The Irresponsible Portrayal of Suicide in Selected Movies on Netflix

Wong, Chun Yong (2023) The Irresponsible Portrayal of Suicide in Selected Movies on Netflix. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology.

Text BHBC3104 WONG CHUN YONG.pdf Restricted to Registered users only Download (546kB)

Abstract

This study analyse the irresponsible portrayal of suicide on selected movies on Netflix, there are three variables used for these research objectives of this study which are psychological elements, behavioural, and suicide content. The purpose of this study is to find out how suicide is being portrayed in movies on Netflix and how it can affect audiences. According to cultivation theory, high-frequency viewers of media are more susceptible to media messages. In this research, a content analysis research of ten movies related to suicide from Netflix were conducted to analyse the variables of suicide that portrayed by these selected movies on Netflix, this research used the quantitative approach and analyse the quantitative variables pertaining to the depiction of suicide within the 10 selected movies on Netflix.. This study was assessed by using the codebook to research the irresponsible portrayal of suicide featured in the selected movies on Netflix. From the two coders, three variables were measured and are the three factors in this study. Correlation was used to test the hypothesis and found that there is a significant relationship between psychological elements and behaviours of the characters in the selected movies on Netflix. From this study, the result found depression is the psychological element portrayed the most on Netflix, sad is the behavioural portrayed the most on Netflix and simplify is the suicide content that is portrayed the most on Netflix. The results have improved our understanding of how the irresponsible portrayal of suicide in movies on Netflix could affect viewer’s emotions and actions, while also increasing awareness about the potential inaccuracies in portrayals of suicide on-screen. Lastly, this study suggests researchers to further reinforce the research by running qualitative research such as a focus group or interview to discuss the elements of different variables presented in the movies.