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The Bright Sessions writ. by Lauren Shippen
Author IDs: Queer
This fictional podcast series takes place largely via the recorded sessions of "Dr. Bright," a therapist for the "strange and unusual." Dr. Bright provides therapy services to "atypicals," people who have super-abilities. Their abilities range from time traveling to reading minds to hyper-empathy. The use of the term "atypical," likely refers to the use of the term in psychological contexts, meaning "deviating from the norm" and sometimes refers to the cause of a psychological disorder. ("Introduction to Psychology"). Shippen's podcast uses the therapy format to examine and explore the link between these super-abilities and mental health. Shippen is also unafraid to explore different intersectional representation. This is quite a feat considering that we only have audio from these characters. Yet, we have Caleb, a sexually ambiguous/fluid boy who is also an empath and has anger management issues; Adam, Caleb's boyfriend who also has depression but is not atypical; Chloe, an asexual mind-reader (mind-reading can, at times, function as a disability, as she cannot turn it off and it causes psychological stress); Mark, a bisexual atypical who can pick up the abilities of others, and more. Shippen is unafraid to use labels that are typically danced around, such as bisexual and asexual, while also providing space for characters like Caleb, who is unsure what to label his sexuality as and is not particularly interested in doing so. The podcast also utilizes what some disability scholars call the "supercrip narrative." Yet, it is done in a way more similar to Sami Schalk's reframing of the supercrip in her article, "Reevaluating the Supercrip." She argues that the supercrip narrative, while problematic, can also have some benefit to disabled communities. She also articulates the difference between a supercrip and a "superpowered supercrip," which she defines as "a character who has abilities or 'powers' that operate in direct relationship with or contrast to their disability" (Schalk, "Re-evaluating" 81). Shippen's work can then be classified as a "superpowered supercrip" narrative, and it is through this tension that The Bright Sessions does its best work. Shippen is careful to articulate the drawbacks to being "atypical," as well as the benefits. The therapy format allows us to witness much of this emotional processing alongside the characters. We come to understand the ways that atypical powers function as both a super-ability and a disability, and we especially come to understand the emotional and mental toll of living in an atypical body.