Aesthetic Representation of Antisocial Personality Disorder in British Coming-of-Age TV Series

Abstract

TV series’ depictions of mental disorders have received considerable scholarly attention. However, few studies have considered the role of aesthetic elements in representing mental disorders. Therefore, in this study, we analysed how aesthetic features influence the representation of “psychopathy” in British coming-of-age TV series through the case study of The End of the F***ing World. We chose to analyse psychopathy due to its over-representation in the media and its often-mistaken conflation with the actual mental disorder of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). We applied an aesthetic methodology in our analysis. We analysed the series in terms of language, appearance, behaviour, music and sound, technical devices, and intertextuality, closely observing three sequences of various episodes that correspond to the character’s symptoms, diagnosis, medication, and treatment. Our findings show that the aesthetic characteristics, characters, and events of the plot can act as expressive means through which the experience of living with a mental disorder can be accurately represented and simultaneously entertain viewers with drama and suspense. The series challenges the reductionist perspective and previous stereotypes of audio–visual pieces related to ASPD, suggesting that future TV series can better represent mental disorders with the correct use of television aesthetics and cinematic devices.