In an era of political chaos and mental health crisis, the antidote may be simpler than we think: get outside, stay present and trust that the world is better than the news suggests.

“I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.” 

Invictus by William Ernest Henley 1885

In this world, we are facing an epidemic of uncertainty. Everything about our world seems to be poised between dictators and democracy and right now we in “the West” are not doing too well. I am in the fortunate position of having lived most of my life without this particular kind of deep and troubling uncertainty – be it political, economic or just the seemingly ignored fact that climate change could wreck our pale blue dot in the not-too-distant future. But for youngsters starting out in our camera and lighting departments, what is our role as BSC members in nurturing the new generation?

In my last column I urged us to think about the damage being caused by “working for free” that has become normalised over the last 20 years. I urged our members to use their influence to make sure their trainees and crew are paid a reasonable wage. In the face of these bigger storms raging around the world, this might seem trivial and unimportant. Actually, the opposite is the case: all of us feel completely disempowered by leaders who swear, who tell lies and rail against fake news whilst creating it themselves. It feels like a dog-eats-dog world because that is how it is presented in the 24-hour news cycle. 

However, if you step back and look overall at how we all – the whole human race – are getting on, the picture – believe it or not – is quite bright. Just take a look at human history and you might be surprised at the metrics on all those things we hear about every day – cost of living, wars, food, inequality etc., etc. Just on the Bishop/Worker metric we have moved from 1000:1 to around 2:1 wage difference over the last 800 years or so. 

Why is this important? Increasingly I hear about “mental health” in our filmmaking community and have taken note of studies indicating 40% of our community are considering leaving the job. I absolutely do not believe this statistic but can see how it would be possible to come up with such a figure. Ask a spark in hour 14 and most likely that would be the response! In my own career I reckon one job every five years made me want to quit being a cinematographer: we all have both good and bad experiences. On the radio this morning Brian Cox said how much he disliked directors who are control freaks and have “concepts”… and then acknowledged how his first directing job – which he just completed – was made an absolute pleasure by “the crew”. He means us – all of us – and that is part of our job, to make the director and the whole crew “gel” on the set. 

Free your mind and body

Sometimes we need a break from the news cycle – Sundays off, maybe? There is another cycle and that is the one your three-year-old is trying to ride, or the mountain bike you are taking out for a Sunday ride in the hills. “Work/Life balance” is a cliche that is misleading: work is also life – they are not opposites. Life is just “there” from birth to death no matter what kind of mood you are in.

In the early years when we had young children and I was away a lot, I worried when I was home that I would never work again and then when I was working, I worried about how my family was doing without me. After a couple of years, it occurred to me that this was not a good way to live as I was not fully present in either role. So, I adjusted my way of thinking and became appreciative of work opportunities and also appreciated being at home. In the words of Anaïs Nin: 

“We don’t see things as they are. We see them as we are.” 

When our students are depressed, my advice is always simple: go run, swim, sweat, walk – anything physical. Put the phone in a drawer for 24 hours and get out into the world. We are tribal and social creatures, the social media world threatens us with a fake version of ourselves and others – slowly the world is waking up to the distortions caused by this. 

Like everyone, I have my bleak “comparison culture” moments. We all strive for perfection, but few achieve it – and that perfection is, of course, only in the eyes of others. There is one opinion that is all important and that is your own, so treat that part of yourself with all the love and affection you can muster and do not expect others to do this for you – that is the work. 

“..You’re gonna have to serve somebody…

It may be the devil or it may be the Lord,

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.”

Bob Dylan 1979 

“Sorrow can be alleviated by a bath, a glass of wine and a good sleep.”

Thomas Aquinas 1250AD