Dear Evan Hansen and why talking about mental health is so important (4 Viewers)

[athenaaa]

I decided tonight to finally watch Dear Evan Hansen, and it brought up a lot of things to think about

The movie talks about suicide. At the memorial for Connor Murphy, Evan talks about how we are not alone. Nobody is alone, there is someone who loves you and cares about you. You are deserving of so much. Please stay strong, anyone who is struggling.

Alana in one of the songs sings these lines: "She's built a wall with all her achievements to keep out the question, without it, is she worth anything at all?" Basing self-worth on achievements, this is something I have done myself. I don't openly talk about my struggles often on here but I figured this makes it a little more human than just sounding like a research paper.

The movie focuses on keeping Connor's memory alive and advocating for mental health initiatives.

No one deserves to be forgotten
No one deserves to fade away
No one should come and go
And have no one know he was ever even here
No one deserves to disappear

At the very beginning of the movie, Evan is writing letters to himself as an assignment from his therapist. Seeing a therapist should not be stigmatized like it is. It's okay to seek help!

Zoe admits she likes Evan for who he is. That's such an important thing, whether it be a friendship, a family connection, or a romantic relationship, unconditional love is so important.


I never thought there'd be someone like you who would want me
Well...
So I give you ten thousand reasons to not let me go
But if you really see me
If you like me for me and nothing else
Well, that's all that I've wanted for longer that you could possibly know

I'm going to speak personally again: sometimes I worry that people deserve better than someone like me. These lyrics do strike a chord with me.

Anyways, to close out this thread, I just wanted to say that it is important to talk about mental health and movies like this do a good job normalizing talking about it.​

 

[Haiku]

Very true, thanks for this thread I haven't watched this movie, but I'm glad it is revealing a positive message about mental health and how we are all people at the end of the day with our own struggles... I think it is easy to forget that sometimes when we deal with issues that need to be resolved involving others :o

 

[eclipsoul]

honestly i disliked that movie but i'm happy to hear it meant a lot to you!! it made me uncomfortable to see a nearly 30 year old grown man cast as a high school student, i couldn't focus on the story itself seeing that but i admit it's really sad how the meaning can go unnoticed when the movie is poorly made.

 

[athenaaa]

Very true, thanks for this thread I haven't watched this movie, but I'm glad it is revealing a positive message about mental health and how we are all people at the end of the day with our own struggles... I think it is easy to forget that sometimes when we deal with issues that need to be resolved involving others :o

This is very true! We should be seen as people and it shouldn’t be so stigmatized to ask for help. Because asking for help is okay.

 

[athenaaa]

honestly i disliked that movie but i'm happy to hear it meant a lot to you!! it made me uncomfortable to see a nearly 30 year old grown man cast as a high school student, i couldn't focus on the story itself seeing that but i admit it's really sad how the meaning can go unnoticed when the movie is poorly made.

I was not aware of the actor’s age. Unfortunately this is quite common for a good percentage of high school set movies. I’m just glad that there are now movies openly talking about mental health

 

[Magician]

honestly i disliked that movie but i'm happy to hear it meant a lot to you!! it made me uncomfortable to see a nearly 30 year old grown man cast as a high school student, i couldn't focus on the story itself seeing that but i admit it's really sad how the meaning can go unnoticed when the movie is poorly made.

I agree the movie was a disaster… Ben Platt should have never played Evan Hansen, but since his father was one of the producers of the movie…


Anyways, I can only recommend to the watch the musical!!
It's amazing and even more emotional

 

[tai]

I agree the movie was a disaster… Ben Platt should have never played Evan Hansen, but since his father was one of the producers of the movie…


Anyways, I can only recommend to the watch the musical!!
It's amazing and even more emotional

He played evan since he was Evan in the ORIGINAL musical theatre production the movie was based off of <3

 

[Magician]

He played evan since he was Evan in the ORIGINAL musical theatre production the movie was based off of <3

Yeah he played Evan like 7 years ago, but he is not the only actor who played the role
But no casting director would have casted him for the movie, not just bc he looks way too old to play Evan but also bc he still looked like he was still on stage
His whole body language and facial expression was really theatrical and it do work for the stage but it was just really awkward to see on screen

No matter if he was chosen bc he played the role on stage or bc his father was one of the producers- they did the bare minimum with looking for the perfect choice for Evan
(they did the bare minimum with the movie in general, but that’s another story)

The best solution would have been to record the musical like they did with Hamilton and it would have been a hit

 

[tai]

Yeah he played Evan like 7 years ago, but he is not the only actor who played the role
But no casting director would have casted him for the movie, not just bc he looks way too old to play Evan but also bc he still looked like he was still on stage
His whole body language and facial expression was really theatrical and it do work for the stage but it was just really awkward to see on screen

No matter if he was chosen bc he played the role on stage or bc his father was one of the producers- they did the bare minimum with looking for the perfect choice for Evan
(they did the bare minimum with the movie in general, but that’s another story)

The best solution would have been to record the musical like they did with Hamilton and it would have been a hit

Yes, he wasn't the only one, but he was the ORIGINAL. Original cast, recording, etc..

 

[Magician]

Yes, he wasn't the only one, but he was the ORIGINAL. Original cast, recording, etc..

Yes and it should have ended when he handed the role over to someone else bc the movie didn’t help him at all

 

[tai]

Yes and it should have ended when he handed the role over to someone else bc the movie didn’t help him at all

True.

 

[eclipsoul]

I agree the movie was a disaster… Ben Platt should have never played Evan Hansen, but since his father was one of the producers of the movie…

true, honestly it's hilarious how this man got nominated for a golden raspberry for the exact same role that earned him a tony