Idea no. 5 - Dystopiosis

Idea No. 5
"Dystopiosis"

Dystopia: An imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one.

Brief
A documentary following a person who has a mental disorder which causes them to see the world as their vision of hell on a regular basis. The idea stems from my research into The Hunger Games, and the fact that Panem is created as a dystopia. I researched the term, and the idea of an imagined version od hell greatly fascinates me.

Audience
This documentary would definitely not be aimed at a young audience, as I think that the subjects being dealt with would not be appropriate for younger viewers. In my opinion, a focus on older teenagers and adults would be more suited to this subject matter.

Existing Products and Influences
Dystopian films
The Hunger Games - Panem

In a vision of a post-apocalyptic world, we see Panem, a place which is split into 12 districts and ruled by the Capitol. Every year, one male and one female between the ages of 12 and 18 is sent into an arena to fight to the death- only one can survive. Suzanne Collins, writer of The Hunger Games, stated that the idea came about when she was flicking through TV channels, from war documentaries to reality shows, and realised that the two were not so different. Essentially, The Hunger Games shows us a vision of the way our world is headed.

Code 46

Also in a vision of the future, Code 46 follows the idea that the entire population is split into  those who live "inside", in high-density cities physically separated from "outside", where a poor underclass live. Access to and travel between the cities is highly restricted. Most residents of the cities do not venture outside during the day, as direct sunlight is thought to be extremely hazardous to their health.

Documentary films about mental illness

Normal People Scare Me

Normal People Scare Me shares first-person accounts of life and living with autism. Created by Taylor Cross, a 17 year old aspiring film maker with high functioning autism, Normal People Scare Me highlights 65 interviews conducted over the past two years by Cross, with interview subjects representing different levels of abilities on the autism spectrum. The film's interview subjects range in age from 9 to 57 years. Cross asks subjects questions such as "What does autism look like from your perspective? Do you like or not like being autistic?; What do you want to be when you grow up?; to Have you ever been teased? (IMDB)

The Devil and Daniel Johnston

Chronicles American artist Daniel Johnston's life from childhood up to the present, with an emphasis on his experiences with bipolar disorder, and how it manifested itself in demonic self-obsession.

Conclusion
This would be a fascinating idea to work on, and would require use of imagination as "Dystopiosis" does not actually exist. There is a lot of opportunity to construct representations of people suffering from mental illness, and a reflection of our society today and where it will be in the future. Music and visual effects would also be essential here, to give the viewer an idea as to what this dystopia looks like in the person's head. There are definitely lots of elements I can use here, which does present a technical challenge. It may be difficult to make this dystopic vision seem realistic.