It is estimated that there are between two to three million "self-injurers" in the United States -- adolescent girls who for no discernible reason regularly cut and slash away at their hands, arms, legs and abdomens. This cable TV documentary explores the lives of three such "cutters," all of whom were, at the time of filming, under treatment at L.A.-based Vista Del Mar, the first residential program for self-injuring teens and preteens. Although the film cannot hope to answer the question as to why every cutter behaves the way she does, it goes a long way in ascertaining the motivations of the three girls featured herein, each of whom is seen speaking with her counselor and going about her everyday activities at home (all three were provided with their own cameras to record a "video diary"). Hosted by actress Tracey Gold, herself a survivor of anorexia, Cutters: Self-Abuse originally aired over the Discovery Health Channel.
by Hal Erickson
synopsis
