The Bridge and Update

Hello to any readers out there. Haven't been updating as much as I would like because my Internet connection has been iffy at best. Still reading and watching, and hopefully will be able to catch up with all of that.

Recently saw The Bridge, a documentary about suicides from the Golden Gate Bridge. This is one of the most popular spots in the world from which people jump. It's been quite romanticized. So, I was curious to see how it would be portrayed in this film. Some of the cinematography was pretty impressive; a few excellent shots of the bridge covered in fog and mist. Other than that, some so-so cliche kind of stuff with sped up time, change in cloud sort of stuff. As far as the portrayal of suicide, I have mixed feelings. Most of it was done through talking with families and friends of people who had jumped off the bridge. I was a bit shocked at how nonchalant many of these people were. Quite a few of them who basically just said the person is better off where they are, they were okay with it as long as they got to say goodbye first, they had been told ahead of time and expected it to happen but didn't do anything to stop it. Of course there were also many people who were quite upset over the suicides, did try to get help, or held deep regret for not doing enough, and those are the types I am more used to seeing in these sorts of films. Perhaps the others are only so calm as a way of keeping themselves sane, but I worry about the others being a bit glorifying.

Watched a few interesting movies recently about school shootings. I tried Gus van Sant's Elephant and Last Days, but not a big fan of his style. I do recommend the movie Home Room, though. An interesting view not so much of the shooting itself, but of the aftermath, and the unlikely friendships formed as a result.

Lately I've taken a bit of a break from the fiction to read some more general psych books, but am now embarking on Anna Karenina. Am sure that will be an interesting endeavor. Hope to update here with some more research based info soon, and I intend to write some kind of summary of my experiences with all these books and movies as my final term draws to a close.