Amandla Stenberg has no intentions to not be brilliant, as proven by the meditative short film she directed, scored, illustrated and edited for our benefit. Accompanying her new Teen Vogue “Volume III: Icons Issue” cover, the digital short is an entrancing instruction on how to cope with the unrelenting noise we’re all drowning in.
Catch us over here at KNOTORYUS being incapable to wait for that first Teen Vogue subscription delivery. So, why did she choose to create this piece for us? In the words of Amandla:
“I hope that it can help to soothe and calm you. As the world continues to experience political dissonance, violence, and an accelerated perception of reality due to technology, I think it’s so important that we actively tend to our mental health. Because of the immense anxieties my generation is exposed to, mental illnesses have become shockingly pervasive amongst us. I believe that because of these anxieties and the way our reality is constantly manipulated and altered by social media (a social experiment with psychological effects we have no gauge on) we are experiencing exacerbated levels of severe anxiety, depression and dissociation. In order to be better equipped to heal, organize, and carry the responsibility of solving this social upheaval, it is crucial we focus our energy on our mental health and the ability to exist in the present moment. It’s hard to witness everything happening without some sort of grounding practice. I hope this video can be a calming resource. ?”
If you want more, you can read Amandla Stenberg’s conversation with Janelle Monáe on visibility, pronouns, racism and ditching your phone in Teen Vogue here. In it, she also discusses the release of her new film “Everything, Everything” and why it was an important role for her to take on. “Everything, Everything” was released in Belgian theatres yesterday and is currently screening worldwide.
Images: Josh Olins
