reflect on 9 essays !
DeeQeew
essay_2_rough_draft_qs115.docx
Jackson 1
Britnay T. Jackson
Professor Amanda Harrison
QS 115
11 October 2014
Summertime Suicide
According to dosomething.org, nearly 30,000 Americans commit suicide every year. In the music video “Summertime Sadness” by Lana Del Rey it shows the struggle and aftermath of dealing with the loss of a loved one due to suicide. “Summertime Sadness” shows viewer how hard it can be living without the one you love. Not only does the video present the viewer with the issue of suicide and the aftermath, but religion, self-realization, and grief.
When a person loses a friend, family member, or partner because of a death it always a hard situation to cope with. “Summertime Sadness” shows how hard it can be to live after a partner has committed suicide. Dosomething.org states that, “Each suicide intimately affects at least 6 other people.” This is proven true in Lana’s video. In the music video it is seen that after Lana’s girlfriend commits suicide she starts to contemplate it as well. Although the pain of the person who commits suicide has stopped, the long-term effect they leave on loved ones is severe. In this case the outcome of Lana’s girlfriend’s suicide caused her to do the same. Losing someone to suicide can be a very traumatic event, but also to those who are religious suicide can be sinful.
Religion plays a big role in a person’s beliefs and values. Throughout “Summertime Sadness” there are multiple religious symbols shown. Such as a statue of Jesus on the cross or even Lana dressed in all white seen putting her arms in a horizontal fashion. The color white is seen as holy and pure in the religious communities. Religion plays a huge role in the even of suicide because in most religions it is seen as a sin and can be punishable among God. Religion is important in this aspect because of Lana’s girlfriend’s suicide and also Lana’s suicide herself. Not only does a religion play a role regarding suicide, but also Lana’s relationship with a woman. In many, almost all religious communities being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender is also seen as a sin and can be punishable among God. “Summertime Sadness” portrays many of these issues in the music video.
Religion isn’t the only spiritual aspect found in this video, but also the topic of self-realization. Self-realization is the fulfillment of possibilities of a person’s character or personality. This is practiced in psychology, spirituality, and Eastern religions. Self-realization is significant in the music video “Summertime Sadness” because it connects with the religion aspect seen. Self-realization can be anything whether positive or negative. Self-realization is shown in the video when Lana starts to contemplate suicide. This is significant because it was a moment when she had finally made a decision on what she wanted for herself. Obviously the fulfillment was negative, but it was still a moment of self-realization for her. The loss of her girlfriend became too much for her to cope with she decided to end her life as well.
“Summertime Sadness” also shows how everyone copes with loss and how everyone grieves differently. In this case the way Lana dealt with her grief was by killing herself as well, which isn’t a healthy option, but it was her way of grieving. In the video it is shown that Lana is stuck remembering her lost girlfriend through flashbacks of their relationship. The grieving process can occur in stages. According to helpguide.org the five stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Throughout the music video denial is shown more than any of the other five. Denial is shown when Lana constantly has these flashbacks of her relationship with her girlfriend. In the video her girlfriend is seen driving in a car and then out of nowhere Lana appears to be in the car with her. This is Lana’s way of feeling as though her girlfriend is still alive and with her. I argue that the stage of acceptance is shown when Lana decides to commit suicide as well. Although this may be seen as a negative and Lana’s way of not being able to accept what happened, I disagree. When she came to the conclusion to kill her self it was her way of accepting what happened to her girlfriend. She didn’t feel guilty for her lover’s suicide, she accepted that she was gone and came to the decision to go along with the suicide herself. The acceptance of the loss was also shown when Lana stopped having flashbacks of her relationship at a point of time in the video.
The topic of suicide in today’s society is a huge issue, especially among teens. According to the CDC, “Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year”. Suicide among teens is usually caused by, bullying and depression towards kids apart of the LGBTQ community, kids of different ethnicities, or even body appearance. Bullying among teenagers is also a huge issue in society. Now with all of the social media and social network cites it makes bullying easier for the bullies behind a screen. This is referred to as cyber bullying and there have been numerous cases of children who have killed themselves because of it. Personally I have experienced the questioning of suicide and teenagers, adults, and people in general should seek help if they face come face to face with the questioning of suicide. Not only did I personally come to the questioning of suicide, but also attempted it. My personal experience of attempted suicide drove me to learn more about the issue and the steps that can be taken to help children facing the same thoughts and attitude I had. The fact that nearly 4,400 young people are dying due to suicide is a problem in our society and there needs to be a solution. Although it is hard to prevent teens and young adults from committing suicide there can be more information about the issue to educate the population and the so called “bullies” who are driving these young adults to end their own life.
“Summertime Sadness” showed that not only people who are bullied can and will commit suicide. I argue that “Summertime Sadness” educated people not only on the issue of suicide, but also connected religion, self-realization, and the grieving process to the overall theme. Not only did Lana Del Rey’s music video educate viewers on those topics, but it also presented how hard it can be living without someone after they have committed suicide. Nearly 30,000 Americans commit suicide every year, most of those people being between ages 10-24.
Works Cited
Bell, Crystal. "Lana Del Rey 'Summertime Sadness' Video: Jaime King Is Lana's Suicidal Lesbian Lover." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 20 July 2012. Web. 08 Oct. 2014.
"Bullying and Suicide." - Bullying Statistics. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.
"Coping with Grief and Loss." : Understanding the Grieving Process. Web. 08 Oct. 2014.
Del Rey, Lana. “Summertime Sadness.” Born to Die. Interscope Records, 2012. Youtube. Web. 30 Sept. 2014.
"Religion and Suicide." PBS. PBS, 21 Oct. 2005. Web. 08 Oct. 2014.
"Scientific Process of Self Realization." Self Realization. Web. 08 Oct. 2014.
"11 Facts About Suicide." DoSomething.org. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.
