Content Warning: This article contains discussions of suicide and mental health problems.
Jack Rooke’s BAFTA-winning sitcom, Big Boys, shows us that university is more than just what you study (or even the consequences of a messy night out) but it also deals with topics that universities tend to ignore.
As we all know from five weeks of ongoing staff strikes in Edinburgh, called by the University and College Union (UCU), we are in an age where it is important to stand up to injustice. And of course, nothing will change unless you give the institution a reason to change.
So, what does this have to do with Big Boys? Well, Channel 4’s sitcom–featuring Dylan Llewellyn (Derry Girls star) as Jack, and Jon Pointing (most known for his role in Plebs) as Danny–beneath its surface is a series about dealing with grief in several ways. Whether that be confronting what it means to lose a parent to cancer or even losing a friend to suicide.
Don’t get me wrong, I know that the UCU strike and the topics in Big Boys seem wildly different, but they both remind us of how advocation is so important for institutional changes to take place.
At the heart of the series, Jack and Danny’s unlikely friendship shows the importance of support and community even when you least expect it. (Sorry for the spoilers). Even up until the season finale, we see present day Jack continue to mourn for the Danny that he lost to suicide in 2016: “the day I turned the age when you left… And I felt so guilty, like I was never supposed to become older than you.” Although the comedy of the final episode is quickly overshadowed by our knowledge of Danny’s future, Rooke ends the series with a reimagined ending to Danny’s life. One where we already know the importance of student relationships, but hope lies in support networks triggered by fictional Brent University. But Rooke is aware that the approach to men’s mental health in 2016 all the way to today seriously needs to change.
“I know I chose this ending but we both know that it’s not what I wanted. I didn’t want to leave, I just wanted out of the fucking mess I kept falling into”
And thankfully Rooke’s semi-autobiographical series has prompted not only representation but also a genuine–awaited–discussion about men’s mental health and suicide awareness in higher education.
Last year, Channel 4 even went on to host a special screening of the finale partnered with Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) and mental health charity, Student Minds to raise awareness of the support available to students.
Simon Gunning (CALM CEO) stated: “It’s been a privilege to have Jack in the CALM family for over a decade as an ambassador. […] The final episode of Big Boys shows so clearly that the future CAN be better than the present and there’s always a reason to stay.”
Whilst Rooke is no longer a student himself, he has been able to use his lived experience as a university student to advocate for change—whether that be through Big Boys or his role as an ambassador for CALM.
Photo by Albane Mbow for The Student.
