Theonion.com was both highly amusing and thought provoking – two adjectives not normally seen together. The satirical way the information was given made the articles too real in today’s society. After perusing the articles I found one that made me laugh and think. The title of the article was “In Need of Dedication, Yearbook Staff Sacrifices Homecoming King”. I must confess I had to read the title several times through to make sure I hadn’t misread it.
Although the article itself is filled with dark humor about death and murder, the underlying message is clear. Humans are attracted to tragedy. The same reasons that make us pause when we see a car accident on the side of the road attract us to gravitate toward misfortune and disaster in our lives. This article, although highly unlikely, is actually quite honest in its basis. People like to be in the know when exciting things happen, and death could easily be defined as one of those thrilling things, at least for those who are not close to the deceased. We play the part of miserable mourners, but all we really want is every scandalous detail.
The actual media would cover this same story differently. If the reporter knew the yearbook staff performed murder to fill the yearbook’s pages a call for justice would be issued and every member put on trial. If the “untimely death” was a mystery the media would portray Ryan Edwards (the homecoming king) as a person of innocence and integrity, even though the reporter probably had no idea who Ryan Edwards was. When an individual dies people turn into actors. All of a sudden people who didn’t even know the deceased are sobbing and looking to the heavens above to ask God “Why?”.
It’s shameful to think about, but people use even the most horrible times for their own prosperity and entertainment.
No comments:
Post a Comment