The Representation of Suicide in the Cinema
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The Representation of Suicide in the Cinema John Saddington Submitted for the degree of PhD University of York Department of Sociology September 2010 Abstract This study examines representations of suicide in film. Based upon original research cataloguing 350 films it considers the ways in which suicide is portrayed and considers this in relation to gender conventions and cinematic traditions. The thesis is split into two sections, one which considers wider themes relating to suicide and film and a second which considers a number of exemplary films. Part I discusses the wider literature associated with scholarly approaches to the study of both suicide and gender. This is followed by quantitative analysis of the representation of suicide in films, allowing important trends to be identified, especially in relation to gender, changes over time and the method of suicide. In Part II, themes identified within the literature review and the data are explored further in relation to detailed exemplary film analyses. Six films have been chosen: Le Feu Fol/et (1963), Leaving Las Vegas (1995), The Killers (1946 and 1964), The Hustler (1961) and The Virgin Suicides (1999). These films are considered in three chapters which exemplify different ways that suicide is constructed. Chapters 4 and 5 explore the two categories that I have developed to differentiate the reasons why film characters commit suicide. These are Melancholic Suicide, which focuses on a fundamentally "internal" and often iII understood motivation, for example depression or long term illness; and Occasioned Suicide, where there is an "external" motivation for which the narrative provides apparently intelligible explanations, for instance where a character is seen to be in danger or to be suffering from feelings of guilt. Chapter 6 considers films that seek to elaborate upon the lasting effects of suicide on another character and these narratives are considered in terms of the type of effect that the suicide provokes. These films are situated within their generic traditions (the French Nouvelle Vague; the alcohol addiction film; film noir, neo noir, "serious" drama; and the teenpic), allowing a rounded examination of representations of suicide and gender. Film sequence analyses and character traits and states are included in the Appendices. As a thesis, it is demonstrated that gender and generic conventions significantly influence the ways in which suicide has been represented and utilised narratively in the cinema. 2 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ........................ '" ........ , ... '" ................. 9 PART I: CONCEPTUAL RESOURCES ............................... 15 CHAPTER 1. CONTEXUALISING SUICIDE: DEBATES, THEORIES AND APPROACHES .................................................... 16 Types of Suicide ........................... '" ............................ 16 Suicide Through the Ages .............................................. 19 Cultural Context of Suicide ............... '" ......................... 21 CHAPTER 2. CONTEXTUALISING GENDER: DEBATES, THEORIES AND APPROACHES................................. 27 Sex and Gender. ........................... '" .......................... 27 Sex as a Social Construction .......................................... 29 Masculinities ............... "'"'''' ....................................... 33 Masculinity in Crisis? ............................................................... 42 Concepts of Femininity ... '" ........................... '''''' ......... , 46 Representation of Women in Film ..................... '" ........... 47 Conclusion ......... '" ...... '" .............................. '" .... " .... 51 CHAPTER 3. CONTEXTUALISING SUICIDE IN FILM: DESCRIPTIVE CONTEXT ..............................................54 Gender of Suicidee ........................ '" ............................ 55 Method of Suicide ......................................................... 57 Suicide in Film: Narrative Themes in Exemplary Films ......... 62 Conclusion .................. '" .............................. '" ............ 69 3 PART II: EXEMPLARY FILM ANALySES ............................. 71 CHAPTER 4. MELANCHOLIC SUICIDE ........................... 74 Melancholic Suicide: Historical and Generic Context. ........... 74 Exemplary Films - Le Feu FoJlet ... .................................. 81 Leaving Las Vegas ... ..... , ........ , ........... 93 Conclusion ..................................................... , ............ 107 CHAPTER 5. OCCASIONED SUiCiDE ........................... 109 Occasioned Suicide: Historical and Generic Context ....... , ... 109 Exemplary Films - The Killers {1946} .......... , ........ , ........... 119 The Killers {1964} .......... , .................... 129 Conclusion .................... , ....... , ........................ , ........ , ... 142 CHAPTER 6. THE CONSEQUENCES OF SUICIDE FOR OTHER CHARACTERS ............. , ............................................. 145 Consequences of Suicide: Historical and Generic Context .,. 145 Exemplary Films - The Hustler...... ..... , ....... , .................... 150 The Virgin Suicides ... ..... , ....... , ............ 162 Conclusion .................... , ....... , ........................ , ... '" ..... 177 CONCLUSION .............................................................. 181 APPENDICES ................ , .......... '" ....... , ...... , .................. 189 APPENDIX A. Le Feu Follef .......................................... 190 Sequence Analysis. .. ................................................. 190 Traits and States ........... ' ....... ' ........................ , ............ 183 APPENDIX B. Leaving Las Vegas ................................. 195 Sequence Analysis... ................................................. 195 Traits and States ......................................................... 198 4 APPENDIX C. The Killers (1946) ................................... 203 Sequence Analysis... ................................................. 203 Traits and States ......................................................... 207 APPENDIX D. The Killers (1964) ................................... 210 Sequence Analysis ... .................................................. 210 Traits and States ................................. ..................... ... 213 APPENDIX E. The Hustler ........................................... 218 Sequence Analysis... ................................................. 218 Traits and States ...... ............................................. ...... 223 APPENDIX F. The Virgin Suicides ................................. 231 Sequence Analysis ..................................................... 231 Traits and States ... ................................................... ... 235 APPENDIX G. Films by Category by Decade by % ............ 245 FILMOGRAPHy ............ ..................... ............................ 246 BIBLIOGRAPHy ............................................................ 253 5 Acknowledgements I feel lucky to have been supported throughout this endeavour by a number of brilliant people who have offered academic assistance, friendship and encouragement, namely, David Beer, Kristyn Gorton, Marcus Grant, Phil Hadfield, Ben Harker, Alastair Hodge, David Inglis, Alan Middleditch, Tom Nail, Chris Perry, Barry Sandywell, Phil Stanworth and Andrew Tudor. Professor Tudor - who puts the super in supeNisor - deserves special thanks for his meticulous guidance, indefatigability and terrific generosity despite my often unreasonable demands on his time. I should like to acknowledge the Department of Sociology for awarding me a tuition fees bursary, and the Department of Theatre, Film and Television for treating me as one of their own. Finally, lowe a debt of some magnitude to my family, especially my parents, Margaret and Malcolm Saddington, and my partner, Ruth Larsen, for their constant support and unfailing patience. 6 Declaration The research submitted in this thesis is wholly the result of my own endeavours. None of it has been published. 7 Resume Razors pain you; Rivers are damp; Acids stain you; And drugs cause cramp. Guns aren't lawful; Nooses give; Gas smells awful; You might as well live. Dorothy Parker (1926) When you've got nowhere to turn, turn on the gas. Truman Capote (1986:66) I did not, however, commit suicide, because I wished to know more of mathematics. Betrand Russell ([1967] 2000:38) 8 INTRODUCTION This study focuses on representations of suicide in film, explored against a backdrop of gender conventions and cinematic tradition. While films do not straightforwardly reflect the social worlds in which they are produced and consumed, consistent patterns of themes found across a range of films can be seen as symptomatic of both stable and changing social concerns in particular cultures. Thus it is with representations of suicide, a relatively common but surprisingly understudied form of film fatality, and gender, a frequent focus of film analysis in recent decades. In exploring such cinematic constructions for points of similarity and difference, sources of generic convention, as well as distinct narrative themes, we can thus begin to examine aspects of their popular conceptualisation in the cultures of which the films are part. Instances of suicide can be found in most major film types from sci-fi and comedy to melodrama and thriller, demonstrating how suicide has been used as a key narrative device to develop stories in a variety of settings. Suicide may dominate an entire film