The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most popular man-made structures in North America. It also the single most popular suicide site in the world. The Bridge is a documentary by Eric Steel that portrays some of the haunting scenes of people committing suicide by jumping off the bridge. The film was inspired by a 2003 article titled “Jumpers” that was authored by Tad Friend for the New Yorker. It took Steel approximately 10,000 hours of footage of the bridged and an additional 100 hours for interviews around the country. Steel believed that the film would allow us to see into the most impenetrable corners of the human mind and encourage people to think and talk about the subject of suicide in profoundly different ways. It is always important to learn about mental health, along with the behavioral issues underlying it. Gene Sprague is a motif running throughout the film. He can be seen pacing up and down the bridge, ultimately jumping up on the rail. He falls backwards into the waters. Steel’s film is one of the most moving and incredibly honest documentaries about suicide ever made. Gene Sprague is arguably the protagonist of the film, as he is the suicide victim prominently featured.
Gene friends indicate some warning signs that they saw before his death. According to his friends, his life was very difficult. His mother had died while he was young, leaving him with no one to look up to. Living without a mother could have been heartbreaking for Gene. The death of his mother significantly darkened his whole outlook on life. This could have contributed to his resolve to take his life. His friend Carolyn Pressley pointed out that Gene had a problem maintaining relationships with women. This may have rendered him lonely, given the fact that he lost his mother at a young age. Having a female companion might have helped him to cope with day to day challenges. Additionally, having a loved one could have been in itself a reason to live. However, Gene never had an opportunity to have a long term companion. Having no one to confide in can be a significant contributing factor to suicidal ideation, particularly for a person who has suffered his whole life.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
We can gather from the film that, indeed, Gene had suicidal ideation. According to Pressley, his lifelong friend, Gene was not an outgoing person. This indicates that Gene led a lonely life. The loneliness may have had a negative impact on his mental health. Essentially, Gene was depressed because of the challenges he was facing. For instance, he had talked about committing suicide. According to Presley, he was looking for work a few days before the fateful day. Depression coupled with unemployment could have been overwhelming for him. He may have felt that life was, after all, unfair to him. Although there was no identifiable behavior change in Gene, his friends indicate that the death of his mother dampened his outlook on life in a colossal way. His idea about life may have changed for the worst. The journey to his death may have started on the day he realized that he was alone in the often tumultuous adventures of life.
Gene had some presented some risk factors for suicidality which include relationship problems, hopelessness, and depression. According to his friends, Gene had a problem maintaining relationships with women. Such a failure to maintain relationships with women, as well as starting a family has a negative impact on one’s self-esteem. Such a low self-esteem may result in hopelessness. Hopelessness may significantly kill the desire to continue living. Consequently, one may end up contemplating suicide. Another important risk factor for suicidality that can be observed in the film regarding Gene’s suicide is depression. According to his friends, Gene was depressed. Depression is a serious mental problem that may have led him to commit suicide.
Protective factors for suicidality have the potential to prevent people from committing suicide. However, Gene had no protective factors for suicidality. For instance, Gene had no strong connections to friends and family. He was not an outgoing person, eliminating any chance of making strong connections to friends. Additionally, his mother died while he was young, leaving him with no close family member. Gene had no hope for the future as he was jobless. This pessimism would have driven him into suicidal ideation. One of his friends indicated that Gene was looking for a job. Strong sense of self-worth may have been a significant protective factor for suicidality. However, Gene had low self-esteem, given the fact that he had a problem maintaining relationships with women. This means that he was bereft of effective social skills that would help him handle relationship issues. Had he been married, the chance of contemplating suicide would be very low. Therefore, the lack of significant protective factor for suicidality may have contributed to Gene taking own life. One of his friends, Pressley, tried hard to find a way to bring him back to no avail. Being some kind of introvert, it would have been hard for some of his friends to dissuade him from committing suicide.
There is need for resources that can help people avoid suicidal thoughts. Presently, psychiatric services are available for people with mental problems. However, much has to be done to ensure that awareness is created about mental health and suicide. This can enable friends and families to identify people who are at risk of committing suicide well in advance.
In conclusion, the film gives us a unique opportunity to view suicide from a different but honest perspective. Mental health experts can gather more knowledge on some of the behaviors underlying suicidal ideation. The film also calls for the development of resources that can help people with mental problems that can lead to suicide such as depression.
Reference
Steel, E. (2006). The bridge. IFC Films, United States.
