Comic book focusing on teenage mental health and the need for kindness

Now, it's a story set in a future world where young people become frustrated by the shallowness of their lives, and look back to our time for help.

"The Rez" is a drama which draws on research by psychologists at Sussex University into teenage mental health. Its theme - the need for resilience and kindness - has struck a powerful chord during lockdown.

  • ITV News Meridian report by Malcolm Shaw

The Rez is set in a bleak future where people are cut off from each other, deprived of kindness and contact.

Savi is the central character of the forthcoming comic book and podcast drama, battling against the sinister figure of Jef, a product of artificial intelligence.

Savi and Jef
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The story draws on work by psychologists in the Cress Lab at Sussex University.

Their research found young people's mental health can be harmed or helped by subtle messages hidden in the media they consume.

  • Martin Spinelli- Senior Lecturer, University of Sussex

The Rez will also come out as podcast, though studio sessions for a previous production are now impossible under lockdown.

The Rez will also come out as podcast

Workshops have already been held giving children a chance to visualise the characters.

8 to 14 year olds are now being invited to help shape the storyline itself.

For more information, click here.