Mental Illness In The Walking Dead (Regarding Sarah)
I was disappointed when I got around to playing Walking Dead season two, especially when it came to Sarah. What was exactly going on was left undiagnosed, but as a person with a dissociation disorder, she represents some of the symptoms of someone who dissociates, such as the scene where she completely spaces out while cutting berries or the panic attack she had in the trailer park. PTSD may play some part in how she acts as well, but I'm not too knowledgeable on PTSD so I'm not going to go too much into it.
It seems like Telltale automatically treated Sarah's mental illness as an automatic death sentence for the character. They treated Sarah was a whiny brat, someone who was completely incapable of taking care of herself, someone who is a burden to the group. This is not a strong representation of mental illness. I wish that Telltale could have gone more in depth with her character exploring what it was like to survive the end of the world through the lenses of a young girl dealing with mental illness.
A particular scene that was a slap in the face was that the only way to get Sarah out of the trailer alive was to slap her in the face. It made me angry that Telltale thought that hurting someone was a valid way to snap them out of a panic attack. You can't get someone out of a panic attack/dissociation by slapping them. At best, it would destroy any trust that person has in you. At worst, it pushes them further into their attack.
What is your opinion on this? How do you think Telltale could have improved their representation of mental illness?
Comments
Yeah, that was one blemish on season two that I didn't really like either. That slap in particular was really insulting, and to be honest, I really was hoping for an opportunity with Clem (or even Jane to show some character growth and common ground between the two of them) to really connect with Sarah on a deeper level. I understand that it'd be difficult to support the girl in the apocalypse, especially after she broke down due to her dad's death, but they had a real missed opportunity there to interact on a more personal level with a character experiencing mental illness.
I really can't remember the last time it's been done respectfully in a video game.
Although I'm not 100% sure on how they'd be able to pull it off, there could've been a pretty interesting dynamic between Clem and Sarah that we could've gone with, and I think they might've touched on it a little bit with "In Harm's Way". The thing is, the two of them are still just kids, and I don't think either of them would be able to talk about it openly since they likely wouldn't know what's completely going on. For example, Clem likely wouldn't come out and mention in passing that the girl has depression, anxiety or whichever one it was, and still be expected to know exactly what to do. Carlos would've, and he even mentioned how his daughter wasn't like Clem, but it was up to us as the players to interpret what Clementine couldn't.
So... maybe they could've kept that childlike support mechanism thing going that they had earlier. Remember when we had the opportunity to talk to Sarah at Howe's; offering to help show her how to cut the branches or just being there as a friend? Maybe that could've continued, and as Sarah learned to open up a little more than she already had towards you, maybe the girl could explain that (just as an example) she gets nervous when the grown-ups argue all the time, or that she kind of tunes out into her own little place when the world gets too scary to handle (such as when her dad died in front of her). They should've given us the chance to help talk her through it, since although Clem wouldn't be a parental figure, she still could've been a friend helping to guide the girl through all the shit thrown their way, so to speak.
Telltale confirmed that she did have PTSD in a GameInformer Interview. However, dissociation does very accurately describe some of her mannerisms.
And yes, what they did to her bullshit. One of the worst things they've done, in fact.
I'm going to counter this with a few things.
1) Although slapping wouldn't be the correct thing, I doubt Clem has any idea how to properly deal with someone having a panic attack (especially in the situation she was in).
2) From what I remember, Sarah had basically no experience in survival or the outside world, so anxiety/PTSD or not, she still probably would've died (and would've been a burden, strategically thinking).
Although I ultimately think mental health should be more explored in the TWD universe, there is one good example I can think of.
TWDG for Michonne featured suicidal thoughts, and PTSD symptoms (I'm not an expert but I think that's what they'd fit), all while keeping Michonne a headstrong character who wasn't a burden.
For example, there's a scene where someone's in jeopardy but she zones out and is unable to move while thinking of her trauma (similar to Sarah in the trailer).
"1) Although slapping wouldn't be the correct thing, I doubt Clem has any idea how to properly deal with someone having a panic attack (especially in the situation she was in)."
My problem is that Telltale basically communicated that this was an appropriate and even the only option in this situation. I think perhaps that if your Clem had strengthened her bond with Sarah, she should have been able to coax Sarah out of the trailer. It might have sacrificed a bit of realism, as it takes a lot of people more time than that to come down from an attack, but I think it would have helped to strengthen the player's sympathize towards Sarah
"2) From what I remember, Sarah had basically no experience in survival or the outside world, so anxiety/PTSD or not, she still probably would've died (and would've been a burden, strategically thinking)"
This could be said for all children in the Walking Dead, even Clem was defenseless in the beginning. (Though Clem had a bit of an advantage, seeing as Lee actually knew how to take care of and teach a child; however I will save my ranting about Carlos for another thread) But there was an option to teach Sarah self-defense, and I think that Telltale could have actually shown her using the tactics Chem taught her instead of doing nothing with them.
As for Walking Dead: Michonne, I haven't played the game, but from you say I'd to see how Telltale deals with suicidal thoughts, as it is a recurring theme in the comics.
Yeah, Season 2 in general had a habit of making it so that no matter how you play, two choices in any scene has dictate what happens. The fact that this habit even affected Sarah is part of why Amid the Ruins tends to get so much flak.
That's a key difference a lot of people to put much though into: Sarah needed a Chuck to talk to Carlos and most importantly time, two things Clementine had.
They definitely should've considering there was a perfect opportunity where she could've been determinantly allowed to do so.
Really, really wish Sarah wasn't a guaranteed death. I don't care if she was quadruple determinant like Conrad. I don't mind working for it.
Survival of a fittest isn't a mentality everyone shares. Like the guys caring for the elderly in the show, sometimes it's worth protecting the less capable.
Same.
Same. A story about Clementine and Sarah togheter would have been better than Javier's story.
I think you are looking at it the wrong way. You are saying telltale this and that but seem to be forgetting that the game is from Clem's point of view. To expect an eleven year old apocalypse victim to know how to deal with that is crazy. Those were the limited options Clem could think of.
if Sarah survived season 2 ((And the bullshit flashbacks)) im pretty sure she would have had an arc where she learned to survive and would probably have been something like Lingard s assistant since her father was a doctor.
Yes, I understand the game is from the perspective of an 11-year-old Clem. But slapping a child undergoing a panic attack should not have worked. It sends a terrible message.
Dude, that would be awesome. She'd be an awesome doctor, it's clear that she really cares about people and wants to help.
Certainly a better friendship, in my opinion.
Is that the only way to get her out? I don't remember.
Yes. No matter what you say to Sarah, no matter your relationship to her, no matter if your speech makes her come to her senses, you have to slap her to save her.
Again, Season 2 was pretty 2 dimensional with it's choice.
Sarah's death was bullshit...but I actually liked how she was portrayed. Carlos refused to do the right thing and make her see the world as it truly was. She should have been given shooting lessons.
It is a missed opportunity as I thought Sarah could have been used to help Jane and Jane could learn to care and give a Damn....would have been a great arc for Sarah and Jane and Clementine. But what do I know?
Yeah, seriously. That's one of the reasons I put up with Jane to begin with and slammed the "Save Sarah" option when I noticed that Jane would've fallen right next to her.
I hold some animosity towards Jane, but I think that faced with the choice of two girls who could learn something from her, and in turn learn something from them, she might have stayed.