DEAR EVAN HANSEN (2021) WATCH PARTY

I go up on capital and down then up on lowercase. I do write differently than others though. I am also a left hander.

Robert Anderson

hmmm... maybe. now that I think about it, I usually go up when its capitalised and then down when its lower case

Audrey McDonald ( Songs From A Suitcase)

I appreciate you recognizing the difficulties Evan faces. As someone who works in suicide prevention, this movie and show hit very close to home to me- almost too close to watch sometimes. Kids/teens know who is there, they don't always have the ability to see how hard the parent or guardian is working to provide for them. They know that they feel forgotten, neglected, and even like a burden, which is how Evan feels. Evan's father walked out on him, his mother is hardly around (and seems to miss dinner dates they plan), and has one (sort of) friend. He's completely isolated. This is more than enough to lead someone to struggle with depression. I'm also surprised we didn't address what was very obviously his suicide attempt. It's hard to watch because I talk with teens who feel forgotten, who feel like their parents don't have time for them, who feel like they just don't matter. It would make sense that a child would cling to any sense of love or normalcy they can (aka Connor's family). He didn't come in with malicious intent (in fact, he didn't come in with any intent- they chose to not listen to him), but when he saw the healing it brought them, and the joy it brought him to feel like he was a part of something, he stuck with it. I actually think Evan's character did a lot more good than bad for everyone. He helped them to address their feelings and lead them to grieve. In addition, it is clear Evan struggles with a level of social awkwardness and/or potentially on the autism spectrum (side note: the teal/blue colors of the show are both symbolic of Autism Awareness and Suicide Prevention). I feel it challenging to judge someone with a social disability the same way you would someone without. Regardless, though, I don't think we should encourage kicking someone when they are down and instead appreciate their accountability, and recognize how much pain they are in.

Talia Shapiro

Is writing the N up not the normal way? I always start at the bottom and go up...?

Robert Anderson

Tim Eversole