U. alumnus's short musical depicts quarter-life anxieties

Whether we’re drowning in student loans, failing a class or lacking a post-graduation plan, too many of us have experienced crippling anxiety throughout our college careers. This pressure is only intensified by social media, where we’re practically flooded with good news from our peers. In fact, studies show that millennials are the most anxious and stressed-out generation. Anxiety is still something we like to avoid discussing, and if we do, it’s hard to explain to someone who doesn’t understand. Rutgers alumnus Zack Morrison’s short film “Everything’s Fine: A Panic Attack in D Major” aims to articulate the otherwise unexplainable anxiety attack through a universal language: music. Recently accepted into the St. Louis International Film Festival — an Academy Award-qualifying event — the relatable and musically brilliant short is slowly making its way into Oscar territory. 

The musical follows Zoey, who has recently graduated from college and is struggling to find a job, despite having a decent résumé and GPA (fun fact: the movie was partially filmed on Busch campus, and several Rutgers alumni helped work on the film). As she sends out dozens of applications only to be rejected, spends a fortune to live in New York City and watches the lives of her peers play out beautifully on social media, she has an out-of-body experience — something many of us know as a panic attack. Through comedic techniques like satirical scenes and funny lyrics, the audience is able to relate to and laugh with Zoey as she navigates through her quarter-life crisis. The approximately 13-minute musical hardly leaves time for dialogue, which takes a unique and entertaining approach in conveying a common topic we’d often rather not discuss.

During his time as a graduate student studying screenwriting and directing at Columbia University, Morrison endured his fair share of anxiety and panic attacks, and realized what he was experiencing wasn’t exactly easy to put into words. 

“(Anxiety) is sort of like this intangible thing that we don’t have the vernacular to correctly explain to someone what anxiety feels like. But with music — through tempo and rhythm and key change — you can do that,” Morrison said. 

If struggling to find a job and be financially independent post-graduation isn’t stressful enough, the peer pressure Zoey experiences during social media-scrolling binges only makes her anxiety about her future worse. While she’s in a rut, her friends are getting married, scoring awesome jobs and showing off their lively social circles. This “fear of missing out” feeling is almost always heightened by the seemingly perfect people we see on Instagram or Facebook, and because social media is such a vital part of the millennial’s life, Morrison was sure to include FOMO as one of Zoey’s existential crises. 

“Out of Sight, Out of Mind” is Morrison’s favorite song in the film as it hits the nail on the head about how social media can distort reality and in turn cause insecurities for many users. “Let’s post a picture of us having fun. Trust me, it will fool everyone,” Zoey and her fictional xanax-induced imaginary friends sing, illustrating how social media is carefully curated to show followers only what we want them to see. 

What’s most important about “Everything’s Fine” is that it normalizes a typically stigmatized mental health issue most people try to suppress, as it can feel isolating or even unimportant to those who experience it.

Also once a student who experienced his own quarter-life crisis, Morrison said that he made the film in part with students in mind, especially graduating seniors and students who are finding themselves in a situation where they feel trapped or bogged down by emotional pressures that school provides. “I want people to see this and walk away feeling like, ‘Oh, I thought this was only something I was going through, but this is actually a way more common thing and everything goes through this,'” Morrison said. 

Originally showcased as his MFA thesis film at Columbia University Film Festival last May, “Everything’s Fine” was most recently screened at New York Shorts International Film Festival this month. The film will make its Oscar-worthy debut at the St. Louis International Film Festival on Nov. 6. 

Morrison didn’t always expect to produce an Academy Award-qualifying film, though, and hopes that the movie also sheds optimism on filmmaking hopefuls worried about making a career out of their artistic passions. 

“For the film students and the art community at Rutgers, I want them to see that they can actually do something with this seemingly kind of silly skill that you’re learning at school,” he said.