By Yousra Bachine
The My Mind and Me documentary about Selena Gomez has gone viral on social media, sparking discussions and raising questions about Gomez and her life. Selena Gomez used this documentary to open a discussion about mental health and to show that life as a celebrity is not all sunshine and rainbows.
Through this documentary we get to see an insight into her personal life, and how she was affected by her mental health, as she was recently diagnosed with Depression and Bipolar Disorder.
My Mind & Me is not a happy story but an introspection into the darker thoughts of one of the world’s most famous stars. Selena is at the peak of her career, but tells the story of intense mental distress.
The film was shot over six years which gives us a deep understanding of her life, and what she went through. Because of the length of filming, the documentary allows us to follow Selena Gomez’s life in detail.
The memories of her childhood that we see through home videos taken by her family as a child, further reveal the vulnerability and strength of this young girl who has grown up and suffered so much. These were also the most soothing moments of the documentary, as it gave us as an audience the sense of comfort to know that – celebrity or not, we’re all the same.
When speaking about the purpose and aim of this documentary, the producer revealed in an interview:
“There’s a real part of me that wanted to make a statement to young people that pursuing the artifice of fame and whatever — it isn’t a bunch of roses. It’s not perfect, and in some ways, it can prevent actual human connection.”
This is what we need to remember from this documentary. Celebrity is not a synonym for happiness, and that celebrities, just like us, are still human beings. Human beings who can be affected physically and mentally and who should not be afraid in talking about that.
