Melissa Duncan Sees SoMypolar’s Mission in Ye’s New Documentary
Written by: Safaque Kagdi
When Kanye West’s new documentary In Whose Name? opened nationwide last month, the headlines focused on celebrity cameos, raw confessions, and the artist’s turbulent public image. But beneath the spectacle lies something more lasting, a story about mental health that feels both deeply personal and profoundly universal.
Directed by Nico Ballesteros, the film charts Ye’s rise, fall and reckoning including his marriage unraveling, his public controversies, and his battles with bipolar disorder.
It’s not an easy watch. The film is raw, messy, and at times uncomfortable. But in that messiness is a mirror.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly 3% of U.S. adults live with bipolar disorder each year. It’s a lifelong condition that requires careful management through therapy, medication, and community support. And when one of the most famous artists in the world speaks about it openly, people listen.
The Power of Shared Experience
That’s what struck Melissa Duncan. Watching In Whose Name? felt like seeing her own life reflected back at her.
Duncan lives with bipolar disorder, OCD, and schizoaffective disorder. But few outside her circle know that. To change the life and to build something bigger than herself she co-founded SoMypolar, a Florida-based nonprofit, with her caregiver and business partner, Jihan Gabart.
Their mission is straightforward but urgent – to create a safe space where people can recognize mental health struggles early and find real pathways to help. Too often, people wait until they hit rock bottom to seek support. Duncan and Gabart want to intervene sooner.
“Everyone deserves the chance to ask questions and get help without shame,” Duncan says.
At SoMypolar, strength doesn’t always look like what people expect. The organization highlights the resilience of caregivers, families and individuals who are thriving despite diagnoses. And when Ye talks candidly about his struggles on screen, Duncan sees alignment.
What In Whose Name? projects on the big screen, SoMypolar is working to reinforce every day that mental illness doesn’t have to define someone’s limits.
Why Documentaries Like This Matter
Ye’s story may be extreme, filled with fame and controversy, but the core struggles, finding stability, facing stigma, navigating relationships, are universal.
The film doesn’t try to wrap things up neatly. Instead, it sits with discomfort. And that’s what gives it resonance.
“It’s not a solution,” says Gabart. “But it’s a conversation starter. And that’s what we need.”
SoMypolar has even extended that conversation to children. Their self-published book Tatu’s Adventures: Don’t You See introduces young readers to the idea of mental health in an accessible, age-appropriate way. The goal is to normalize conversations early, long before stigma can take root.
Looking Ahead
In Whose Name? won’t erase the challenges of living with bipolar disorder , not for Ye, not for Duncan, not for the millions living with mental illness. But it could change the way audiences think about it.
For SoMypolar, that’s what matters most. If a high-profile story inspires even a handful of people to seek help, to speak up or to show compassion to someone struggling, then art has served a greater purpose.
“Theater lights fade, but community lasts,” Duncan says. “And that’s what we’re building.”
Ye’s film may be his own story, but paired with grassroots efforts like SoMypolar, it pushes forward a message we can all share – that resilience is possible, support is essential, and no one has to face mental illness alone.
