Miles Morales Has A Panic Attack In A New Spider-Verse Short
Image Source: Variety
As the new Sony Pictures animated movie Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is shown in cinemas worldwide, a different side of the main character, Miles Morales, was presented to the public during the Annecy Animation Film Festival this past Monday. Miles can be seen having a panic attack but is ultimately supported by his father Jefferson. This was not part of Across the Spider-Verse, but a short animation called The Spider Within. It has the same style as the Spider-Verse movies, and it was produced by Sony Pictures Animation and Imageworks. They joined their efforts to collaborate on a development program called LENS, which stands for Leading and Empowering New Storytellers.
According to Animation Magazine,
“The LENS program is backed by Sony Pictures’ global, multi-pronged racial equity and inclusion strategy, Sony Pictures Action. The program’s goal is to provide creatives who have traditionally lacked access to leadership roles with a first-hand opportunity to deepen their understanding of every element of the animated filmmaking process including production design, animation, visual effects, lighting, sound, and various post-production processes.”
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The director behind this short was Jarelle Dampier, an upcoming animation department worker who has been in the industry for a while already. Dampier has been part of some animations like Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, Young Justice, and a few other DCAU projects In addition to this incredible initiative Sony has put into practice, Miles’ struggles with mental health are based on Jarelle Dampier’s experiences in real life. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Dampier says that when he got the news that he would be directing the movie, he had a panic attack and had to spend a night at the hospital.
Ultimately, Dampier and Miles’ troubles with mental health reflect not only their own problems and lives but also those of many young people. The Mental Health Foundation also mentions that “20% of adolescents may experience a mental health problem in any given year” and “50% of mental health problems are established by age 14 and 75% by age 24”.
The World Health Organization corroborates this argument, mentioning that,
“Globally, one in seven 10-19-year-olds experiences a mental disorder, accounting for 13% of the global burden of disease in this age group (...) Depression, anxiety and behavioural disorders are among the leading causes of illness and disability among adolescents.”
This side of Miles may be another homerun for Sony Pictures with the Spider-Verse characters. The addition and propulsion of Miles’ character into the silver screen and his popularization symbolize much more than himself. By being a young, Afro-American man with a huge amount of responsibilities, Dampier shows that Miles, even though he has superpowers, is not invulnerable to mental health problems. His personality and trajectory may reflect those of other young people, not only in the United States. but also on the whole planet.
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