Reply All: #41 What It Looks Like

October 8, 2015 10:19 AM

Jamie Keiles is a writer who decided to photograph something that's practically invisible. Her story plus a new Yes Yes No.

Read Jamie Keiles' article about Instagram here: https://medium.com/message/depressiongrams-7f22011d6113

Follow Jamie on Instagram here:
https://instagram.com/jamielaurenkeiles/

If you're feeling depressed or want to talk to someone, here are some resources:

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - 1800-273-8255 (1800-273-TALK) http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
The Crisis Text Line http://www.crisistextline.org/
7 Cups of Tea www.7cupsoftea.com/
Depression Tribe http://www.depressiontribe.com/

posted by lunch (11 comments total)

This episode features one of the best media treatments I've ever heard regarding a certain popular videogames-related hate group. Kudos on the Reply All team for describing what they actually are instead of the typical, lazy he-said-she-said equivocation you often see.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 1:30 PM on October 8, 2015 [5 favorites]

I had depression in my mid twenties, dropped out of University, didn't work for two years, the full bit. And I also don't really remember it, never did. 'A long grey streak' is actually a pretty good description of those two years looking back now. But I guess the difference is that I'm not particularly interested in trying to see what it looks like. Having a grey gap in my past is fine somehow. But then denial and not thinking about things that I don't need to think about is one my main coping mechanisms in life these days so this is totally in keeping with my normal operating procedure, and I'm pretty mentally healthy so it seems to work for me.

This episode was not what I was expecting but instead was so much better. Which this podcast does pretty often for me actually.
posted by shelleycat at 1:34 PM on October 8, 2015 [3 favorites]

Both segments really were well done. The depression discussion was frank, honest, and presented the topic without judgement or pat "conclusion". YYN usually is the lighter counterbalance, but this week's version had both humor, straight talk, and insight into what on the surface was a weird tweet. There was a lot to unpack: the three or four bits could have been full episodes in themselves. Alex and PJ did a great job getting through it without getting bogged down in the muck. Great episode.
posted by jazon at 2:23 PM on October 8, 2015 [2 favorites]

I've decided that YYN is slowly stealing away Alex B's innocence bit by little bit, and that I'm OK with that.
posted by shelleycat at 11:42 PM on October 8, 2015 [2 favorites]

Absolutely loved this episode.

This came from tumblr but can't remember the artist, it's in my album of pictures I use to jump start my brain during anxious moments (think the idea for this came from askmefi originally).
posted by ellieBOA at 3:11 PM on October 9, 2015

Prediction: The podcasters will receive some irritated but minor blowback from GamerGaters who insist they misrepresented them, it will last a week at most, but they won't have to deal with five years of being called a cunt every 20 minutes on Twitter.

Because despite it supposedly being about journalists, the target truly is women.
posted by maxsparber at 8:44 PM on October 9, 2015 [11 favorites]

That is absolutely correct, Max.
posted by Alex Goldman at 4:49 PM on October 10, 2015 [5 favorites]

This episode was really moving. I appreciated how PJ opened up about his own depression. His comment about assuming that everyone always felt depressed deep down, and the way he likened it to how he assumed everyone really wanted to be eating potato chips all the time (I wish I had written that quote down, but I was driving) really stuck with me.

As for the YYN, I was glad for the GamerGate explainer. I had a basic idea of the situation but had never fully understood the backstory.
posted by radioamy at 9:34 PM on October 10, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'm fascinated to learn that others don't remember their depression. I don't have too many vivid memories of my childhood, especially the time I spent depressed in middle/high school. I had never considered that my depression could have played into it.
posted by noneuclidean at 1:30 PM on October 11, 2015 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I had two ~yearlong episodes of unemployment in my 20s, and as I look back and try to figure out what I did with all that time... the fog of depression doesn't sound that farfetched.
posted by psoas at 10:27 AM on October 15, 2015

That was an excellent Yes Yes No and quickly becoming my favorite part of Reply All. So much detail unpacked, from "TFW" to Zoe Quinn to GamerGate to the general dynamics of Internet irony. I've tried to explain this kind of thing to people from time to time and it's very difficult.

Which gives me an idea; they should do an episode of pedobear. I've tried explaining him occasionally. But it's hard to go on once you've started with "it's a joke making fun of pedophilia scares.. he's a cute bear who is a pedophile..."
posted by Nelson at 6:48 AM on October 23, 2015