To expand on the title of the thread, I'm curious if people think that suicide is not talked about enough in movies and tv. You see plenty of shows dealing with the usual mental health problems, but there are very few where suicide is the main subject. I don't think the general population understands or has insight into how suicidal people really feel and what agony they go through. All that happens is suicide is criticized and demonized. In addition to the above, would you be interested in watching a show that dives deeper into the subject of suicide from our point of view, "our" being us users of a forum like SS.
Suicide is certainly a taboo! I wish people would talk about it more freely.
Couldn't agree more. It's amazing what society deems taboo and not taboo. For example, the crazy amount of violence in pop media. What is so different if the violence is self perpetrated vs. by a third party?
Deleted member 18655
Enlightened
- Jun 4, 2020
- 1,422
I think the depression and hopelessness leading to suicide may be realistic but the beautiful porcelain-doll-like beauty in dying and death is not. Death is traumatic, physically, and what the body goes through in its attempts to survive is not pretty. It's gruesome and messy and generally not what is put on a screen.
Dramatic music, makeup and costumes portray misleading final moments imho.
Dramatic music, makeup and costumes portray misleading final moments imho.
souljah222
Member
- Apr 19, 2019
- 62
i think it just would have some ethical problems. if you make a movie for example where suicide is shown maybe slightly too positive, out of all the people who watched that movie lets just say 0,5% will ctb where the movie was a crucial factor why they did it. ofc you can say its still everyones own choice or "who would make such a decision partly based on a movie they saw" but the fact is that this chance exists, we just dont know the exact percent. so by publishing that movie or whatever, you already know that some people will make the decision to ctb bc of it, no matter how big or small that number is, it exists
sourpink
Student
- Aug 27, 2020
- 148
absolutely not.
accurate portrayals of experiencing suicidal ideation, intent, etc etc., such things don't seem to exist. or perhaps I've just not found any.
it's either romanticization or demonization with no in between or middle ground. and that itself is entirely inaccurate,especially given the complexity and unique nature of each individual suicide or suicidal person.
I don't think the media portrays our reasoning accurately or as wholly as they should, either. our rationale ends up being skewed to make us either look incapable of making decisions for ourselves, or we're made into martyrs. again, completely black and white with no grey.
I don't think trying to change that narrative is worthwhile or at all possible to have success, but maybe that's just my apathy.
and even if we could enlighten the masses, ethically speaking - should we?
in my thinking, yes. we should. those who can relate would feel heard, and those who cannot fathom our mindset might be able to come to some sort of partial understanding. and maybe that could bring about peace for those we leave behind.
but I dunno. in any case, nope. I find the media oversimplifies and sensationalizes suicides for profit. c'est la capitalist vie.
accurate portrayals of experiencing suicidal ideation, intent, etc etc., such things don't seem to exist. or perhaps I've just not found any.
it's either romanticization or demonization with no in between or middle ground. and that itself is entirely inaccurate,especially given the complexity and unique nature of each individual suicide or suicidal person.
I don't think the media portrays our reasoning accurately or as wholly as they should, either. our rationale ends up being skewed to make us either look incapable of making decisions for ourselves, or we're made into martyrs. again, completely black and white with no grey.
I don't think trying to change that narrative is worthwhile or at all possible to have success, but maybe that's just my apathy.
and even if we could enlighten the masses, ethically speaking - should we?
in my thinking, yes. we should. those who can relate would feel heard, and those who cannot fathom our mindset might be able to come to some sort of partial understanding. and maybe that could bring about peace for those we leave behind.
but I dunno. in any case, nope. I find the media oversimplifies and sensationalizes suicides for profit. c'est la capitalist vie.
user667
Student
- May 11, 2020
- 255
media's too afraid of it being normalized, which is fair. it sucks that we have to resort to places like this but if it's specifically the focus of a piece of media it could encourage people that it's a normal thing that tons of people do. bandwagon affect works. but the way they portray it when they do fucking sucks. it's so much more complex.
sourpink
Student
- Aug 27, 2020
- 148
while I understand that place of fear in normalizing, or at least presenting a suicide without such abhorrent stigma, I personally don't feel this concept of a bandwagon effect exists. much like the notion of cannabis as a gateway drug, to some, it may work as such. for many others, it's much deeper and more complex than that.
I do see where you're coming from, and your points are valid and entirely worth taking into consideration if the narrative in reporting suicides were ever to change to a more sympathetic tone.
pen
it's A non Getting Down socializing situation
- Dec 25, 2020
- 122
Juice World and Kid Laroi have a few good songs that I can relate to about suicide, anxiety, depression.
like "tell me whyyy tell me why it's so hard to say good bye."
Why the fuck does God keep testing?
Put my mind to bed, let it Rest In Peace
are two of my fav lyrics
like "tell me whyyy tell me why it's so hard to say good bye."
Why the fuck does God keep testing?
Put my mind to bed, let it Rest In Peace
are two of my fav lyrics
Ok, but what if all sides of suicide are presented, the good and the bad? It's one thing to romanticize suicide, which could encourage that bandwagon effect, it's another to simply provide an accurate picture, which the media is not, and allow people to think for themselves with the all the information present. I think glorification is wrong and is an injustice to what we all really feel, but it's also ridiculous that we cannot portray and discuss suicide as it really is if that makes sense. There should be a raw discussion where politics and interests are put aside, but sadly that is very difficult to do especially in the current climate.
Ardesevent
It’s the end of the line, cowboy
- Feb 2, 2020
- 358
Nope. They act like it's a taboo, and it could have been stopped if the poor little victim had gotten their dreamboat to fall in love with them and kiss all their problems away.
pen
it's A non Getting Down socializing situation
- Dec 25, 2020
- 122
BandAddict
Specialist
- Apr 3, 2019
- 338
There's a Polish movie called Suicide Room. I think it's a very interesting watch and really dives into a person's decent from being a "promising" adolescent to a completely broken, twisted human being. It's funny, that movie really made me want to find a community that was more open to the idea of suicide, then I discovered SS!
user667
Student
- May 11, 2020
- 255
yeah i do think it's mainly romanticized or stigmatized so i guess portraying neither would be better. i just feel like the general belief of society is that suicide is a way to stop the pain. and i think that's horribly inaccurate. i think suicide should be (not always is unfortunately) for people who genuinely want to die and have extensively explored the benefits of both living and dying and what they truly want is death. i think a lot of young people, who are more impulsive and have not yet reached full brain development to carefully assess the concepts of death and decide what they truly want, may be in extreme amounts of pain and see suicide as a way out when they have a whole life in front of them. and i'm not pro life but it makes me terribly sad that people who truly want to live and have a potential for a great life could be permanently dead. so maybe if somehow it was portrayed in a different way instead of "pain goes away and now you're worshipped as this beautiful girl who tragically died too young"
callofthevoid
already gone
- Jan 10, 2021
- 14
I honestly don't think so. Suicide is usually romanticized or as a plot device for the protagonist to "overcome."
I wish there will be more movies/any media where it's portrayed as a matter of factly. Where it's not an evil that one has to always deal with but a choice one can make, with all it's faults or benefits as any life changing choice can be.
I wish there will be more movies/any media where it's portrayed as a matter of factly. Where it's not an evil that one has to always deal with but a choice one can make, with all it's faults or benefits as any life changing choice can be.
This hits the nail on the head, especially the contrast between impulsive youth and others who may have explored all options and still decided that death was the right option for them. Media is always about the impulsive youth.
The media is going to show things that will create the most money for people like Jeff zucker, Wolf blitzer , Sheldon "dead and in hell" adelson , lloyd blankfein, Paul wolfowitz , and Benjamin Netanyahu. The agenda is more consumers and not less so I think they will portray it unrealistically
Spiral
Experienced
- Jan 22, 2021
- 269
I think that it would be nice to be represented in pop culture but not until our condition is properly understood otherwise we will be misrepresented as just pathetic people who felt a bit sad and decided to die after only 5 minutes of mild inconvenience with life.
There is also risk of young people watching it and thinking that is the only way to deal with their mental health before they have had the chance to try and get help.
However.... watch Will Smith in seven pounds for a true suicide tear jerker
www.imdb.com
There is also risk of young people watching it and thinking that is the only way to deal with their mental health before they have had the chance to try and get help.
However.... watch Will Smith in seven pounds for a true suicide tear jerker
Seven Pounds (2008) - IMDb
Seven Pounds: Directed by Gabriele Muccino. With Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, Michael Ealy. A man with a fateful secret embarks on an extraordinary journey of redemption by forever changing the lives of seven strangers.
www.imdb.com
