Deleter: A Psychologically Messed-up Main Character

I watched Deleter when it first got released in the cinemas. When the trailer was released, I immediately had the urge to watch it because the trailer looked great and Nadine Lustre was playing the main character—more reasons for me to watch it. After that, I searched for a friend to watch it with because I want to have someone to discuss the movie with. I remember not understanding it after watching the movie. It confused me a lot but after reading online reviews, it made sense to me. Inevitably, the female protagonist’s deteriorating mental state causes her delusions and anxiety as she experiences sleep deprivation, no socialization, and violent exposure.


Before discussing the psychological aspects of the movie, I will explain first what Deleter is about. Deleter is about an online content moderator who was asked by her boss to delete a suicide video of her co-worker. After this, a series of unexplained events starts happening which also unravels her disturbing past.


Source: Tempo.com.ph

One notable thing about the main character is her shift is at night which affects her sleep. Our thoughts and feelings are directly impacted by lack of sleep. We can feel sleepy during the day with delayed thinking, loss of energy, and an agitated attitude regardless of just one night without proper sleep. Chronic sleep deprivation can increase the likelihood of physical and mental health issues, albeit the short-term effects are more obvious (Suni, 2023). These symptoms are evident with the behavior of the protagonist—she lacks energy and her mood often changes. Furthermore, she also drinks pills excessively. I believe the pills help her stay at night and keep her focus with her work. However, the excessive amount she takes affects her mental state. The use of anti-anxiety medicines, antidepressants, and beta-blockers is authorized for the treatment of anxiety disorders. These drugs are meant to treat the symptoms of anxiety, not the underlying anxiety. Medication should be used moderately, though. The effects of excessive ingestion may be detrimental (Suni, 2023).


Her work as an online content moderator can potentially affect her mental health. Based on the movie, the content she often removes are those that display graphic violence. According to a research conducted by Stansfeld et al. (2017), those who are exposed to violence, the probability of having depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and PTSD symptoms were quite high, and the likelihood for these disorders rose with increasing degree of exposure to violence. These symptoms were shown by the protagonist after she deleted the video of her colleague. She started showing signs of delusion, anxiety, and sleep deprivation.


In the midst of these happenings, her only social support was the guy who she occasionally conversed with. They weren’t co-workers, however, the guy would show up when she needed support as she was living alone. It has been demonstrated that a sense of social support, lowers the risk of PTSD and suicide attempts. In contrast to her guy friend, her social support in her workplace had just a minor buffering effect as they often speak of her negatively. This may be a reflection of the unique attitudes of the female protagonist. Moreover, she is friends with their late coworker and, oftentimes, declines their invites to night outs. The lack of trust between the coworkers and the focus on getting by each day in areas where each of them are in trouble may prevent normal social reciprocity and leave little room for discussing social influence to shield their mental health from the effects of the content they watch. (Stansfeld et al., 2017). 


Consequently, sleep deprivation, excessive intake of pills, lack of social support, and exposure to violence can lead to a deteriorating mental health. It can be seen with how the female protagonist in Deleter destroyed her mental state. Along with the passing away of her colleague, she also lost herself.




References:

Stansfeld, S., Rothon, C., Das-Munshi, J., Mathews, C., Adams, A. R., Clark, C., & Lund, C. C. (2017). Exposure to violence and mental health of adolescents: South African Health and Well-being Study. British Journal of Psychiatry Open, 3(5), 257–264. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjpo.bp.117.004861

Suni, E. (2023, March 16). Sleep Deprivation. Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-deprivation


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