Suicide in the Film, Heathers: To Be or Not to Be?

"Suicide gave Heather depth, Kurt a soul, and Ram a brain." This quote from Heathers is an important identifier of one of the important aspects of teen life the film satirizes. The film makes the scary statistics of teen suicide seem hilarious. There is a scene in which Veronica and JD have a plan that Veronica thinks is just to scare Kurt and Ram, popular football players. JD tells Veronica that they are going to use Ich Luge bullets, which, according to JD, only pierce the skin and do very little damage. In German, however, Ich Luge means, "I am lying." These bullets kill Ram and Kurt. This scene shows the serious and the funny parts of suicide the film satirizes. Several points the film satirizes include unemotional adults, teen suicide, and the quest for popularity.

The adults that are portrayed in this film greatly satirize the relationship between adolescents and adults. The teens are misunderstood because the adults cannot understand. JD's father shares a sick pleasure with his son by watching or causing people to die. As a result, JD is a very emotionally troubled teen. He feels that it is acceptable for him to kill the people that he does not like very much. In order to cover up the murders he makes the scene look like a suicide. These cover-ups are actually a cover up of his feelings. JD wants to commit suicide, but he gets pleasure out of killing other people and watching the reactions to the suicides. These are all caused because his father kills people and tells JD it is an appropriate act. Veronica's parents do not have a relationship that is much better. The family life consists of Veronica telling her father that he is stupid for reading spy novels. The parents do not get concerned when Heather, one of Veronica's friends, commits suicide. The parents should have been concerned for their daughter. The high school guidance counselor treats the suicides as an opportunity to have a party. The adults are not very concerned for the teens. They should be giving them guidance and support.

Suicide is satirized in this film. As more suicides take place the teens begin to look forward to them. Each suicide means more gossip and, most importantly, a school holiday. Ram and Kurt are killed in a manner to seem like two homosexual boys who do not want to live if they cannot openly share their love for one another. At the scene of the murder a candy dish, Joan Crawford post card, and bottled water are found. These items clearly show that the boys were homosexual. After the deaths are discovered Kurt's father begins to care more about his son. "I love my dead gay son." Kurt's death raises his popularity and helps to make suicide even more exciting.

The quest for popularity is the most important cause for suicide in Heathers. The popular in crowd, which includes the three Heathers and Veronica, constantly torments the geeky outcasts, whose members include Martha Dunstock and Betty Flinn. Veronica and JD kill Heather Chandler because she was the cruel leader of the popular crowd. Once she is dead Heather Duke is overjoyed to rise in popularity and take Heather's place as the cruel leader. The suicides have become the newest trend. All the television shows and newspapers are filled with the story of Westerburg High. Martha Dunstock decides that she too would like to join in on the trend and attempts suicide. However, her attempt was unsuccessful, which caused her to become even more unpopular. She was just another geek trying to become popular. Eventually the trend goes too far. Heather McNamara tries to kill herself because she is becoming unpopular. Just as she is about to swallow pills that will end her life, Veronica comes in and stops her.

Uncaring adults, teen suicide, and the quest for popularity are all satirized in this film. The film makes the events seem hilarious although they are actually very serious and important issues. JD caused all of this trouble because he wanted his life to end. His rather raised him in an environment to think murder was an appropriate act for his own personal benefit. The teens and adults were concerned about superficial appearances and not about what was actually going on. This made the suicides a trivial issue. Since no one was recognized for who they were, just for what they were, the teens chose suicide in order to gain recognition.

Information comes from the film Heathers.
Director:Michael Lehmann
Writer:Daniel Waters
Release Date:31 March 1989 (USA)