On January 1st, 2020, Netflix launched a new series called Spinning Out. The show follows 21-year-old Kat Baker (Kaya Scodelario), who is a talented figure skater from Sun Valley, Idaho. After making a disastrous fall in 2017, she’s too terrified to jump. Three years later, she’s ready to turn in her skates when Justin Davis (Evan Roderick), a top skating talent, asks her to be her doubles partner. She ends up saying yes to pursue her dream of going to the Olympics.
Kat and Justin, Spinning Out: Netflix
Throughout the show, we learn more and more about who Kat is and the demons she struggles with. It turns out she suffers from bipolar disorder, just like her mom Carol (January Jones). Kat desperately tries to keep her manic episode at bay while pursuing her skating career.
To take or not to take the medication
Spinning Out has a very intimate feel to it. You’re brought along Kat’s and Carol’s journey of living with bipolar disorder and how they manage it. We get to know the ups and downs of not taking your medication and how it affects all the people around them.
The show brought awareness to many problems people face in today’s society, like sexual assault, racial inequality, the power of the wealthy, cultural stereotypes… It also brought attention to mental illnesses like bipolar disorder and depression.
But of course, what we most paid attention to was: Did they portray bipolar disorder in a correct way?
In the beginning, it seems like the show is mainly about figure skating, until Kat’s little sister Serena (Willow Shields) mentions Kat’s disorder. Serena says her sister is ‘just as bipolar as her mom’. From that moment on, it becomes clear that not only Carol, but also Kat struggles with bipolar disorder.
Kat tries her hardest to hide her disorder from the world and the people she’s closest to. In the figure skating world, everybody is perfect, according to Carol. So coming out with a disorder like Kat’s would only influence her in a bad way. But by hiding it, things took a turn for the worse.
She struggles with taking her medication because it makes her less energetic and affects her ice skating. Kat's in constant doubt: do I take the medication or not? She knows that she should to prevent any manic episodes, but she really wants to skate the best she can, which is when she’s off her lithium.
The moment Kat quits her medication, you see her change completely. Her behaviour’s different, she has more energy, wants to train more. You could see the devastating impact the disorder had on her life and the lives of the people around her. Especially when she was having a manic episode, then you could really see what kind of impact it had on everyone.
People are supportive When Kat takes her medication, she’s staying stable. You can see that she’s okay. When she stops taking them, you can see the mental illness creeping in. The people around her aren’t aware of it. She doesn’t want to tell anyone because there’s so much stigma around it. What’s really important is that the creators show that people actually are supportive and she should reach out for help.
When it became clear Kat was suffering from Bipolar disorder, the people around her forgave her for what had happened when she was in a manic episode. Justin and her other friends supported her and had her back. It showed that having a disorder like that doesn't make you unlovable or unliked, it showed that there are good people out there who can deal with it.
Spinning Out did a really good job of portraying bipolar disorder and clearly showed all the sides there are to such a disease. It didn’t romanticise anything and bipolar disorder wasn’t shown as aesthetic in any way.
Too bad the second season was cancelled. Though Netflix didn't reveal much information, it is thought that Spinning Out was cut off because the show was not bringing in enough views compared to how much it cost to make. There is a petition going on to renew Netflix's 'Spinning Out' for a second season, and they’re getting close to their goal. We would love to follow Kat’s journey through what’s yet to come.
Our ratings To see if a movie or show portrayed mental illness correctly, we've created three requirements it should live up to. Each requirement is based on interviews we've done with experts and will be rated on a scale of 1 to 5 #'s.
1. Is there a reason for the character to act / feel like this? #####
2. Is the character portrayed as a human being instead of a bad person / villain? #####
3. Is there a message of hope included? #####
If you ever think about suicide or self-harm, and are in need of a conversation, then you can always contact the Suicide Hotline on the number 1813 or www.zelfmoord1813.be for Belgium. For international helplines, click this link.
Text: Janne Schellingen