Crime, murder, suicide and media literacy
2015-03-28
We are used to thinking what we are supposed to think.
The way news are reported can tell us so much about a society's sensitive points.
Sometimes even tragic news such as murder, rape, theft, suicide, kidnapping etc. are reported in such a tone that it almost wants to make the reader laugh. Why do reporters, news writers do this?
They want to be popular, they want to be famous, they want the news they write to be seen by thousands or millions of times. They unabashedly use/abuse the involved people's identity for this purpose. Their greed is as ugly as the katharsis of those who read the news and feel better about themselves.
This is very common in many countries. Reporters love using a sexist and humiliating language when reporting crimes. They insert little bits and pieces of prejudice, so small that many don't even notice they are there. When a trans woman is killed, the text structure different from a "normal" murder case. If a woman is raped, the newswriter blames her secretly for "having made it possible". Why did she do that? What was she wearing? Did she have a boyfriend/husband? These irrelevant information are added to steer our thoughts to what the reporter wants us to think. Did someone kill themselves? The reporter narrates their story so that we should/should not pity them. The reporter decides if they "deserved" it, and writes it accordingly. Recently in my country some young people are enraged. Mainstream media has become a government influenced monopoly, and reading alternative news is the only way out. Yet many people don't use internet, or don't even know about alternative media.
And most people are so willing to laugh at other people's tragedies. When you ridicule someone, your popularity rises.
One man in China wanted to kill himself. And the reporter slightly "embellished" the news.
I saw it on Facebook, people who don't otherwise read news about China are sharing it as if it's comical.
We all know that marriage is the uncertainty right after that cliff, and traditional parents do everything to push their own beloved children off that cliff to feel good about themselves as parents. Society is always willing to partake. Just like in other traditional societies, in China it is a huge problem as well. Many young people, some not ready or mature enough, and some who are simply unwilling, are forced to get married to people they don't even want to know. Men are supposed to be the ones who benefit from this shame the most: Free housekeeping, sexual services, a child and childcare, sometimes even food.
But not everyone is willing to ake such a marriage. Some men do not want any of these. For many reasons. Many reasons which we, if not a close friend he confides in, have no right to inquire about. He might be envisioning a different life for himself. He might have a different sexual orientation. There might be someone else he loves. Or he might fear he may not love someone. There can be so many reasons, and none of which is our business. A young man (or woman) is split between what his parents and society want him to do, and what they themselves want to do. The transition to adulthood makes decisions unavoidable.
And one man in China attempted to kill himself.
He committed suicide. He decided he does not want to live anymore. His parents wanted him to marry someone. He did not. The destructive force inside him won the battle. He decided to kill himself.
Whatever the reason is, it is tragic. Even if it's someone whom you can not feel a connection with, let's say a rich and spoiled teenager killing themselves for an iphone, suicide attemp still means that person was suffering a lot. No matter what they personality is like. Suffering so much that they don't want to feel the sunshine on their skin anymore, don't want to feel their breath filling their lungs, don't want to smile, don't want to enjoy a cup of tea. Suicide, the end. Should we ponder upon this, or ridicule their possible reasons for suicide? It seems that many choose the latter option gladly. Just throw in a word or two, and you get what you want.
This one man attempted to suicide, but he was rescued by people.
This is the story. And how it is reported makes it quite "light". "Ah young men and their whims.... He did this just because the bride was ugly! Ha ha ha! What a curse it is to be ugly!" Is this what are we supposed to think after reading about the story? Apparently that's what they want us to do. The news is below. The judgement is yours.
"Cold feet? Man attempts to commit suicide by jumping into a lake because he was being forced to marry an ugly bride
- Groom was due to get married to an ugly bride arranged by his parents
- Pressured by his parents, the groom thought his only escape was suicide
- Tried to drown himself in a nearby lake but was spotted by passers-by
- Police officer dived into the water to save him and the unhappy would-be groom is now expected to make a full recovery
A Chinese groom was so upset at being forced to marry an ugly bride that he tried to commit suicide."
The full story: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/peoplesdaily/article-3014864/Cold-feet-Man-attempts-commit-suicide-jumping-lake-forced-marry-ugly-bride.html?ito=social-facebook
Was Shakespeare a blogger?He did not receive special training but he sure knew about the society.
Was Shakespeare trained?
Training is essential!It feels weird to read your comment. I had no idea about the contest, and don't even want to attend it. As I said before, I will write a few more blogs and will stop blogging, might write once or twice a year, not sure. I'm not in China anymore, and haven't written about the reasons yet! Didn't expose my nationality either. So, I'm writing only because there are things I promised to write about. When I saw that news about suicide I couldn't think of any place to write about my anger. It doesn't happen that often.
It feels weird to read your comment. I had no idea about the contest, and don't even want to attend it. As I said before, I will write a few more blogs and will stop blogging, might write once or twice a year, not sure. I'm not in China anymore, and haven't written about the reasons yet! Didn't expose my nationality either. So, I'm writing only because there are things I promised to write about. When I saw that news about suicide I couldn't think of any place to write about my anger. It doesn't happen that often.
Comment