It’s Dangerous to Go Alone: The Story of Take This Review: Fantastic

Mental health issues are commonplace in our society. Today nearly 1 in 5 people suffer from some form of mental health issue. One group of people that is barely acknowledged as having any mental health issue is gamers. “Take This” is a non-profit organization whose goal is to educate people about mental health issues. Their name comes from “The Legend of Zelda” scene at the beginning where the old man gives Link the sword and says, “it’s dangerous to go alone. Take this.”

At “PAX South 2015” they debuted their short documentary “It’s Dangerous to Go Alone: The Story of Take This.” They have officially released this documentary on IGN.com and on their website Takethis.org and it is worth a watch.

The documentary has members of “Take This” along with IGN.com staff members talking about this organization. The film tells of how “Take This” came about (it’s in response to a colleague of journalists Russ Pitts and Susan Arendt and clinical psychologist Dr. Mark Kline, Psy.D who committed suicide) and their involvement is gaming events such as “PAX.”

The documentary is an interesting and, in some respects, an eye-opening take on an issue nobody talks about. The idea of gamers committing suicide is never touched upon, nor do gamers think about it. The story about the girl who wanted to commit suicide but her friend brought her to “Take This” just shows that this organization is doing something right.

One interesting point the documentary touched upon is “Take This” has created what they’re calling the “AFK Room,” a room at conventions designed to allow con-goers a few minutes to be in a place that’s quiet and to settle down. They feel that this is important because conventions are hectic places; There is so much to see and hear that it’s sensory overload, which is much worse for people with a mental health issue.

“It’s Dangerous to Go Alone: The Story of Take This” is a fantastic documentary about an organization that makes people more aware about mental health issues. Since they gear more towards gamers, that in and of itself is what makes it unique. The documentary may only be 25 minutes long, but it is long enough to get their message across.