What I took away from Dr. Burt’s lecture is that people have
always been enamored with other people’s drama and tragedy, especially within
the context of love and desire. The headlines in these old newspapers are not
that much different from headlines you might find on TMZ or within the pages of
US Weekly. I noticed that the language was even more dramatic- “Most Atrocious
Murder”, “the most foul and premeditated murders that ever fell to our lot to
record.” During this period of time, horrific and tragic situations like murder
were turned into a kind of fiction. The stories may have reflected true events,
but were not purely factual- there was exaggeration, fancy language, and
glamorization, especially in the illustrations accompanying some of the
articles. This was interesting to me, especially with the more clinical and
detailed article that was read aloud about a murder. There were elements of
fantasy and gritty, sensational realism happening at the same time, creating a
very dramatic and intense situation that was interesting to read about.
Dr. Burt also discussed how the private sphere began to
appear in the public sphere, removing the sense of home and comfort that was
common to the domestic space. Celebrities- usually people pushed into the
public sphere through their chosen profession- almost forfeit the safety of
their private sphere because they have no control over the extent of the
media’s penetration into their lives. It seems like anytime there is a slight
difference in the way Jennifer Aniston’s stomach appears, there is an article
claiming that she is definitely pregnant. The magazine has no evidence that she
is, and there’s absolutely no way to confirm the claim, yet it doesn’t matter. The
media can say whatever they want about your private life, even if it isn’t true
(almost especially if it isn’t true!)
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