To Die For Reflection

Little Hope, Massachusetts is the name of the town in which Gus Van Sant’s film To Die For is set. This is the first piece of information that is given to the viewer and it is very important because it speaks to just how little hope Suzanne has of actually achieving her goal of being a TV personality. Suzanne however is blissfully unaware of this ironic name of her town and full heartedly pursues her dream of becoming an embodiment of media. While throughout the course of the film Suzanne never ultimately fulfills her dream of becoming famous she does receive a taste of micro-celebrity when faced with all the news coverage surrounding her husbands murder.

This mico-celebrity nature surrounding Suzanne after her husband’s death is what motivates the narrative of the film. The film is structured much like an episode of reality television where the main narrative and look into the characters lives is supplemented by talking heads interview narration. This reality television feel to the film supports the absurd desire Suzanne has to feel the spotlight since reality TV usually is associated with people whose only real claim to fame is that they want to be famous (think the Kardashian’s). The absurdity of how much Suzanne really desires fame is further highlighted thought this structure of film because at the end of the film it is revealed that Suzanne’s talking hear narration is not for a program, like the other interviews that are seen in the film but instead recorded by her in a desperate to draw out her five minuets of fame. The fact that Suzanne is the only taking head that is not actually going to be a part of a televised program speaks to the idea that fame is not only not easy to come by, but in most cases those who seek it out (plan a murder in order to be a victim) will have little hope in comparison to those who just happen upon it (a family whose son is murdered).