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Film captures suicides on Golden Gate Bridge
San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 01/19/2005 | Philip Matier and Andrew Ross

Posted on 01/19/2005 9:46:47 AM PST by TenaciousZ

Golden Gate Bridge officials are seething that a moviemaker who told them he was working on a "day in the life" project about the landmark was, in fact, capturing people on film as they jumped to their deaths.

Eric Steel initially told officials he planned to spend a year filming the "powerful and spectacular interaction between the monument and nature" and that his work was to be the first in a series of documentaries about national monuments such as the St. Louis Arch and the Statue of Liberty. That's how he got the Golden Gate National Recreation Area's permission to set up cameras on parkland overlooking Fort Point.

Now, however, Steel has revealed in an e-mail to bridge officials that the cameras -- which were operating almost continuously during daylight hours for all of 2004 -- filmed most of the 19 jumpers who went off the bridge last year plus a number of attempted suicides.

Apparently, that was the point all along. Steel says his goal is to "allow us to see into the most impenetrable corners of the human mind and challenge us to think and talk about suicide in profoundly different ways."

"Are we angry? Absolutely," said bridge district spokeswoman Mary Currie.

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Front Page News; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: bridge; dusuicides; ericsteel; film; filmmaker; goldengatebridge; ichabodcrane; kerplunk; kerryjumps; lurch; pork; sanfrancisco; suicide; suicides
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1 posted on 01/19/2005 9:46:51 AM PST by TenaciousZ
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To: TenaciousZ

The real reason they are upset is that the victims expressed angst about the Bush victory before they jumped.


2 posted on 01/19/2005 9:49:17 AM PST by Brilliant
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To: TenaciousZ

"Excuse me, sir? Before you jump, I was wondering if you would mind signing this release form..."


3 posted on 01/19/2005 9:50:28 AM PST by Yo-Yo
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To: TenaciousZ

It's Bush's fault!


4 posted on 01/19/2005 9:51:07 AM PST by RexBeach
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To: TenaciousZ

That is an amazing story. I am surprised no one did it before.


5 posted on 01/19/2005 9:51:41 AM PST by Feiny (Gap-Toothed, Missing Link Troglodytes Delighted by Presidential Election Outcome)
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To: TenaciousZ
-"most of the 19 jumpers who went off the bridge last year plus a number of attempted suicides"

Does that mean that the ones that "attempted suicide" expected to be killed after they jumped, as opposed to the others??

6 posted on 01/19/2005 9:51:51 AM PST by LibFreeUSA
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To: TenaciousZ

7 posted on 01/19/2005 9:52:52 AM PST by They'reGone2000 (Re-elect Rossi 2005!)
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To: TenaciousZ

When did Bush and Condi Rice know about this?


8 posted on 01/19/2005 9:52:54 AM PST by gopwinsin04
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To: Yo-Yo
Unless they had multiple cameras trained on tiny portions of the bridge with telephoto lenses, or had the cameras manned 24/7, the results are likely to be indistinguishable from throwing a lunch box off the bridge.
Sounds rather pointless.
9 posted on 01/19/2005 9:53:04 AM PST by Publius6961 (The most abundant things in the universe are hydrogen, ignorance and stupidity.)
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To: TenaciousZ

"Are we angry? Absolutely," said bridge district spokeswoman Mary Currie."

What, for your own stupidity?


10 posted on 01/19/2005 9:53:20 AM PST by roaddog727 (The marginal propensity to save is 1 minus the marginal propensity to consume.)
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To: LibFreeUSA
Does that mean that the ones that "attempted suicide" expected to be killed after they jumped, as opposed to the others??

Probably means that they actually survived the impact (it happens every now and again), or were talked out of the jump. This is a sad article, on many levels.

11 posted on 01/19/2005 9:53:33 AM PST by TenaciousZ
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Comment #12 Removed by Moderator

To: Brilliant
The real reason they are upset is that the victims expressed angst about the Bush victory before they jumped.

JUMPER: "It's BUSH'S faullllllttttt!!!...(swoopsh!!!)"

JUMPER: "Damn HALIBURTONNNNNN!!!...(kerplunk!!!)

KERRY (pushed): "Did I mention I served in Vietnammmmmmm!!!...(croshfzzzt!!!!)

13 posted on 01/19/2005 9:55:00 AM PST by frog_jerk_2004
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To: TenaciousZ

A new reality TV episode. Wouln't surprise me nowadays. Sick.


14 posted on 01/19/2005 9:55:54 AM PST by Vicki (Truth and Reality)
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To: TenaciousZ
---wonder what the known total jumpers is by now?

When I lived there in la-la land it was approaching 750 and ther was much editorial garbage about publicising the number as jumpers seemed to "aim" to hit "significant" numbers, i.e., even hundreds, 750, etc., ad nauseum---

15 posted on 01/19/2005 9:56:00 AM PST by rellimpank (urban dwellers don' t understand the cultural deprivation of not being raised on a farm)
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To: TenaciousZ

you rarely hear about jumpers anymore in the Bay Area plus they put up big barriers on the side facing the City. It seemed like jumpers mostly jumped facing SF as opposed to facing the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean for some psychological gratification to see SF while dying....they rarely jumped on the Pacific side........


16 posted on 01/19/2005 9:56:10 AM PST by NorCalRepub
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To: TenaciousZ

Libraries report that most books on suicide are never returned....


17 posted on 01/19/2005 9:56:10 AM PST by traumer
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To: TenaciousZ
Steel says his goal is to "allow us to see into the most impenetrable corners of the human mind and challenge us to think and talk about suicide in profoundly different ways."

Blah blah. More vids for ogrish.com.

18 posted on 01/19/2005 9:56:49 AM PST by Semaphore Heathcliffe
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To: rellimpank

750 Dead? That bridge is a quagmire! We have to get out!


19 posted on 01/19/2005 9:57:19 AM PST by Tijeras_Slim
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To: TenaciousZ
"Are we angry? Absolutely," said bridge district spokeswoman Mary Currie."

The radiant Mary Currie saw right through the X-rayed film being made; now she's literally glowing with anger.

20 posted on 01/19/2005 9:58:45 AM PST by Joe 6-pack ("We deal in hard calibers and hot lead." - Roland Deschaines)
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