The Bridge is a controversial documentary that shows people jumping to their death from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco - the world's most popular suicide destination. Interviews with the victims' loved ones describe their lives and mental health.
The Bridge is a controversial documentary that shows people jumping to their death from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco - the world's most popular suicide destination. Interviews with the victims' loved ones describe their lives and mental health.
<i>The Bridge</i> is one of those movies where knowing the full context in which it was produced, will alter your view of its creator's sincerity, the message they're trying to bring across and the ethics they so desperately want to mimic.
While it's understandable that a movie about suicide can't be anything but grim, it's the crew's lack of care for moral codes that precedes its angsty subject matter. According to the creator himself, the crew started filming <i>Golden Gate Bridge</i> round the clock with hidden cameras in "hopes" of catching suicide attempts on film. To make matters worse, at no time did they stop any of these distressed individuals to help them, call for emergency units or stop filming. The crew, then, interviewed the deceased's friends and families without letting them know that they have the footage of their loved one's last moments.
My question is, was it worth it? What value did this footage add to the movie except to invade the privacy of the perished? Are we so desperate for snuff content that we are willing to exploit unassuming people trying to go through their final seconds? Do we need to look demise in the eye in order to shed a tear? I sure hope not.
Let people die in peace.