Black Box

Black Box is a film created by artist Antonia Attwood. The film is a reflection on the tangled information given to patients suffering from mental health disorders. Exploring the nature of the ever changing treatment for mental health conditions. Complex in its multi layered aesthetic this film looks at 3 different chemicals that create altered moods within the brain. The black box, which lists side-effects and information on a medication packet, is explored here as a forest. In this disorienting landscape, scientific descriptions of the brain are at odds with the depth of our internal experiences.

Three voices describe the supposed functions of neurotransmitters dopamine, cortisol, and serotonin. As the narrators try to describe their daily experiences within the framework of neuroscience, the relevance of scientific jargon breaks down. The messy, symbolic language of human life takes root ,and the voices grow chaotic. We are left to face the absurdity of our condition: our internal states can be overwhelming, yet the answers available outside ourselves can seem to make even less sense.