Film captures suicides on Golden Gate Bridge

[davidinalameda]

sick son of a bitch!

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/01/19/MNGENASPH31.DTL

Golden Gate Bridge officials are seething that a moviemaker who told them he was working on a "day in the life" project about the landmark was, in fact, capturing people on film as they jumped to their deaths.

Eric Steel initially told officials he planned to spend a year filming the "powerful and spectacular interaction between the monument and nature" and that his work was to be the first in a series of documentaries about national monuments such as the St. Louis Arch and the Statue of Liberty. That's how he got the Golden Gate National Recreation Area's permission to set up cameras on parkland overlooking Fort Point.

Now, however, Steel has revealed in an e-mail to bridge officials that the cameras -- which were operating almost continuously during daylight hours for all of 2004 -- filmed most of the 19 jumpers who went off the bridge last year plus a number of attempted suicides.

[DrWeird]

1. 19 jumpers in a year?

Well, then it sounds like if you're going to do a "day in the life" documentary of the bridge, the suicides would be an important part.

The story isn't clear what his intentions were; is he doing some kind of project or documentary on suicide, or his he just hoping to capitalize off of it? I haven't got a problem if it's the former.

As for the city's reaction, seems like it's all about PR.

[davidinalameda]

3. it was supposed to be a nature video

the Golden Gate Bridge sits over the mouth of the SF Bay and the north end of the bridge is the Marin Headlands--very beautiful area

he misrepresented himself to the park people

[DrWeird]

4. would they have let him done it...

if he had told them his real intentions? I doubt it.

[Greyskye]

2. Don't forget the TERRORISTS!

No matter how you feel about this, the scary part for me came at the very end of the article. Remember kids, if you don't like something, you can always play the terrorism card. :puke:

<snip>
Still, "we are a public facility," bridge spokeswoman Currie said. "So his request will be handled accordingly. But now there's the question of what else might he be misrepresenting.''

"What else did he film?'' added board member Brown. "The underside of the bridge? The security patrols?"
</snip>

[DrWeird]

5. Yeah, that was particularly eye catching.

Like I was saying, PR, PR, PR.

[fob]

6. "Sick son of a bitch" seems a bit strong, doesn't it? I mean it's not

like he threw people off the bridge. He misrepresented his project, but let's face it, saying I wanna film suicide jumpers isn't gonna get approved. In fact catching jumpers on the film is not inconsistent with his plan of filming "the powerful and spectacular interaction between the monument and nature". People are part of nature, this just happens to be a particular disheartening interaction. The story also relates that it was this guy and his crew were the first to call bridge authorities upon seeing potential events unfold. They may have actually SAVED some lives.

I understand an initial reaction of EEWWWW, SICK. But who else was there "with" these people in their final moment of despair?

It's not in my top ten things to do, but I think it's a valid topic to cover. Some things in life are brutal and "out of sight out of mind" can be similarly cruel.

NOTE: This is NOT a lecture, just my take.

[davidinalameda]

7. he and his crew could have stopped these people

and I heard on the radio that he wants to interview the jumpers' families

[Minstrel Boy]

8. I doubt that. Sounds like the cameras were set up and left to run

without an operator.

I dunno, but I can see how this could be a worthy project.

[fob]

11. You are saying there is enough information in the story/radio that

proves this guy and his crew could have STOPPED ALL the jumpers? There must be quite a bit of info on the radio story then, because it's not in the written one. Although, like I said, they do report that these guys were the first to call in when they noticed things going down and presumably saved some lives, at least at THAT time. It's naive to blame this guy and his crew for those deaths, at least that's the way I read your comments, I could be wrong.

Are you saying they deliberately did NOTHING so they would have something to film? Now THAT would be sick, but I see no evidence of that. Also, with two dozen plus attempts they wouldn't have to rig the process as there are apparently plenty of depressed people. And even IF they did say something that doesnt' mean the person wouldn't try somewhere else or use a different method, sadly enough.

As for wanting to interview the jumpers families, what's wrong with that? If the families don't want to talk then they won't. I suspect there are some families that would take the time to talk about their loved one especially if they thought by doing so they could help another family NOT go through the same thing.

Don't you think it would be a moving scene to hear a family talk about their child/son/daughter/wife/father/etc life and what was going on in it. That they were loved but problem x or problem y ate them up, or they didn't realize the help that was available to them and see the repercussions of missing/not reaching out for that help? It would be graphic, no doubt, but done the right way could also be a VERY powerful statement about LIFE.

Just don't dismiss it because on the surface it may be discomforting.

[DrWeird]

13. So could you.

I mean, now that you know there's 19 jumpers a year jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge, you know there will definitely be more. So what are you doing about it?

[hedgehog]

9. I think it's policy to down-play jumpers in the hope of limiting copycats

The bridge is a magnet for suicides, but a DVD glamorizing them would make the problem worse. On the other hand, I remember a story that the authorities refused to install proposed netting to prevent suicides. I can't remember if the problem was cost or aesthetics.

[Minstrel Boy]

10. Toronto's Bloor Street Viaduct was the second most popular bridge, after

the Golden Gate, for jumpers.

A couple of years ago the city installed the "luminous veil" to deter suicides.

[noonwitch]

12. I thought that the Golden Gate Bridge had security cameras already on it

I read somewhere that they installed them and if a pedestrian is lingering too long at the side, they send someone out to talk to him or her, as suicide prevention. The problem is that anyone really serious about jumping wouldn't be lingering, they'd be jumping.

[SmokingJacket]

14. Slightly OT, but...

I remember reading a story about people who jumped off this bridge, and how one of them left a note saying something along the lines of, "I'm about to walk to the bridge. If even one person smiles at me on the way, I won't do it." Well, he did it.

Who knows, the story might be apocryphal. Nevertheless, it makes me wonder if being friendly and open might have a real positive impact on the world, in ways we might not even imagine.