Suicide in Popular Media and Culture - (Death and Culture) by Mike F Alvarez & Warren J Bareiss & Jolane Flanigan (Hardcover)

About the Book

How does pop culture shape what we think and feel about suicide? This vital new book explores the ethics, aesthetics and impact of suicide representation across literature, film, TV, social media, news and more.

Book Synopsis

Popular media are powerful mirrors and makers of meaning around suicide.

This book brings together scholars from across disciplines to examine how suicide is mythologized, politicized and challenged across film, TV, young adult literature, digital platforms, online communities, and more. From news coverage of celebrity suicide to social media interventions with at-risk youth, this wide-ranging collection explores suicide's intersections with class, gender, chronic illness and cultural identity.

Bridging academic analysis and lived realities, this volume offers vital tools for understanding, teaching and reimagining how suicide circulates in the stories we consume and create.

Review Quotes

'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

'An engaging collection with a broad, varied range of methodological approaches, conceptual ideas, textual analyses and projects on show - it offers a fresh and insightful addition to critical suicide studies.' Michael-Fox, The Death Studies Podcast

About the Author

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.