Yesterday, the Columbia Journalism Review profiled Krishna Andavolu, managing editor of http://www.obit-mag.com/, a website entirely dedicated to talking about death -- whether it's highlighting the lives of those who have already passed on, looking at how the terminally ill face death, or even discussing whether it's OK to flirt at a funeral. Andavolu's website states, "Death gives life its immediacy. Because we know it will end, we savor and value life all the more. Obit examines life through the lens of death. Whether it’s the loss of a person, a place, an object or an idea, life’s constant change presents an opportunity for examination, discussion and even celebration." The CJR article talks about how Andavalu thinks death is becoming more prominent in the mainstream media, such as with the Swine Flu and the Air Force One scare.
I, like many, have always been fascinated with death. Whether it's watching CSI and Law and Order, reading true crime novels, or simply flipping first to the obit page of the Sunday paper, death is a subject that has always held my interest. Maybe the Obit site is right. We know our lives will end. It's something we all have in common. But does the media go too far with this? Do news sites exploit those who have died in the interest of getting more hits? And have we become saturated with death?
I´m not sure we are saturated, but we are definitely less sensitive about death.As long as it stays in words or in a silent picture: I think we have found a way to sanitarize, "pack" death in a box that pleases us. We can deal with a lot of death in the media, as long as it stays in that "pack." When videos or pics go too far, giving too much of a real image of the painful moment of death, the fact that we don´t know the person is what helps us to tolerate it. I mean, death stays in this "pack" as long as one of the 2 laws remain intact: if death is shown as it is, it must be on a subject that the receiver of the message doesn´t know.Needs to be an unknown person. If the person is known, images remain distant and "polite." Which is wrong, ´cause unknown people should deserve some respect too, but well, no one cares much.
ReplyDeleteI think this is why Saddam Hussein video upset so many people. It was assumed that, because most people condemn what he did, he could be treated as an "unknown" and his death to be broadcasted. And that was too big of an assumption!
What if death signified a beginning, and not the end? How does one prepare for something new? Death can be the start of peeling the unknown about ourselves, sifting our thoughts, engraving things we did not say, making up for kindnesses we failed to give, granting forgiveness or asking for some. I believe that people naturally want to unravel themselves and be remembered, and that memoires in whatever form are long obituaries. Media cannot exploit our deaths if we exploit it first. I have always thought that there is a niche somewhere for people taking control of their legacies and the media tools with which they want to pass on their truths.
ReplyDelete"I have always thought that there is a niche somewhere for people taking control of their legacies and the media tools with which they want to pass on their truths"
ReplyDeleteYou´re so right!! My last post on my blog is actually pretty related to this: a friend died, and her Facebook profile kept working. Now, it´s a place for people to post how much they miss her, they "tell her" news about the daughter she left in this world...I´m amazed about how, for that case, people showed how powerful they are when it comes to transformate the media tools they received already created by others...
Back to your point, adding this experience I had first hand makes it clear that, as you said, there is a niche in the media for this...
Guys, we should come up with something!
I agree with your comment about Facebook. A friend of mine passed away a few years ago, and we all kept posting messages on his My Space page. I still check the page out to see what people are writing. It's also interesting that I am going back to this blog now to read the comments. I just found out this morning that a member of my extended family suddenly passed away. I've been so distraught thinking about her husband and children and am planning to go to Boston for a few days for the funeral. I'm glad certain sites are able to help people in their grief and remember those who have passed on.
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