I hate this video as I have hated no other image I've seen online. I would rather watch tubgirl or goatsee than this. This is NOT a realistic portrayal of a romanticized act: just the opposite: it is a romanticized portrayal or a disgusting, degrading, tragic act.

People need to see mental illness? Maybe. People need to see a completely detached scene where a pretty woman goes gently into that good night with no panic, no second thoughts, no explanation? NOT BLOODLY LIKELY.

I doubt I am alone in having lost loved ones to suicide. Am I alone in knowing the statistics that say how much more likely suicide is in someone who has seen it or had a friend do it?

I voted yes on the movie about people jumping off the golden gate bridge, and that was tons of suicides, but they were in context, they were not romanticized, and many of the consequences to friends and family were discussed.

I see the sift as a place to archive the best of the visual web. I've even dumped my own vids when I thought htere was better available or it was something I wasn't proud of having up here. What's good about this? What thing did you learn? What experience does it explain?

Differences of opinion are good, but honestly, I have a much harder time dealing with people I otherwise like saying yes to this gratuitous, disgusting, nauseating, hurtful image than I do dealing with people who think the war in Iraq is rightious or who otherwise espouse political values I abhor: I see the reason for that. I see no reason at all for this. It isn't real. It isn't cautionary. It isn't in context. It's just pathetic.

I wasn't going to say any of this. I was going to leave it be, but I came back and read the new comments, and I couldn't keep it in longer.

I hope this video dies. I wish I could vote it down 7 times.

This scene made me cringe when I saw it; that's how disturbing it was to me. Just because it's disturbing doesn't make it bad, however. Like KOMMIE said in his description, it's a realistic depiction of a romanticized act. Therefore I know that KOMMIE's intent was neither to glorify this act nor play for the lowest-common-denominator vote. This video about suicide got 21 upvotes, even though it was also disturbing. Sure, it was animated and not graphic like this video, but still it made a powerful point. So does this video.

Art isn't always comfortable or easy. Sometimes it's meant to shock you, and through this jarring sensation it can give you a whole new perspective on something that you probably do your best to avoid thinking about. So please don't downvote this just because you find it disturbing. To me that's no better than turning the TV off when you see graphic images of war or famine. Not seeing it doesn't make the problem go away.

PS: KOMMIE, maybe adding a lengthier explanation as to why you queued this video rather than telling your detractors to shove their downvotes up their asses might help a wee bit. I'd like to see this video succeed too.

"The sleeping giant awakes."

Never pass up an excuse to romanticize the non-existent morality of American military might.

Well, I'm a westerner - and my impression of middle eastern culture is a) it's not all one culture, and b) some of it incredibly ancient and wonderful and some of it is not. I would argue that your impression of westerners demonstrates my point, except that you weren't addressing my point. Namely, the romanticism talked about in the vid is typical of imperialism and colonialism, not how members of one culture view "exotic" cultures in general. How did the Japanese view Chinese culture during their imperial period?

This is truly sad. It is an incredibly one-sided, and historically short-sighted view of imperialism. I could spend the rest of my day taking it apart piece by piece, but it's a waste of time. I will only ask the questions Said asks of the West about its view of the East. What were the artistic interpretations of Europe in the East when it was conquered by the Moors? What were the artistic interpretations of the American West when it was conquered by Europeans? The answer is the same in all cases - romanticism. And that romanticism is nothing new to the "modern" world. How did Alexander perceive Persia? How did Ch'in interpret the 'wildlands' to the east? The fundamental aspects of his argument are right on, but he seems to be attributing them solely to Western Imperialism, which is simply incorrect. It is human nature. And to ignore that gets a downvote.

The robots we all romanticize, in our idyllic visions, of a cooling globe, no gas prices, and moving sidewalks, is George Nanotech, and his Microscopic Robot Army of Cell Replication.

Remember the galaxy, in "Men in Black"? Twas teensy-weensy.

The Honda-bot crumpled under the weight of that rubbish bin on his back.

....thanks for keeping me in line there, brother,-your musical inputs are always coloured with the most romanticized tags...."Hypnotic"..."Ethereal"...Love It!
and to all you heps and frails, makin' it a mix thats paltable......for now..... Cheers.....

From a girl whose boyfriend fences and does swordplay as a hobby, honestly, the huge sweeping motions are great for romanticism and "cool" factor, but a well-placed eppe or saber with just a flick of the wrist could slit a throat. Small motions are best with an organic, metal blade. I realize that with lightsabers, there isn't the "bend" that metal blades have, so the motions would have to be bigger, but I would imagine one would try to keep his weapon across his torso at all times, so as not to have an embarassing and deadly injury.

That said, you boys are great! Extremely well-choreographed, good timing, a bit slow now and again, but that adds to the drama. Cute, too!

I really wish more girls did swordplay--it's hella cool.