BBC Three is well known for its questionable, youth-aimed documentaries. Stacey Dooley, Billie JD Porter and Reggie Yates are their go-to youngster presenters; unknowledgeable of their topic and aimlessly dragged around by production teams. However, Professor Green: Suicide and Me, unsuprisingly presented by Professor Green AKA Stephan Manderson, is in a realm of its own.
Green’s father committed suicide seven years ago. Green and his family had no idea why. This documentary follows Green’s exploration of why his father killed himself and aims to shed some light on why suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK.
Green has greater authority than the other BBC Three presenters due to his intimate experience with the subject. He speaks to his father’s friends in order to find out the truth. It is revealed that none of them knew he was depressed, alluding to the bigger idea that men are less likely to talk to their friends about their emotions.
We follow Green around various housing estates in North East London as he meets up with the senior citizens of Hackney. Whilst exploring mental health among men, it also catalogues the recent history of London’s estates. Debbie, Green’s aunt, tells us how she was brought up in a two-bed flat with a family of eight.
Suicide and Me is a documentary presented by Green, whilst simualtaneously being about him. It creates a touching insight into one man’s life, which has been marred by tragedy, punctuated by personal sadness and framed by adequate success. Suicide and Me discusses a subject that is yearning to be addressed. Outwardly, Green seems a strange choice to present anything really, but in this context he works well. He is sympathetic and emotionally open to the audience.