As we saw in the Tyler Clementi case, sometimes drawing a direct line is hard. Emily Bazelon looks at the new documentary Bully and is shocked to find one of the main character's mental health history missing:

I asked Hirsch why he didn't mention Tyler's diagnoses. "I really felt that by not disclosing it, we wouldn't allow the audience to prejudge," he said. "It was a decision we thought about a lot. Ultimately, we thought the film would be more powerful without it." To Ann Haas, a senior project specialist for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, this was a serious error. When I played Bully for Haas, she recoiled in horror, and I don't use the word lightly. 

"To leave Tyler's mental health problems out of the film is an egregious omission," she said. "It is really misinformation. The filmmakers' had the opportunity to present bullying as a trigger, as one factor that played a role in a young person's suicide. But to draw a direct line without referencing anything else--I'm appalled, honestly. That is hugely, hugely unfortunate." Haas feels strongly about this for a few reasons. 

First, research shows a strong link between Asperger's and suicide and a link between bipolar disorder and suicide as well. This means these facts about Tyler are important to understanding his decision to take his life. There's more, too. From Haas' point of view, by presenting such an incomplete version of the facts, Hirsch has created a real risk of suicide contagion--the documented phenomenon of people mimicking suicidal behavior in light of media representations.