Wednesday Mar 31, 2021
Episode 10: The Virgin Suicides, teen angst and mental illness through the male gaze (with Maz Fornasier)
For our TENTH episode, Maz Fornasier joins us again as we dissect the ethereal adolescent world of The Virgin Suicides (1999) directed by Sofia Coppola and based on the novel by Jeffrey Eugenides. Listen as Maz and I explain our journey of love and hate of the film, and how it’s narration through the male gaze causes some problematic influence on the audience. BIG trigger warning, as we discuss suicide at length. (It’s also the title of the film).
Apologies to the audience for the weird sound quality today, and to Eugene Levy for everything.
CONTENT WARNING: Suicide, abuse and neglect, seclusion and containment, suicide, sex shaming, depression. Suicide.
PLEASE ALSO NOTE: Maz and I at times use the words “successful attempt” and “completed suicide” when discussing suicide. These terms stem from judgmental connotations and are to be avoided. We get it wrong sometimes and we apologize. We will aim to replace these words with neutral terms such as “suicidal behaviour” and “fatal suicide” when discussing these in future.
NOTE: This podcast is not designed to be therapeutic, prescriptive or constitute a formal diagnosis for any listener, nor the characters discussed. The host is not representative of all psychologists and opinions stated are her own personal opinion, based on her own learnings and training (and minimal lived experience). Host and co-hosts do not have the final say and can only comment based on their own perspectives, so please let us know if you dispute any of these opinions – we are keen for feedback!
Host: Stephanie Fornasier
Cohost: Maz Fornasier
Music and artwork: Michael Watson
Editor: Nicholas Fornasier
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ARTICLES REFERENCED
Huffpost: Kirsten Dunst talks rehab
Film and Fishnet: The matyrdom of the Lisbon Sisters
Little White Lies: Girlhood and sexual repression in The Virgin Suicides and The Beguiled
The Guardian: Families in literature: The Lisbons in The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Guardian: The Virgin Suicides at 20: Sofia Coppola's debut continues to haunt
Fighting Pressure from Both Sides: Gender and Feminism in the Virgin Suicides
The Simple Cinephile: The Virgin Suicides: ‘Girls Are Just Women in Disguise
Vulture: 25 Years Ago The Virgin Suicides Kicked Off the American Obsession With Teenage Tragedy
The Atlantic: Why The Virgin Suicides Is Still So Resonant Today
Literary Hub: Does The Virgin Suicides Hold Up 25 Years Later?
Scout: The sixth Lisbon: On having a ‘Virgin Suicides’ phase, and romanticizing mental illness
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