“What You Can’t See From Me,” the new documentary series that premiered yesterday on Apple TV +, has five episodes. My plan was to talk to her next week, once I had had time to see it all. I ended up seeing myself for five hours at a time, using all morning and afternoon on Saturday.
We are faced with something unique. Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry co-produce and host these episodes which tackle a taboo subject that concerns us all: our mental health and emotional well-being. Even before the pandemic, this was something important that we all tend to hide, and after the lockdowns that isolated us, it became urgent that these talks cover very, very well.
A difficult but necessary reflection exercise, especially in 2021
I won’t beat around the bush, “ What you don’t see from me ” is done awkward and hard to see (reason why it is only recommended for people over 18). Oprah and Harry not only bring to the surface the strongest emotions of the interviewees, but they also bring out their most sincere feelings to the point of shedding tears.
But still, still hard to see, you absolutely have to see it. Because it is one of the first productions that makes us understand that it is necessary for us to talk with ourselves and with others about how we feel, and because it shows us that everyone has something thing. Everyone has their internal battles. Anxiety. TOC. Grief after losing someone. Depression. Scared. We all have, without exception, a part of our inner self that is broken.
“ What you don’t see from me ” makes you see that we all must have a place where we can come forward and say we have that part of ourselves that’s broken. And admit it is one of the healthiest things you can do. It is not necessary to have suffered a trauma like the one the protagonists say in the interviews, it is enough to have any unpleasant experience that each of us has had. No one is perfect, no one has all of the optimally functioning mental gears. And that’s normal. Is human.
Each chapter of “What You Don’t See From Me” keeps you alert to the experiences of the characters, who also comment on how the isolation from the pandemic affected them. The documentary comes just in time, now that the restrictions are gradually being lifted, to make us realize that we need to talk to someone about how we are feeling. Family, friends or anyone with whom we have confidences.
In short, it’s a great idea, very appropriate for the time and it shows how much emphasis we need to put on mental health in these times. As I said before, “What you don’t see from me” is one of those parts that you must see. You might not know it, you might not want it, but you need it. Everything we need. Essential.
