Australia has one of the highest suicide rates in the developed world. Epidemiological data indicate that young men (15-25 years of age) make up one of the most vulnerable groups. The print media regularly portray men in this age group as aggressive and violent in various ways (on the sporting field, at war, in their cups, in contests and in leisure, all of which which take on many different forms). This dissertation presents a collection of such images gleaned over a number of years, the purpose of which is to evoke Durkheim's notion of suicidogenic currents that flow through the ??collective consciousness??, finding, according to Durkheim, their clearest expression in suicide rates. Using the notion of ??suicidogenic current?? as a sensitizing concept, this thesis traces the way in which violence weaves its way through social life and influences social relations that may be conducive to suicide. It will be argued that the images presented ?? arranged, for effect, as photomontages ?? express the celebration of violence as a powerful social trend which runs not only through social activity, but also through hearts and minds of contemporary persons; as such, it constitutes one of the suicide-inducing conditions in contemporary society.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/258105 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | King, Anthony James, Social Sciences & International Studies, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, UNSW |
| Publisher | Publisher:University of New South Wales. Social Sciences & International Studies |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/copyright, http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/copyright |
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