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Essay #3 for Written Comm.
Intolerance of Ignorance in Academia
Kevin J.H. Dettmar’s essay “Grasping the Dark Images of Rock” is among the most ignorant I have ever read. He begins by recounting the death by suicide of a teenage boy who had been listening to Blink-182’s “Adam’s Song” just before he took his own life. He purports this story can be seen as ”a parable about the habits of reading poorly, and about the dangers of a populace just marginally literate when it comes to understanding irony” (Dettmar 291). According to his claim, his inference is that misunderstanding this song is why the young man took his life. Any psychologist would hang their head at the ignorance of this claim. I am shocked the Chronicle of Higher Education would publish such rubbish, as anyone with a minimal understanding of suicide, psychology or major depressive disorders will easily be able to point out the fallacy of this argument. Dettmar’s article serves to reinforce the damaging myth that suicide is the result of events. In actuality, whether the irony of the song was understood is of no consequence, therefore making his argument irrelevant.
At least 95% of all suicide is performed by a person with a major psychiatric mood disorder including depression, manic depression, schizophrenia and alcoholism (Jamison 32). Although it may seem to an uneducated person that someone has taken their own life because of an event or something distressing in their life such as divorce, death or even listening to a depressing song, this is very rarely and arguably never the case. At best, these events will have merely triggered the underlying propensity toward suicide. The act of taking your own life may never be fully understood by those who do not have any major psychiatric mood disorder, but some of those who are afflicted with the disorder have made a serious attempt to explain it and ameliorate the myths and stigmas that exist, such as the one Dettmar is perpetuating in his essay.
Song writing is considered an art form. Most artists open their paintings, songs, and other forms of art to interpretation. Many artists will not even explain the meaning of their art for this very reason. For instance, Caranthir of the band The Darkness said the following when asked what one of his songs meant: “If you think about them they don't actually mean anything. So, if you think [that’s what it is], then that's what it means. Someone else could see it differently and they would be right too…. most of it doesn't make any sense. It means what you want it to mean” (Kholera 1). Most songs are not meant to be taken at face value, and the artists are open to the listeners interpreting it as they may. Does anyone really know Elton John’s ‘Tiny Dancer’ was written about his songwriter’s love interest, and Elton John is actually singing about himself in part of the song? Does anyone really care? The song is not explained forthright because the artist wants to give the listener a chance to derive whatever meaning from it they wish.
If Dettmar were to do some actual research and employ a more worthwhile and educated argument, he could have talked about the dangers of the way suicide is depicted in the media. After becoming aware of a phenomenon known as ‘suicide contagion,’ which is a sort of chain-suicide that often occurs as a result of suicide’s depiction in the media, The National Institute of Mental Health, as well as the Samaritans organization have put forth some guidelines for news programs to follow when covering a suicide. There is a fine line between sensitive, intelligent reporting and sensationalizing. Showing the place the person commit suicide, talking excessively about what a wonderful person the deceased was, and portrayal of the suicide as a result of stressful events may, in essence, glorify the suicide to an already-unstable mind. Even in fictional depictions, these guidelines should be followed as closely as possible. For instance, in the beginning of a German television series each week, a character was depicted as dying by suicide on a railway track. During the series, railway suicide increased 175% while other suicide methods remained stable (Samaratins 7).
Dettmar’s argument is a disgrace to the academic community. His lack of credible sources and overly-simplistic view of the complex issue of suicide is clear. Not only does he completely discredit the fact that suicide is caused by psychiatric mood disorders, he makes an unjustified claim that it is of any consequence what the artist’s intention for the song was, as the art of music is meant to be interpreted by the listener. A clearer and more relevant argument could have been made, had he done any amount of research whatsoever, for the danger of glorified depiction of suicide in the media because of its detrimental effects on those with a predisposition to suicide. Dettmar completely misses the mark in his essay by not realizing the intended irony of the song or lack of understanding of this irony is of no consequence.