PW01-255 - Suicide In Cinema

Abstract

Introduction

The cinema has been fascinated by madness and its manifestations. Psychiatric illnesses have enabled filmmakers’ immense material for their screenplays, and the issue of suicide is often addressed.

Methods

A literature search was made through research on Pubmed with the words “cinema and suicide”,”cinema and psychopathology”.

Thirty five American and European films where the theme of suicide had been addressed were randomly selected from a cinema database (http://imdb.com). A questionnaire with data about the films screened was developed specifically for the study, which was filled to the extent that each film was viewed. The psychiatric diagnoses related with suicide were made according to DSM-IV-TR.

Discussion

The films selected deal with suicide in various ways, providing a more or less realistic overview about the mental disorder;

The profile from the suicide was: caucasian male, mid aged (< 45 yrs), committing suicide with a violent method (mainly fire gun), suffering from a psychiatric disorder (depression, personality disorders, substance abuse) after a significant life event. Just a small proportion (11%) was in psychiatric treatment. This profile matches with real data from the literature.

The characterization from the mental heath professionals was subjective coated as negative in the majority of the movies selected.

Conclusion

It is important to reflect on the vision that the movies provide in the general public about suicide, mental disease and in which way they shape the perception about the mentally ill and those who treat them.