The Bridge.
"One of the most moving and brutally honest films about suicide ever made."- Stephen Holden, New York Times. My review on the Documentary- The Bridge
After watching this documentary, I'm not sure I will ever look at the Golden Gate Bridge the same again. Filmed over the course of one year, 2004, The Bridge tells the story of several men and women who decided to end their lives with one giant leap. For the last two weeks or so in philosophy we've been talking about the D word...
DEATH. Epictetus Said "Death's door is always open for our escape from what we judge to be intolerable situations in life Therefore, death is in fact a refuge, and so nothing difficult ever traps us in life" When I read that I thought is Epictetus promoting suicide? Whats the deal here? But what he's saying is (I think) that everyone is in control of their death. Don (My philosophy teacher) told us this story about this women he had known through mutual friends who had been diagnosed with Stage three cancer ( forget what type of cancer) after going in for what she thought was a routine procedure. After leaving the hospital that day she told her friends and family she wasn't going to fight it And that she was at peace with that. Don said she passed away later that week. "Some things are in our control and others not. Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever are our own actions. Things not in our control are body, property, reputation, command, and, in one word, whatever are not our own actions."- Epictetus. So, maybe I'm getting this all messed up---but What I think all this means is this mutual friend of Dons did have control of her death... through her mind? Even though her body was sick she with a healthy mind could of beat it? ah jeez I may be mixing this all up. Any way you may be asking well how does this connect to the suicide bridge jumpers? --I'm getting there. Theses questions I'm asking-- what is the difference between suicides and those who choose not to fit their illnesses? Or is there a difference? I know both must not fear death.
In the documentary there where these people taking photos on the bridge with their families all happy and right behind them was a person who was the total opposite of happiness. It's strange to think that one person is happy living their life and right behind them if someone who is ready to end theirs. Epictetus said that if we tell ourselves everyday "I'm going to die someday" or "Someone I love will die someday" That when death comes it wont hurt so much. I think that quote comes in nicely in this case because these people where so sadden after this person jumped and this was someone they didn't even know in life. It's because that jumper made death seem real. Everyday we as people try not to discuss death, we leave that topic on the back burner. So when it actuality happens it's shocking and hurting. Socrates and Epictetus and other stoic believers believed death was beautiful.
In one part of the film a father says: “Some people say the body is a temple. He thought his body was a cage, a prison. In his mind, he knew he was loved, that he had everything and could do anything. And yet he felt trapped, and that was the only way he could get free. (That part...was really hard to watch) It weird because I found another quote by Epictetus that connects to that "Your a little soul caring around a corpse".Okay! I'm sorry if I'm freaking you guys out what I'm trying to say about this film is that it connects to a lot about what I've been learning lately and I felt like sharing it and working through it. So enough of my rantings and back to what this film is about!
The Bridge is directed by Eric Steel. It is a collection of interviews with the families and friends of those who had jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge as well as one person who survived the jump. It was pretty apparent from the family and friends who are interviewed through out the documentary that the people who jumped had long thought through the process before doing so. In several cases, it wasn't the first time the person had attempted to kill themselves. In others, there was depression and bi-polar issues for many years.
I think this documentary they were trying to capture the why. Why the Golden Gate Bridge of all places? What makes it a place that people want to end their lives. The obvious answer is that it is almost certain death. Not many have survived the fall and not many will. I found the documentary to be really interesting because of how they were able to locate the families and tell a bit about these people we are about to see jump off the bridge. The one thing that bothered me a bit was that you actually do see these people being talked about standing on the bridge and then eventually as their story unfolds they show them taking the leap. Not all of them, but a couple of them. It was really strange to see this, really morbid.
In the end, I think that this one is worth seeing if you have a good open mind, but don't get any ideas of heading to San Fran and having a leap. In Fact here is a link where you can watch the film...Better yet I'll just paste it in here:
DEATH. Epictetus Said "Death's door is always open for our escape from what we judge to be intolerable situations in life Therefore, death is in fact a refuge, and so nothing difficult ever traps us in life" When I read that I thought is Epictetus promoting suicide? Whats the deal here? But what he's saying is (I think) that everyone is in control of their death. Don (My philosophy teacher) told us this story about this women he had known through mutual friends who had been diagnosed with Stage three cancer ( forget what type of cancer) after going in for what she thought was a routine procedure. After leaving the hospital that day she told her friends and family she wasn't going to fight it And that she was at peace with that. Don said she passed away later that week. "Some things are in our control and others not. Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever are our own actions. Things not in our control are body, property, reputation, command, and, in one word, whatever are not our own actions."- Epictetus. So, maybe I'm getting this all messed up---but What I think all this means is this mutual friend of Dons did have control of her death... through her mind? Even though her body was sick she with a healthy mind could of beat it? ah jeez I may be mixing this all up. Any way you may be asking well how does this connect to the suicide bridge jumpers? --I'm getting there. Theses questions I'm asking-- what is the difference between suicides and those who choose not to fit their illnesses? Or is there a difference? I know both must not fear death.
In the documentary there where these people taking photos on the bridge with their families all happy and right behind them was a person who was the total opposite of happiness. It's strange to think that one person is happy living their life and right behind them if someone who is ready to end theirs. Epictetus said that if we tell ourselves everyday "I'm going to die someday" or "Someone I love will die someday" That when death comes it wont hurt so much. I think that quote comes in nicely in this case because these people where so sadden after this person jumped and this was someone they didn't even know in life. It's because that jumper made death seem real. Everyday we as people try not to discuss death, we leave that topic on the back burner. So when it actuality happens it's shocking and hurting. Socrates and Epictetus and other stoic believers believed death was beautiful.
In one part of the film a father says: “Some people say the body is a temple. He thought his body was a cage, a prison. In his mind, he knew he was loved, that he had everything and could do anything. And yet he felt trapped, and that was the only way he could get free. (That part...was really hard to watch) It weird because I found another quote by Epictetus that connects to that "Your a little soul caring around a corpse".Okay! I'm sorry if I'm freaking you guys out what I'm trying to say about this film is that it connects to a lot about what I've been learning lately and I felt like sharing it and working through it. So enough of my rantings and back to what this film is about!The Bridge is directed by Eric Steel. It is a collection of interviews with the families and friends of those who had jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge as well as one person who survived the jump. It was pretty apparent from the family and friends who are interviewed through out the documentary that the people who jumped had long thought through the process before doing so. In several cases, it wasn't the first time the person had attempted to kill themselves. In others, there was depression and bi-polar issues for many years.
I think this documentary they were trying to capture the why. Why the Golden Gate Bridge of all places? What makes it a place that people want to end their lives. The obvious answer is that it is almost certain death. Not many have survived the fall and not many will. I found the documentary to be really interesting because of how they were able to locate the families and tell a bit about these people we are about to see jump off the bridge. The one thing that bothered me a bit was that you actually do see these people being talked about standing on the bridge and then eventually as their story unfolds they show them taking the leap. Not all of them, but a couple of them. It was really strange to see this, really morbid.
In the end, I think that this one is worth seeing if you have a good open mind, but don't get any ideas of heading to San Fran and having a leap. In Fact here is a link where you can watch the film...Better yet I'll just paste it in here:
THE BRIDGE
posted by Ashley at
2:35 PM
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