When I made “Thin,” that really was a depressing environment because the girls [at a residential eating disorder clinic] were really, really sick. But I still really loved doing the work because, again, I feel like it’s such a privilege when you earn that level of trust and are able to document. Even there, there are still a lot of momentary joys because that’s how life is.
With this group, there were so many crazy fun moments, from prom, new parties, going to sorority and fraternity life, or just getting to go on a journey that’s very special, like when Nina transitions and what that means for her family. Also, to see a lot of the issues of life play out in the lives of people, it’s character-driven storytelling. It’s so compelling for me, and I hope will be for the viewer.
We hear so much about the algorithm and conspiracy theories and this divided country we’re in. And yet to see it play out in a family story, like with Nina, is so different and I think so moving. I want people to understand it’s not a depressing journey. I feel like parents sometimes say they’re afraid to know what’s going on in their kids’ social media, and maybe afraid to see the show. But I think it’s actually enlightening in a very empowering way. We get to know these kids. We have empathy for them. And I think parents will understand their kids more and hopefully it will open up a dialogue.
I suppose the medium of film allows some of the joy into the story, versus something dry on the subject, like a New Yorker article.
Even just the music—from Olivia Rodrigo to Nicki Minaj to the music from our composer, Volker Bertelmann, who did “All Quiet on the Western Front.” It has both sides of the story. There’s a lot of humor in there, too. It shows what we don’t usually see, in a way that is at times laugh out loud funny and at times heartbreaking.