It Didn’t End for Atlas: A Papageno Story in a Controversial Film

COMMENTARY

The movie “It Ends With Us,” based on the book by Colleen Hoover, has received negative attention for its misleading marketing as a romantic comedy when it includes domestic violence that to many critics appears romanticized. The public and news media’s interest in whether the movie may influence viewer behavior by potentially increasing violence suggests that people’s overall awareness of media’s effects on viewer behavior is on the rise. Although there are multiple concerns about the movie, we would like to highlight a piece of the plot that may actually influence viewer behavior in a positive way: the Papageno story of Atlas.

In the movie, Atlas and Lily were romantically involved as teenagers and run into each other again years later. Atlas tells Lily that on the day he first saw her he had been planning to die by suicide but persevered with a glimmer of hope following their encounter. Stories of individuals who contemplate suicide but find nonsuicide alternatives can be suicide protective and are called “Papageno” stories, so named after a character in Mozart’s opera, “The Magic Flute,” who similarly finds nonsuicide alternatives. With growing evidence on media’s both positive and negative influences on health behaviors, guidelines for entertainment and news media with suicide content have been created by major public health and suicide prevention organizations.^1-3

It is important to talk about suicide so that individuals who need help feel safe to ask for it. We know that asking someone if they are thinking about suicide does not put the thought into their head. At the same time, the way suicide is presented in news and entertainment media matters because it can be influential for viewer behavior.⁴ The National Action Alliance For Suicide Prevention guidelines³ for entertainment media with suicide content recommend that movies/shows:

• Portray characters with suicidal thoughts who do not go on to die by suicide
• Avoid showing or describing details about suicide methods
• Include everyday characters who can be a lifeline

This film’s inclusion of Atlas’ Papageno story followed these guidelines and should be commended for not showing or describing any suicide methods.

It is possible that the right Papageno story turned movie, with enough popularity, could be associated with decreased suicide rates on a population level. When research participants were randomized to watch a movie with a Papageno story vs a story where someone dies by suicide vs a story with no suicide content, those who watched the Papageno story movie had increased life satisfaction.⁵ When teens watched a personal narrative of hope and recovery from a similarly aged individual who overcame crisis and found nonsuicide alternatives, there was a positive effect on suicidal ideation and help seeking intentions compared to those who watched an active control video.⁶ The effect on help seeking intentions was maintained at 4 week follow up and the positive effects on suicidal ideation were mediated by the participant’s identification with the filmed speaker.⁶ More research is necessary to test the effects of certain types of entertainment media on help-seeking, personal agency, hopefulness, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Although Atlas’ Papageno story is more peripheral to the central plot of the movie, it is possible that one day a Papageno story will be the central storyline of a movie or show and that people who identify with the protagonist might feel their own glimmer of hope. Additionally, they may be more likely to copy the protagonists’ help-seeking behavior and have greater perceived agency which may prevent suicide.

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available for calls or texts and the website (988lifeline.org) has a chat feature; if you or a loved one is in need of support please reach out. The life you save could be your own.

Dr Harness is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan. Dr Chaker is a child psychiatry fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan.

References

1. Preventing suicide: a resource for media professionals, update 2017. World Health Organization. 2017. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-MSD-MER-17.5

2. Reporting on suicide prevention. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://afsp.org/reporting-on-suicide-prevention/

3. Entertainment messaging. National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://theactionalliance.org/messaging/entertainment-messaging

4. Domaradzki J. The Werther Effect, the Papageno Effect or no effect? A literature review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(5):2396.

5. Till B, Strauss M, Sonneck G, Niederkrotenthaler T. Determining the effects of films with suicidal content: a laboratory experiment. Br J Psychiatry. 2015;207(1):72-78.

6. Braun M, Till B, Pirkis J, Niederkrotenthaler T. Effects of suicide prevention videos developed by and targeting adolescents: a randomized controlled trial. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2023;32(5):847-857.