“Does the dog die?”: the movie website helping audiences with trauma
“Does someone vomit?” is one of many prompts on DoesTheDogDie.com. Designed to save film and television fans from seeing traumatic visuals, users can offer their own advice on which scenes to avoid on specific triggers, which can range from anything to depictions of 9/11 to infidelity.
It might sound like a list of hyper-specific concerns, given that others include things like “Are there crocodiles?” and “Does someone leave without saying goodbye?” but the website is an excellent tool for sensitive viewers to enjoy popular movies and TV series.
On the vomit question concerning 2010’s Black Swan, one user replied: “I hope you guys can enjoy the movie with these time stamps my friend gave me! I’ve added some detail so it’s easier to see it coming.” When Natalie Portman’s character Nina says, “Mommy?” the user advises you’re safe to look. It’s the type of endearing exchange that proliferates the site, which, when software developer John Whipple formed it in 2010, was strictly relative to pet-centric on-screen deaths.
“Our mission,” Whipple told The Wildest, “Is to help people navigate media they wouldn’t otherwise even attempt to enjoy,” he says. “The site’s initial vision was definitely pet-centric, but we soon discovered that many of our users have deep emotional connections to the things we track.”
For whatever reason, the use of trigger warnings before films or television series has become a hotly debated issue despite the success of the site. A warning flashing up that a film might include a graphic depiction of suicide, for instance, would be something of a salvation to certain viewers if that topic was particularly painful for them.
But others baulk, insisting it’s symptomatic of an overly sensitive cultural shift, would likely use the term “snowflake” and become annoyed a plot development had been spoiled early on. But in Whipple’s experience with the site: “Every human on this earth has at least one thing that is a big deal if they’re surprised by it in a movie.”
Still, a 2021 survey carried out by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) found that almost two-thirds of teenagers surveyed actively wanted film ratings to warn viewers of scenes that might cause them distress. These issues range from self-harm and eating disorders to bullying.
The “does the dog die” search removes the need for production heads to make the decision on what qualifies for needing a trigger warning. “Most of it is fantastic, but still potentially upsetting,” warns one user on Coraline. What to some might seem a wholly unnecessary task before watching something is taken very seriously by the users on the site, and the website itself follows in their lead by including helpline numbers underneath prompts on domestic abuse.
