The image of the beheaded is deeply embedded in our western cultural memory. Perseus slaying Medusa is a deeply disturbing image from Greek mythology. The use of an image of a child placed in the context of decapitation is a not so unconsciously crafted attempt to shock and unsettle western minds. By publishing such images, Western media agree to take part in the psychological game playing and propaganda tropes of the media-savvy pioneers of horror who control and perpetuate the kind of nihilistic violence that is currently predating on Islam. Those cynical and bitter players of this game got a win today thanks to the editorial decision at News corp. The western educated geek boys in the PR department at IS, the Caliphate Corporation, or whatever it is called, monitoring the worlds media as they most certainly are, would have been high-fiving around their laptops at the success of their social media campaign to bring attention to themselves and their desperate desire to be noticed. But the decision to publish has other connotations in the local context that are deeply cynical as well. On one level, media moguls love moral outrage and panic. Whatever can get the bourgeoisie tut-tutting and Oh My Goshing over their cornflakes is dollars in the till for a cash strapped media empire. Sensation sells. And it must be said that this is not immediate news: the picture of is not new. It has been around for some time. On a secondary level, the editorial decision to publish the picture can be inferred to be based on a propaganda need to bolster the war-time credentials of the Abbott regime. We cant win through dodgy policy around a mythical budget emergency, the story goes, so lets ramp up the fear and jingoism with a graphic deception of what we are up against, with the cynical aim to create enough panic so as to make Tony look decisive and to let him play the role of our great protector, saving us from them, in this time of global emergency. This all plays into the profit motive: would you like fries with that?
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 02:25:31 +0000