Suicide in the moving image

Death is ubiquitous in film and television, both fiction and documentary, and while homicide is the primary cause of death in fiction film, suicide accounts for twice as many deaths in the world. Since fictional media is predicated on stimulating emotions of one sort or another, positive or negative, it is not difficult to understand that death in general and suicide in particular provides ample opportunity to encourage strong audience reactions and interest. Here I will provide a taxonomy of the ways in which the moving image, primarily cinema, presents suicide, including: (1) Hollywood glamour and suicide, (2) Art-house suicide, (3) Euthanasia and assisted dying, (4) Religious and cult suicide, (5) War and political suicide, (6) Honourable suicide, and (7) Depression, guilt and drugs. This list is not exhaustive and the categories are non-exclusive, meaning that films discussed in one category may be relevant to others. The focus is on the internal logic of individual films without making any claims as to their possible effects in the real world. Ultimately, this chapter argues that fictional representation of suicide on screen is an important part of our philosophical engagement with questions of human freedom and choice.