Of course, apathy is not the only response that the film sees. After JD tricks Veronica into covering up two more murders as suicides, the school principal realizes there may be a serious issue at the school and invokes the guidance counselor to take a more proactive role into stopping the mental health problems at the school. As a result, she commences this big student assembly and campaign to tell all the students how special they are and how loved they are by their peers. Her approach is actually best represented in the film by the quote: "Suicide is the most important decision a student can make and we need to make sure we get it right." In the musical, this approach is also presented with the lyrics:
Deep inside of everyone
There's a hot ball of shame
Guilt, regret, anxiety,
Fears we dare not name.
But, if we show the ugly parts
That we hide away,
They turn out to be beautiful
By the light of day.
Why not,
Shine, shine, shine a light,
On your deepest fears!
Let in sunlight now.
And your pain will disappear!
Shine, shine, shine.
And your scars and your flaws,
Will look lovely because you shine!
You shine a light.
In the musical, Ms. Fleming tries to get the students to come out and admit their feelings and mental health issues in the hopes that openness will end in an outflowing of love and support. So Heather McNamara, the weak willed head cheerleader, inspired by the guidance counselor’s ideas and promises, comes out and admits that she’s been depressed and suicidal due to a combination of problems in her personal life, and the recent “suicides” of the people she knew. In addition, she’s been having to put on the front of perfection to avoid getting mocked by her classmates. The fear of that possibility is eating her alive. Yet despite being thoroughly advised to stay quiet by the new head of the Heathers clique, Heather Duke, McNamara is finally able to admit her personal struggles to the entire school assembly. That goes about as well admitting your insecurities to random teenagers usually does.
In both the film and the musical, Heather Duke leads the school in mocking and ridiculing McNamara for her problems with depression. In response, McNamara proceeds to run to the bathroom to commit suicide. In addition, Martha Dunnstock has also been driven to attempt to kill herself due to her bullying experiences, with the line “suicide is the most important decision a teenager can make” playing in her head, effectively glorifying the act. Even after she survives, Duke mocks her for failing to rip-off the popular kids since the two jocks and Heather Chandler all supposedly went out via suicide. Ironically, what was supposed to actively prevent suicide instead encouraged it, which is why Heather McNamara’s self-loathings thoughts are the reprise or Shine a Light, instead saying:
Whine, whine, whine all night!
You don't deserve to live!
Why not kill yourself!
Here have a sedative
Whine, whine, whine!
Like there's no Santa Claus
You're pathetic because you whine!
You whine all night!
Inevitably, what the guidance counselor was telling students was a lie in the first place. Opening one’s self up to the world isn’t necessarily going to be met with warmth and affection. The world is full of flawed and unkind, broken people who hurt others to deal with their own insecurities. Ideally, psychology does recommend finding a support network, a close group of people who can be supportive when one is hurting. However, expecting the world to be like that is always going to be a mistake.
That largely brings the key problem with this mindset: there are always going to be struggles in this world and sadness is an inevitability. The Christians call it original sinwhile the secularists call it human nature, but the inevitable is that there never will be perfection and therefore never eternal happiness on this earth. Yet, it is from struggle we gain experienceand grow as people. Acting like this isn’t the case only leads to severe disappointment and an inability to grow.
This has slowly become society’s reaction to all of this in the last few years. The self-esteem movement started decades ago, but instead depression rates went up. An entire generation was told that college will lead to a job, it can be a safe space, that life will be easy, and that everyone is special. However, the market changed and several degrees became worthless, safe spaces actual stunt personal growth, the way to get to a financially successful in life required a lot of commitment, and “everyone’s special...is another way of saying no one is.” With all that in mind, the fact that easy expectations not being met start to add context to insanity like the increased depression rates.
So that’s the sad irony: constantly coddling people and condescending them leads to steeper disappointment when reality sets in and only makes mental health struggles worse. It can also glorify unhealthy attitudes which is why both McNamara and Martha attempt suicide. The irony is that the people who cause that unhealthy mindset never get punished. Ms. Fleming only gets called out by Veronica in both versions, but nothing comes of it. In the end, she keeps her job and keeps pushing other platitudes.
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