Suicide Club is one of those films that hits differently when you return to it years later.
I first saw it when my older brother rented a copy from VideoCity. Back then, I didn’t really appreciate it. I was too young and too naive to understand what it was trying to do. I just remember being disturbed and confused.
Rewatching it now somehow better than I remember. I think what Sion Sono trying to point is how media keeps that cycle going—how it spreads ideas quickly, makes certain behaviors feel normal, and creates pressure to go along with what you’re seeing. You can see it now with how accessible everything is—trends, viral challenges, and online movements. People join in, repost, recreate, sometimes without even thinking why. It moves quickly and before you know it, everyone’s doing the same thing.
The idea of social contagion really stands out—how emotions, choices, even despair can pass from one person to another. That “I’ll do it if you do it” mindset feels simple but it shows how identity can slowly blur into imitation, especially when you’re constantly exposed to the same patterns online. It’s easy to fall into that rhythm—doing something because everyone else is doing it and reacting the same way because that’s what keeps getting reinforced.
Suicide Club is one of those films that hits differently when you return to it years later.
I first saw it when my older brother rented a copy from VideoCity. Back then, I didn’t really appreciate it. I was too young and too naive to understand what it was trying to do. I just remember being disturbed and confused.
Rewatching it now somehow better than I remember. I think what Sion Sono trying to point is how media keeps that cycle going—how it spreads ideas quickly, makes certain behaviors feel normal, and creates pressure to go along with what you’re seeing. You can see it now with how accessible everything is—trends, viral challenges, and online movements. People join in, repost, recreate, sometimes without even thinking why. It moves quickly and before you know it, everyone’s doing the same thing.
The idea of social contagion really stands out—how emotions, choices, even despair can pass from one person to another. That “I’ll do it if you do it” mindset feels simple but it shows how identity can slowly blur into imitation, especially when you’re constantly exposed to the same patterns online. It’s easy to fall into that rhythm—doing something because everyone else is doing it and reacting the same way because that’s what keeps getting reinforced.
