Another tragic loss of a man whose life held so much promise.
Top Gun, Days of Thunder, The Good Wife, Numb3rs and more… Tony Scott was a powerful and prolific director and producer and he will be sorely missed. It is time we looked at the rates of suicide among men, and perhaps this tragic loss will help us focus on preventing future losses.
“Top Gun” director Tony Scott fatally jumped off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro on Sunday afternoon, according to Los Angeles police sources.
His body was pulled out of the water by Los Angeles Police Department, California Highway Patrol and U.S. Coast Guard officials.
Investigators found a suicide note in his car, which was parked on the bridge.
It’s yet another reminder that attention must be paid to men and suicide, looking at the causes of why 4 times more men commit suicide than women, and finding a way to solve this problem. Tony Scott is a great loss, but the loss of any one to suicide is devastating.
Does the suicide of someone who seems so successful, wealthy and powerful change the way you look at men and depression and suicide?
What’s your favorite Tony Scott movie?
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So sad.
And I think in the States it’s actually fives times more likely that men will commit suicide than women. I was amazed at how consistent this discrepancy is accross the world:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate
I was researching this yesterday by coincidence. I think it’s a gigantically important statistic that needs a lot of research, coverage and support.
“Does the suicide of someone who seems so successful, wealthy and powerful change the way you look at men and depression and suicide?”
One question that bugs me, is why does it need a supposed celebrity or public figure to act before public interest is peaked? That is so disturbing, and just illustrates the cult of celebrity and how social status and value is judged …. and which does feed into suicide rates!
From official figures, one vet attempts suicide every 80 minutes – and nationally for the USA it seems that one man takes his own life every three hours or less. Why does celebrity make the figure of one count more? Tony Scott was only 1 of 8 men who acted on 19 August 2012.
Will Tony Scott’s suicide open up the issues? Nope – but then again , I have been aware of the issues for a long time! Will it change attitudes? Unlikely. It may change a few, but it won’t lead to a sea change! Now If Oprah topped herself that may make a difference… maybe a Vice President …. but a Hollywood director/producer? Nope …. too obscure, and Hollywood is the home of the dramatic!
As one professional put it some years ago, “You don’t worry about the feelings of the scapegoat.”. It’s a sweeping generalisation, but men are not supposed to be emotional or have emotions, when it comes to economics it’s a case of not being crushed – you are supposed to be an economic powerhouse and to go out and make a million, and when it comes to relationships men are always in the wrong – not feeling enough, not looking the right way and not able to provide orgasms, lacking empathy and sympathy and of course they make terrible fathers, are terrible examples to children and even are all sexual offenders against anything that moves… and those six packs are never sixxy enough!
One man gets told to move on a plane due to pedo fears and it’s a media frenzy ( or maybe just a blip). One man shoots a security guard and it’s media chicken soup. One vet attempts suicide every 80 minutes and there is no comment! Many succeed and they get a nice flag and taps! Daily death rates just aint of interest.
Why is it that during periods of economic crisis (from family to global) male suicide rates go up? It’s been known for years, but has the latest economic downturn prompted debate and even action? Nope.
Why is it that medical professionals in training, even in the fields of psychology and psychiatry, get no training in the matter of male suicide? They get training in areas of child health such as abuse, and female health such as domestic abuse. Are there plans afoot to address the deficits in medical training? Nope!
… but then again, suicide rates in the medical professions are some of the highest, if not the highest – so you would think that some form of self preservation would kick in!
Why is it that research shows that men who have attempted or achieved suicide have reached out and sought help, and there has been a lack of positive response? …. and that research is ongoing and showing the same trends for over a decade. If positive response is all that is needed to a person reaching out, why is there such a delay in making that known? Is there a national program of education in how to spot the signs and signals for suicide? Nope!
Being just moderately cynical, Male Suicide won’t be seen as an issue or priority, since no-one has found as magic answer and there is no magic bullet that the Drug Industry can find to make a profit for share holders…. and then lobby politically and via the media to have everyone seeking the product. Men are just not profitable enough to keep alive!
I loved “Crimson Tide” – shows just how men can be both right and wrong at the same time! What a revelation! Such a psychological film, and raising so many points for discussion.
It’s not that more men commit suicide than women, it’s that more men succeed in doing so. When a man chooses to take his own life, it’s serious business and he will likely choose a surefire method like a bullet to the brain, or as in this case jumping off something. Women pussyfoot around when it comes to suicide, either that or they just do it for attention. Hence they are more likely to scrape their wrists or take pills until they vomit, etc.
I think the big difference is how the MSM is writing about this. They aren’t taking his suicide as a sign of a much bigger problem, there aren’t (as far as I can see) followup articles about male suicide rates etc. When Chris Brown beat up Rhianna, there were tons of follow articles and shows about DV (even though what CB did wasn’t DV) , the media went into a frenzy about DV. From what I have seen and read this is just an isolated incident of someone famous who commited suicide.
I think that is a very noteworthy difference. Even when a celebrity commits suicide you don’t see talk shows and whatnot suddenly wanted to do special episodes where they have a “real and frank discussion” on suicide
The suicide of someone deemed successful, wealthy and powerful makes me question the definition of “successful”… The advantage of being wealthy is the access to more treatment options. However, there is still a barrier to overcome to access those options – and the perception of personal power may well make that barrier even larger. May we all learn to reach out for support.
Sad, very sad.
The Tony Scott movie that stays with me is True Romance. An unlikely love story full of humour, recklessness, and bizarre action. And a dude who won’t shy away from “impossible”.
Tony Scott’s suicide was not a result of male depression and frustration, though. That’s a serious problem, and it’s behind a lot of the crisis of male suicide in America–but it doesn’t apply in this case.
Scott had inoperable brain cancer. Suicide in his case was an entirely rational and justified action.
Yeah, his family and spokespeople say ABC incorrectly reported that. There’s a new blog post on it up right now.