To Die For Reflection

Buck Henry and Gus Van Sant's To Die For is a film that predicted the sociopathic trend in young people of the digital age. Released in 1995, the film is a comedy-drama set in a murder plot but is symbolic of much more. During this time Facebook, Instagram, and other a social media platforms didn’t exist. The television screen is the only place where people could be seen on a large public scale. Specifically, in this case, Nicole Kidman is obsessed with being a weather girl (Due to the time period, I wouldn’t consider this a rare aspiration). Her obsession eventually leads to her getting her husband killed. Throughout the film different characters’ obsessions caused them to be reckless, suggesting that if it wasn’t for Kidman’s role as a weather girl, her husband will still be alive. The film plays with the consequences of digital media. Jimmy, the boy who is in love with her “image” (one he first saw on the television) killed her husband simply because she told him too. Is her image, or star power that powerful through this digital medium? I believe that this foreshadows the behavior we see in the youth today. Children are obsessed with images as they constantly scroll through their phone, presented with society's perception of “beauty”. People do reckless things on social media. Many of them look up to various stars on the internet and would execute an inappropriate behavior just because their idol does the same, or promotes this behavior. Every day we see children killing themselves, getting arrested, or attacking someone just because of an online trend. The behavior today makes Kidman killing her husband in the film for increased notoriety, very plausible. Kidman’s role in the movie is one that is symbolic of the impulsive actions seen by young individuals in present-day social media.