Sensationalism is the Medium

On 9/11 we read Nora Ephron’s article about Stanley J. Forman’s photos of the 1975 Boston fire. If you haven’t, I recommend reading/viewing. The topic was sensationalism in the media. Calling it 9/11 rather than September 11^th or last Tuesday is a testament to the circus that is The Media. Never Forget. Why not? We typically love cultural amnesia. 

SENSATIONALISM AT ITS FINEST

I had no idea so many of my Facebook friends were into politics. Or calling for the murder of a bad guy in a country they know absolutely nothing about. Man, times are good when I can do my part in saving Africa by watching a 30 minute video on my iPhone at lunch.  All without having to check out the background of the organization, how they spend their money, or if they support military groups accused of looting and raping their fellow citizens, because a hip looking white guy’s very young son opens the film by saying his daddy fights bad guys. It just feels right. I’m going to go with my gut on this one.

After a showing of the ICC's Kony 2012 film in Uganda one victim said, "How can anybody expect a person to wear a T-shirt with Kony’s name on it?’ Many people were asking: ‘Why give such criminals celebrity status? Why not make the plight of the victims and the war-ravaged communities, people whose sufferings are real and visible, the focus of a campaign to help?"

I think the answer is that American's are so distracted by capitalist consumer culture that many of us can't do anything without treating it like a product.