Can a portrayal of suicide in media and fiction be "irresponsible"?

[KuriGohan&Kamehameha]

Recently I was watching a show on Netflix, not going to say the name because it would spoil a good chunk of the plot and element of surprise if I did, which featured a main character being suicidal. This show explores a lot of darker and more mature themes, and is clearly intended for an older audience (teenagers at the youngest) so it made sense why they would openly delve into such a topic.

Out of all of the popular media I've consumed, I've never really seen a piece of work portray a character as consistently being suicidal. Over the course of this show, the character attempted multiple times, had suicide related motifs in her scenes, and would beg other characters to kill her, as she had enough of life after everything she went through. The character goes through an insane amount of hardship, such as losing most of her family, being abused, and suffering from psychosis, so it is made clear to the audience that this character struggles to find motivation or purpose since she has lost everything.

At the end of the show, it is implied that the character sacrifices herself to finally be at peace, after being halted during another attempt earlier in that storyline which was accompanied by a somber OST that conveyed the character's thoughts and her wish for dearh. The finale seemed like a fitting end for her story arc. After enduring so many terrible things, the character finally got to rest and be free of the pain she suffered in her life.

A lot of fans of the show are saying that this depiction of suicide is irresponsible, and could potentially influence younger viewers to "lose hope" in regards to their own mental struggles if they see themselves in the character and relate to her. I really disagree. Personally, I think this portrayal is realistic, and refreshing, because the viewers can see how many times she tried to change her trajectory in life over and over again, only for those efforts to be in vain. You don't often see that in a narrative.

I don't think artists and authors should take a fall for daring to write stories about suicide that don't have happy endings, I fail to really see how fictional characters and worlds can be labeled as "irresponsible" for tackling taboo themes.

What are your thoughts?

 

[helterskelter]

the only art i would get upset at for this is something like 13 reasons why. the target demographic was intended to be very young and the show encourages awful behavior, simply because the group of people who wrote it were complete idiots. it was designed in a lab to make as much money as possible and to exploit a young audience. a personal piece of art that is entirely negative is different, because i think all perspectives should be allowed to speak in art, even people who are truly evil.

 

[EvisceratedJester]

I think it depends. If a show is largely targeted towards a younger audience then there is an obligation to portray suicide very carefully since younger audience members might be more susceptible to being triggered or taking inspiration from it. 13 Reasons Why, for example, got a lot of flack because of its inappropriate and graphic portrayal of suicide to a young audience. It also didn't help that they decided to change the suicide scene from the book, making it significantly more graphic (in the book, Hannah overdoses on pills but in the show they have you watch as she cuts the arteries along her arms). Of course, I do feel like people did blow the entire controversy and impact of that show out of proportion, but that show was shit and it did end up doing a lot of harm to young vulnerable viewers. A lot of young people were open about the show and how that one scene, in particular, caused them to feel triggered and led to them having panic attacks or relapsing and cutting themselves. That's not even getting into the cases of the young girls who started glorifying Hannah and her suicide. It's all pretty icky and could have been avoided if more care was put into portraying suicide more accurately.

When it comes to shows mainly targeted towards an older audience, however, there is a lot more leniency when it comes to how suicide can be portrayed. The only thing that I'd say should be required is maybe a trigger warning, but that's about it. This isn't to say that there cannot still be criticisms of how this topic is portrayed within media, but rather there is more room to portray it in different ways.

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

Ironically the show that made me most okay with committing suicide is actually The Good Place. It doesn't really mention suicide as a main topic at all and it's more focused on the afterlife than anything else but just seeing how good their final version of the afterlife is was enough to make me feel very confident that this is absolutely how the afterlife has to be, if there even is one, which I'm also okay with there not being one.

That's probably not what you meant with this thread but I don't often really watch media that highlights suicide all that much...

 

[helterskelter]

with narrative art its a little different because a show or movie is usually telling a fictional story, so i think they should be a bit more careful with the messaging, i cant really think of anything that strongly encourages suicide, and if you are that easily swayed you arent mature enough to watch movies in the first place. music is different, because a lot of music is very personal. the album Purple Mountains is David Berman's suicide note, but i wouldnt say it necessarily encourages suicide. like, its not about you its about him. people need to express themselves and sometimes its ugly and unsettling.

 

[Forever Sleep]

This is such an interesting idea. I want to read your post more thoroughly when I have more time.

Still, I wanted to say- how many people grew up thinking suicide was easy from watching films/ TV? Just pop a few OTC pills, or slash your wrists and, you're out? I wonder if that's all that responsible. I suppose overdosing is probably the most common way to fail- do you think? I wonder how many people who did it really believed they would die. Maybe it was more just a desperate act though.

I don't know if that's irresponsible as such but, it pisses me off that it's often not as easy as they make it look. That's the impression I get anyway. Not that I've attempted personally. Plus, I think it feeds into the whole: 'Suicide is the EASY way out.'

 

[cloudyskye]

If it's fiction it's fiction. I dont think its inherently irresponsible. Only the author, screenwriter etc.. should censor their own work. I do believe people should be warned if there is graphic material whether it's violence sex or just a mature theme. As for kids, the parents are responsible for monitoring not the ad people writer etc....

I'll give an example decades ago Stephen King wrote a short start called rage. In the story a kid takes one of his classes in his school hostage. People die. When columbine happened a lot of people said the kids got the idea from rage. They blamed King in essence. This is ridiculous however he chose to pull the story from publishing. The point is it was his choice because he felt it might be a bad influence.

The only thing I find irresponsible about portrayal in the media is how easy they make it seem and many methods are incorrect. (Probably intentionally)