Verified by 
"The Office" has gotten a lot of attention over the past week or so for its Halloween episode, which showed boss Michael Scott in a noose, sharing a particularly poorly worded suicide prevention message. I was struck by how a similar image, also in the public sphere this past week, generated a different kind of response. Ireland's "Sunday World" newspaper published an image of a man in a noose as a way of drawing public attention to police delay in removing the man's body.
I wonder if because "The Office" is a comedy, we are prepared to laugh at whatever comes across the screen. But, in the case of the photo published in the newspaper in Ireland, the image of a man hanging was not at all humorous. Similar image, very different contexts.
What's different?
1. The death of the man in Ireland really happened. He was someone's real family member, someone's real colleague, someone's real friend.
2. The newspaper felt it had a duty to cover the "story" of because the body was not taken down immediately after having been discovered.
Michael Scott, love him or hate him, is not a real person. There is humor that possibly results from showing a hanging man sharing a suicide prevention message - there must have been a reason that I laughed along with everyone else. But, to those who have defended "The Office" in its choice to include this scene because the show is intended for adults and airs during the evening, I want to point out that actual children were involved in the filming of the scene. Real people watching this scene have lost loved ones to suicide by hanging. Vulnerable individuals watch funny TV too, and I have no doubt that some were watching this episode, laughing along with their families, co-workers, and friends. What message was sent to those people - those children, survivors, vulnerable people - about suicide? That it's something to mock? Laugh off? Not take seriously?
The response to the "Sunday World" photo was swift - people felt that, even with a duty to report the news, the newspaper did not have to publish a photo of the man. Publication of such a photo was triggering to those who have lost someone to suicide and, in general, voyeuristic.
The response to "The Office" episode was very interesting to observe. I've included some of the comments posted on the "Entertainment Weekly" website below:
"Let me say, I'm a huge Office fan and would usually ridicule the PC police with everyone else. Unfortunately one of my 19 year old son's best friends had killed himself with a shotgun just a week earlier. After this scene he left the room very shaken and didn't return. It just brought all the pain back, especially since it was played for laughs. So I guess it all depends on your circumstances, experiences and timing. One person's joke is another person's nightmare..."
"No, it wasn't in poor taste, but it wasn't particular[l]y funny either. They could have come up with something better."
"I[t] didn't offend me, but I didn't find it funny. Some of you just don't, or can't understand. Suicide is one of those things you never really appreciate until you've lost someone important to you. My sister took her life this past May. It's not something to joke about, sorry. I'm not thin skinned at all, I just think the lack of compassion for others is pathetic."
"The Office" does not have a duty to include information about suicide, or any means of death, in its show as a public service. If anything, it has a responsibility, if it chooses to include this kind of information, to do so thoughtfully and safely. Humor can be an opening for a real conversation about a difficult issue, so I'm not suggesting that the office avoid tough topics. Many have said that Michael Scott's is offensive in an equal-opportunity kind of way - no one and no group is off limits, and that this isn't the first time the show has touched on suicide ("Safety Training" episode). So, talk about - or even make jokes about - suicide. Don't demonstrate suicide on the show.
Copyright 2009 Elana Premack Sandler, All Rights Reserved
