Etude sociologie

Functionalist theory

Brindgent is a poor and dangerous town where there is a lot of depresion and suicide, young people say that they are bored, there is nothing to do. Some of the youngs people turn to alcohol and drugs. They are always exposed to the suicide because they talk about it at school or in the street due to media coverage so it's in people minds. There is like a « suicide contagion » in Brindgent, suicide by a hanging himself became a common thing, like a « trend ». This « contagion » give the permission to do it because others do it. More, the documentary say, « You lose your identity when you lose a loved one », correspond to the social cohesion and the the social solidarity from E.Durkheim. When one person kill himself the society is affected and this could lead to other suicides.

Symbolic theory

It's an historic symbol that men hang themself more than women but the rate of women suicide has increased in 2007, the coverage media affect this.

In the documentary we saw two friends hang themself close, in the same spot, close as they were in the life. Before their death they have engraved their name on the floor. One of the inerpretation was « We'll meet on the other side », « You go first, then I'm following you ».

Conflict theory

The link of good institutions is one of the explanation, in fact, in Bridgend the police like the doctors are not engaged in this fight. Some vulnerable people who where depresive went to the hospital and the doctor said that they could go back to their home. One week later one of them hanged himself. As the policy, « If it's not suspicious then it's not their business ». So nobody can help you in Bridgent if you vulnerable.. The depressed economy and the lack of opportinities to work foward don't help the situation.

My theory : The theory of the vicious circle

Before we go to the vicious circle we need to determine the factors that lead to the first suicide. These factors could be : poverty, delinquency, link of activities in the city, link of good institutions (police/doctors). Bridgent has all these factors. This could lead to the first suicide ; then the sadness after the funeral, people have the suicide in mind, other suicide, more sadness, it become mysterious, like a trend, then other suicides happen, again and again.

...