Suicide in Popular Media and Culture

M. F. Alvarez is Assistant Professor of Communication at the University of New Hampshire and the author of three previous books.Warren J. Bareiss is Professor of Communication at the University of South Carolina Upstate.Jolane Flanigan is Professor of Communication Studies at Rocky Mountain College and a licensed mental health counsellor.

‘This powerful, accessible and much-needed interdisciplinary collection expands our understanding of a fiercely contested subject: how suicide is portrayed in popular culture and media. It is vital reading for all.’ Alexandre Baril, University of Ottawa

• Introduction - M. F. Alvarez, Warren J. Bareiss, Jolane Flanigan1. “Buried in the Open Fields”: Early Modern Suicide and the Case of Ofelia – Janet Clare2. “To Live Deliberately”: Agency and Locus of Control in ‘Dead Poets Society’ - Brennan Thomas3. The Complexities of the Documentary ‘The Bridge’ as Heterotopia - Alessandra Seggi4. “I (Don’t) Want to Kill Myself”: Tensions Between Suicidal Hope and Joyful Despair in HBO’s ‘The Leftovers’ – Adam Lauver5. Pain Advocates: Reimagining Suicide Narratives from the Perspectives of Chronic Pain Patients - Elizabeth Spradley and R. Tyler Spradley6. Celebrity Suicide as Opportunity for Public Education: Professional Medical Sources and Themes in Press Coverage of Anthony Bourdain’s Suicide - Warren J. Bareiss7. Media Representations of Farmer Suicide as Social Drama: From Breach to Crisis to Redressive Action - Jolane Flanigan8. Reducing Suicide Risks among Transgender, Non- Binary, and Gender Diverse Youth through Social Media Interventions - Gary L. Kreps, Farrokh Alem, Suzanne Carmack, David Gustafson, Judith Jacobson, Yan Leykin, Priya Nambisan, Jack D. Simons, John Strang, and Rediet Woldeselassie9. Suicide Goes Public: Suicide Prevention/Education and Grief Literacy in the Young Adult Literature Section of the Public Library - Carla Sofka10. Pop Culture as Pedagogy: Breaking the Silence on Suicide in the Undergraduate Classroom - M. F. Alvarez