An interesting point has been made in this Oscar trial lately, or rather, from the start, in how society, especially ours, and the media perception of victims of murder. Now to start off, I do not watch the CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) channel on dstv, nor that Medical Detectives or whatnot on Etv, nor anything else that solely focuses on how a person or people are murder, and I dislike the fact that people can watch it with almost religious fervor, so dont get me wrong by what Im going to say. But, does the fact that Reeva Steenkamp used to a celebrity, was quite good-looking and being white have anything to do with the courts unwillingness to broadcast graphic details of the crime scene, her death, etc? We hear everyday of incredibly violent deaths, of how it was committed and the likes and yet we gloss over these facts as if its second nature to us. Besides the broader audience, what makes this different, other than the fact that its most likely the first every murder trial to be broadcast on a daily basis in South Africa? How is the details of children being raped and dismembered less graphic than a woman being shot 4 times? Why do we want to look away now, when little girls are being left naked in a field and all we can do is say well, thats South Africa for you.? More importantly, had someone of a different colour murdered her, would the same rules still apply or would it become lost in the sea of racist remarks? My point is, yes the celebrity status makes a difference, yes them being white makes a difference, but should it? What is considered graphic in this instance is nothing less than what youd expect from, well, someone being murdered. Were already so desensitized towards these things that it doesnt seem like were preserving the innocence of her, or even her dignity, since dead people dont have a right to dignity. Literally. It seems like preferential treatment or a double-standard, when graphic footage was shown, on live television, of the Marikana miners being shot dead, when little Anene Booysens postmortem was read out in court and allowed to be live-tweeted. Is there a double standard involved? Where is their apparent right to dignity, why are they the status-quo? What is really violent these days in a violently-driven society? Anyway, that is all.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 10:28:49 +0000
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