No Shave November #29: Hey everyone! Ive emerged from a Black Friday filled with Dragon Age, Thanksgiving leftovers and celebrating last nights epic Philadelphia Eagles victory to bring you another entry in my No Shave November campaign! Todays installment is a big one, featuring one of the most important Mental Health Heroes Ive posted to date and a Beard Hero whos having quite a big day thanks to the release of the Star Wars Episode 7 trailer! Beard Hero of the Day - Mark Hamil: An American actor and filmmaker, Mark Hamil is among the most decorated icons of the currently thriving nerd culture. Best known for portraying Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars films and providing the voice of The Joker in numerous movies, television shows, and video games, its safe to say that Hamil has carved a special place for himself in the hearts of fans of the galaxy far, far away and Batman disciples alike. In addition, Hamil has also lent his voice to other well television programs and video games, including the Regular Show (where he portrays Skips), The Legend of Spyro (Malefor), Spider-Man (Carnage, Hobgoblin), Kingdom Hearts (Master Eraqus), Avatar: The Last Airbender (Fire Lord Ozai), Codename: Kids Next Door (Captain Stickybeard), and Hey Arnold (various voices). In short, if you were born in the 90s and you havent seen at least something Hamil was involved in, then you didnt have a childhood! Anyway, Hamil has made his way onto this list thanks to the epic beard he grew for his role in Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens. While its unclear exactly what his role in the film is, that badass beard is makes me think he must be the wise old man, of the new trilogy. Either way, Im excited to see what he does, cause that beard is awesome! Mental Health Hero of the Day - Amanda Bynes: An American actress and comedian, Amanda Bynes is among the most noteworthy young stars produced by the 90s. Best known for her roles on television shows and films such as All That, Shes the Man,The Amanda Show and Easy A, Bynes has brought laughs to countless audiences throughout her career. Unfortunately, after retiring from acting in 2012, Bynes began struggling with mental health issues that have yet to be fully disclosed. What has been covered ad nauseam, however, are the countless legal troubles that have befallen Bynes in the wake of her mental illness. To the media, Bynes personal difficulties have become an extension of her comedy career, as they treated her and her mental health with neither the respect nor the sensitivity she deserves. This, my friends, is the exact reason I started this campaign - to change the conversation about mental health and make it as positive as possible. Its one thing to have an occasional, harmless laugh at the actions of a person with mental illness - sometimes its impossible not to, for to laugh at incongruity is part of human nature. But to ridicule a person struggling with mental illness, as the media has done with Amanda Bynes, is inexcusable and does nothing but contribute to the uncomfortable and negative view our society has towards the specter of mental health. Despite the medias negative portrayal of her, Bynes has persevered and made several visits to psychiatric facilities in an attempt to overcome her mental illness, with her most recent stint ending about a month ago. Although shes not out of the woods yet, and likely has a long road to recovery ahead of her, I consider Amanda Bynes to be a great example of a Mental Health Hero for the way she has continued to fight back against against her mental illness and persevered despite the fact that the media has turned her struggles into a tabloid sideshow.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 21:14:05 +0000
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