Teen Suicide And Their Role In The Social System
Suicide is an extremely personal and sensitive topic. Not only is it prevalent amongst young teens, but also prevalent amongst mature adults. As Gaines stated, “ It doesn’t matter if [one is] rich or poor,” suicide happens and will continue to unfortunately happen because for many it seems like the only sensible and appropriate option to escape societal pressures and reality (Gaines, 1990). As humans, we are participants of a social system that is something larger than ourselves (Johnson, 2014)). And in order to survive this social system, we need to understand what and how we are participating. Like the four teens, their role in the social system was as “burnouts”, “junkies”, and “outcasts.” They were victims to a cruel game and were unfortunately
blamed and reprimanded by their own community (Gaines, 1990)
Reading these different passages reminded me of a Bollywood movie I watched a couple years ago called, 3 idiots. It placed a satirical emphasis on the lives of young adults in a college setting facing daily pressures from family and professors, with regards to their education and their future. In India, the fates of many young children are predetermined by their own parents even before the child is born. Many parents set certain limitations on their children and pressure them to become either doctors, lawyers, or engineers. If they wanted to pursue a career in the arts, for example, they would neglected or told that their decisions were unrealistic and insensible. In the Bollywood movie, one highly intellectual college student wanted to pursue his passion as a photographer, but persisted his education in the engineering program just to make his father happy. With all the pressure from his classmates, family members, and professors, he attempted what he thought was his greatest escape from all the coercions, suicide. In his case, “it was better to burn out than to fade away (Gaines, 1990).” He did not want to disappoint his father or his professors, and thought to do what seemed like the only option at the time.
blamed and reprimanded by their own community (Gaines, 1990)
Reading these different passages reminded me of a Bollywood movie I watched a couple years ago called, 3 idiots. It placed a satirical emphasis on the lives of young adults in a college setting facing daily pressures from family and professors, with regards to their education and their future. In India, the fates of many young children are predetermined by their own parents even before the child is born. Many parents set certain limitations on their children and pressure them to become either doctors, lawyers, or engineers. If they wanted to pursue a career in the arts, for example, they would neglected or told that their decisions were unrealistic and insensible. In the Bollywood movie, one highly intellectual college student wanted to pursue his passion as a photographer, but persisted his education in the engineering program just to make his father happy. With all the pressure from his classmates, family members, and professors, he attempted what he thought was his greatest escape from all the coercions, suicide. In his case, “it was better to burn out than to fade away (Gaines, 1990).” He did not want to disappoint his father or his professors, and thought to do what seemed like the only option at the time.