anyone ever see this video?

yikes!!

http://www.youtube.com/wa...WGS2b3tP1c

i've been wanting to see that movie for awhile now very creepy and sad.

Wow that is quite sad and yet on the flip side it's disturbing because what kind of person does it take to sit there and film a suicide...

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[Edited 5/4/09 11:07am]

Saw it... creepy...

I saw it and what surprised me was how many people survived. Tragedy all around.

I saw that movie a year ago or so and it left quite an impression on me. I couldn't stop thinking about it for days.

The man with the long black hair (Gene) kept a LiveJournal which is still up online. Reading it makes him even more real as a person, and not just a subject in a film. So sad.

http://freekboyg.livejournal.com

StephaniePlum said:

oh wow

in the least creepy way possible thanks for sharing.

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

And didn't they all say they immediately regretted jumping?

suicide is painless

unless you fall into the water the wrong way

how unlucky is that?

yikes!

NDRU said:

Yeah, mid-flight. Horrible!

I watched it on TV a while back on More 4 in the UK I believe the entire documentary can be found on youtube

well I hope nobody jumps off today when we are walking over it!

muirdo said:

yes it's on youtube, I just finished watching it finally.

While watching the video, I wondered if there was such a thing as counselors or people that go there to specifically
to approach and speak to people they might observe to be suicidal.
I mean if it was an everyday, common thing, shouldn't they have some sort of a program to help people?

If I lived there, I would like to do that, offer some understanding and comfort.

ZombieKitten said:

if they had, we wouldn't have seen it!

you'd think they'd have people monitoring for that stuff...

if i saw someone on the verge, i'd approach them and try to start a friendly conversation.

NDRU said:

She took a really cool picture of the bridge and fog. I hope she posts it.

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

I hope my frizzy hair isn't in it! Sorry I had to miss last night.

NDRU said:

You were missed. I understand things come up.

I don't think your fabulous do made it to frame.

PanthaGirl said:

Maybe so, but the film is a philosophical inquiry. I could ask that about myself...what kind of person does it take to sit there and watch multiple suicides on film?

The film also aimed to be a public service announcement on the subject of suicide, which is often treated as unspeakable and swept under the rug. The filmmaker was making a case to build a barrier on the Golden Gate Bridge. If you've been there, you know how easy it is to jump over the four foot railing, an act that can easily be done on impulse.

I know someone who jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge and died. And another friend of mine took his life a few months after I saw the movie. Though harshly disturbing and unforgettable as the movie is, I was glad I saw it. In some way, it helped me cope with the experience by presenting a platform for dialogue and giving me a glimpse into the minds of the suicidal.

Not to mention, the quality of filmmaking in this movie is profound -- on a purely cinematic level. It asks many questions about the ethics of documentary.

heartbeatocean said:

I have somewhat mixed feelings.

Yes it's easy to jump off, but I wouldn't want a barrier blocking the view. Same with the grand canyon. How sad if they put a fence between you and the view just because of suicides? It's like taking beauty away from the world because of people who are unable to see the beauty in the world. The danger adds to the beauty, even. It takes your breath away.

NDRU said:

Yeah, someone in the movie made the case that they could spend the million dollars (or whatever it would take to create the barrier) on a badly needed moveable lane barrier for the road, to help protect the people that choose life.

But after seeing the movie, I lean to the side of creating a barrier. They could build a barrier so you can still see the view. To me, it's a source of shame that a publicly-run monument such as the Golden Gate Bridge becomes a mecca for the suicidal and nothing is done about it. On average, one person jumps off every two weeks. It doesn't seem responsible.

I understand that people have a right to kill themselves and will find other means, but to be a public magnet for the act?

A theme I thought was interesting in the movie was WHY people chose this method to kill themselves -- something about fame, glamor and beauty. To me, that says they still were linked to life to value those qualities in the way they died.

heartbeatocean said:

That's a deep thought.
Is that your observance on what you got from the movie?

I feel that if someone is going to end their life they're going to do it no matter what.

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

Exactly!!
The film makers lied to get permission to film there IMDB has a few of these points in there trivia section for The Bridge. I also read somewhere that when they realised they might be filming someone who was going to jump,they alerted the authorities immediately.
Let this be a warning to all who are thinking of taking there own life, chances are your demise is going to be caught on film and posted on a website where people will make fun of you and say cruel things.Think how that helps your family during grieving u selfish bastards.

or perhaps the videos will prevent people from doing this type of thing

I for one....would not try it because I might land the wrong way and survive and then be crippled and unable to end my life. How bad would that suck?

wildgoldenhoney said:

Yes, that's my own observance. But the movie does emphasize that there is something peculiar about Golden Gate Bridge suicides...because it is such a beautiful, iconic place. And there is a collective element too, the idea of people dying together there. The act is full of irony.

heartbeatocean said:

I wonder if there's a natural pull to it as well. When I'm up there it's a weird feeling, like I can feel myself going over. It's hard to not imagine it, sick as that sounds. If I was more unstable, those feelings might be harder to ignore. Of course I only go to the bridge with tourists, not because I'm suicidal, so your question still stands--specifically, what brings a suicidal person to the bridge?

But there are stories of certain objects causing strange reactions. Like people attacking the Mona Lisa, for example, because it causes a psychological crisis inside them.

These iconic places/things are magnets for us & since we tend to not see them every day (maybe we see the bridge every day but we don't walk it every day) it causes extreme reactions in people, like when they see Sanjaya in person.
[Edited 5/7/09 10:39am]