Movies about suicide (List)

A complete guide to getting to know about some of the films that portrayed this act.

In this guide, we will discuss how the film industry portrayed suicide

Movies about suicide

The film industry is known for bringing a variety of movies that tell various events and realities to both the big screen and the small screen. Wars, protests, and diseases are some topics represented in the cinema.

The cinema has the function of entertaining its spectators, but they also try to create a form of awareness about the realities that are lived in our society. Looking at certain realities from a movie helps the population understand the meaning more clearly and can generate some kind of compassion, depending on what is embodied.

An action that is common to see in movies is suicide. Suicide has been represented in many ways. One of the reasons for bringing suicide to the screen is for people to know the reasons that lead a person to commit suicide. People tend to judge very strongly the reasons why a person commits suicide, ignoring that there is more than simply making someone’s decision to end his life.

Movies about suicide allow people to learn more about the process by which a person decides to take his own life. Each of these films details the sadness and difficult situations that lead to the person committing suicide. Sometimes people tend to ignore that this is not something that can happen to them or to someone around them, but suicide has no social class or gender, anyone can be prone to commit this type of act.

Some of these movies about suicide show in difficult way realities that people who take their lives live. Their reasons can range from suffering from mental illness to the low acceptance that a person can feel on the part of others.

These movies about suicide invite analysis and awareness that suicide is a serious reality that is present in our society, where it is necessary to take actions to eradicate this type of behaviour. Understanding and empathy are formulas that allow a person to extend its hand to another when it is going through a situation where he is contemplating death.

When these types of films are made, the social responsibility of the world of cinema is taken into account to create content that helps to sensitize people and learn to live in this world.

What is suicide?

According to Wikipedia, suicide is the act of intentionally causing death. The suicide attempt or non-fatal suicidal behaviour is self-harm with at least a desire to end the life that does not result in death. Assisted suicide is when an individual helps another to cause their death indirectly through counselling or the means to the end. This is in contrast to euthanasia, where another person takes a more active role in causing the death of a person. The suicidal ideation is to think about ending life but not taking any active effort to do so.

Risk factor’s

The factors involved to increase the risk of suicide in people are diverse. Factors such as mental illness, substance abuse, cultural, family and social situations, genetics and experiences of trauma or loss are some of these, according to Wikipedia.

Mental diseases

Mental illnesses have a great influence when a person commits suicide. These diseases are present 27% more than 90% of the time. Disorders such as depressive, bipolar, schizophrenia, personality, obsessive-compulsive and posttraumatic stress. Also, people with autism spectrum disorders try and consider suicide more frequently.

Within the mentioned disorders, people with depression die due to suicide. The symptoms that a depressive person presents are extreme sadness and hopelessness can lead him to think that life is meaningless and make the decision to end its life.

Psychosocial factors

Among these factors are those where the person experiences loss of pleasure in life and problems that may arise and the lack of ability to solve it. A person with large financial debts, not knowing how to pay them, can commit suicide as a solution. The person who does not accept a divorce or a breakup of a couple can become self-injured and from there try to take his own life.

Lack of support by family members and communities can make the person think of committing suicide. A person because their sexual preferences are not accepted may reach the point of suicide.

Substance abuse

People who use drugs because of the effects they cause may be more likely to commit suicide. People with mental illnesses such as insomnia and sleep apnea can lead to depression and commit suicide.

Media

Today, with the massive use of digital media, suicide rates seem to have increased. On the internet, there are groups and communities on suicide that invites young people to commit the act.

Some movies about suicide

The movies about suicide here were selected based on the opinion of the spectators, who consider which films best reflect what suicide is and its causes.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

This is the first of the movies about suicide on this list. The film starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Era Miller, tells the story of a young man named Charlie. Charlie is a young introvert, a high school student. He befriends two people, including his stepsister. Charlie was invited to a house party, he eats a special brownie and ends up telling his stepsister that his best and only friend killed himself last year. Charlie has a mental illness, due to his past problems. In the end, he ends up making good friends with the boys and falls in love with his stepsister.

In this film, it can be interpreted as a person suffering from the death of someone close who committed suicide. Suicide not only ends with the life of the person who decides to take its life but leaves deep pain to the people around. In Charlie’s case, this was his only friend and his departure left a great void in his life.

The Suicide Room (2011)

Another of the movies about suicide is The Suicide Room. This movie, starring Jakub Gierszal as Dominik, tells the story of a boy who comes from a family of successful parents but does not have much interest in his son. Dominik is a popular boy who has everything, but his life begins to change when a video of him kissing another boy is published on the internet and everyone starts to make fun of him and his sexuality. Dominik connects to a 3D world, in a room called The Suicide Room which is a place where people watch movies of people who commit suicide. There he meets a girl named Sylwia, who is a suicide bomber who has been held in her room for three years. Dominik’s life changes, he becomes addicted and stays day after day watching videos and talking with Sylwia in The Suicide Room. Dominik commits an act of self-harm and is taken to a psychiatric clinic. His parents ignore this fact and only motivate him to study for his exams. The movie ends with Dominik waiting for Sylwia in a bar with some pills she wanted, then goes to the bathroom and decides to throw the pills, but she took some and starts filming two people who are kissing. In the end, it is known that Dominik never left the bathroom and tried to throw up to throw away the pills, but it was too late.

This is one of the movies about suicide that expresses that a person who has everything materially is not happy. Dominik was a boy who maybe if he had had a little more attention from his parents he wouldn’t have taken that path. It also highlights the dangers of the internet and how it can influence people to make decisions that can end their lives. On the internet, it is normal to find web pages that encourage people to self-harm and commit suicide.

Cyberbully (2011)

Within the list of movies about suicide is the so-called Cyberbully. The film stars Emily Osment and tells the story of a girl named Taylor who receives a birthday gift computer and joins a social network and begins to receive bullying all over the internet. The humiliations are so strong that Taylor can’t stand them and publishes a video where he says he has thought about committing suicide. Her friend watches the video and calls her mother and tells her the fact when the mother finds out she goes to her daughter and finds her with an antidepressant overdose. The young woman is hospitalized and then taken to a support group for harassed youth. In the end, she finds out that the person who initiated all the harassment was one of her friends and Taylor decides to forgive her.

This movie recounts a situation that is becoming more frequent among young teenagers today, cyberbullying. Many boys and girls are molested on the web by people from their school and it makes them reach a point of wanting to end their life. When a person thinks about committing suicide, in many cases he publishes in his networks what he has planned to do until it is too late and commits the fact.

In schools, there has been an increase in talks about no more bullying and respect for others. Young people should be aware of the irreparable damage that their comments can cause to other people.

Prayers for Bobby (2009)

Another of the movies about suicide is inspired by a real event called Prayers for Bobby. The film stars Ryan Kelley as Bobby Griffith and Sigourney Weaver as his mother Mary Griffith. The story tells the life of a boy who committed suicide because his mother did not accept his homosexuality because of his religious beliefs. When the mother discovers that Bobby is gay, he goes out of his way to be “cured” which leads to Bobby moving. In the end, Bobby has a moment of depression and jumps from a bridge, dying instantly. The mother when she learns this fact begins to question herself and the interpretation that the church does in the bible. She is preparing to fight for gay rights in honour of her son.

In this film, you can see how a young man not being accepted by his family falls into depression and this leads to death. Many are gays around the world who suffer due to the non-acceptance they receive from their family and their surrounding communities. A person when it does not feel supported by anyone feels lonely and sad, symptoms of depression, and this can lead to the person committing suicide as a solution to what it understands is a problem.

FAQs about movies about suicide

Conclusion

These movies about suicide are not only intended to entertain an audience but also to show a harsh reality that is present in our society. Suicide is a serious issue and should be treated as such. People must be more understanding and careful in the way they treat others since no one knows the internal battles that a person leads. Aggressive and hateful comments towards other people should be left aside and instead, the right thing would be to treat others with respect and be a source of support for someone who is going through a similar situation.

Recommended videos

1. Suicide Attempt Survivors Bust Myths About Suicide / Truth or Myth
2.  My story with suicide
3. What It’s Like To Lose Someone To Suicide

 References

1. Suicide
2. The Best Movies About Suicide
3. Prayers for Bobby
4. Suicide Room
5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
6. Cyberbully