight to protect our uniqueness, or just work to conform?

Overall, I was completely shocked when this movie did not receive high rating and instead was facing immense criticism. I personally loved the themes that were apparent throughout the film and the graphics were amazing. In addition, the diversity was something I appreciated since I want more people that look like me in mainstream media #RepresentationMatters. I hope you enjoyed this extensive movie review with a mental health lens and I look forward to sharing more of my thoughts in the near future!