Media and Our Morbid Curiosity
The hope of immortality and our instinctive fear of death are driven by our morbid curiosity portrayed in modern television shows and movies, such as Warm Bodies, CSI, and Criminal Minds.
In the book, Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck: Why We Can't Look Away, Wilson defines morbid curiosity is an eager, open-minded interest in gruesome things as a special invitation to think about life’s meaning.
Modern television shows and movies have this generation sucked in by morbid curiosity – let’s face it, you are one of them. Why do you strain your neck to see what is going on in an accident as you slowly drive by?
Wilson also says that studying the dead might give the living hints about how the creature died and so reveals behavior that should be avoided. Minus the fact that we love the rhythm of problem and solution, the reason television shows and movies are perfect at feeding our hunger for morbid curiosity is because they are distanced from us.
In 2004, Eugene Armstrong, a construction worker from Michigan, was kidnapped and beheaded by terrorists in Iraq. His beheading was filmed and put up on the Internet for millions to see.
Jonathan Hayes viewed this video and said, “it crushed the necessary buffer between the abstract examination of a dead body and the pain and horror of death (Wilson pg 106).”
This buffer is different for each person. I have two roommates that have opposite buffer zones. One watches all of the murder shows and horror movies, but the other can’t think about morbid things without being grossed out.
Television shows and movies in 2013 are significantly more graphic and morbid than the past (i.e. Frankenstein and Dracula). Why is that? I think it is because the more we know about life, the more we know about death. We have become desensitized.
Technological and medical advancements show how fragile life is. One minute you are walking across the street, the next, you are hit by a truck and killed (not to wish this upon you…but it could happen).
Fear of death drives our morbid curiosity; we want to avoid death, be immortal. Seeing others go through death in television shows and movies fulfills that fear.
It’s undeniable that everyone has a fear of dying. Going into the unknown is frightening. No one has been there, stayed for a while, and then come back again to give society full descriptions of what life is like on the other side. With the unknown comes curiosity. And as humans, we are naturally curious. I am guilty of wanting to follow firetrucks to their destination emergencies. Like much of America, I watch those gruesome crime scene shows, exposing myself to the horrific and intriguing crimes that the directors have thought of. The shows are a way for me to experience these horrific events while at the same time distancing myself from the actual damaging effects. This blog post stated so many things that I was thinking, but never actually put into words. I wonder, is it bad that I’ve desensitized myself? What does this mean for my reality now?
ReplyDeleteLove what you said! For years I have been very intrigued by crime shows and movies with morbid things..And I feel like I have finally got some answers. Haha I am totally guilty of chasing firetrucks and ambulances to the scene and I am glad that you have that same feelings. I personally don't think that desensitization is a bad thing, but only to an extent. I think if we are to desensitize ourselves completely from the reality of death, we wouldn't have any fear of it. Death would become somewhat of a game rather than reality. Our society is coming to the point where we sweep death (murder, war, and other forms of violence) under the rug instead of preventing it.
DeleteI find the subject of this post to be very interesting and find myself thinking about this kind of stuff a lot. It's weird because usually I get grossed out pretty easily, yet I find horror to be very intriguing. I'm always curious to know where the ambulances, firetrucks, and police cars are all going. I know it's none of my business, but I am curious nonetheless. This last weekend I watched the show "The Walking Dead" for the first time. I don't really know how much application it has to real life because it is about zombies, but still it was filled with death and gruesome scenes. And I have to admit I couldn't stop watching it. I couldn't wait for the parts where the zombies attacked and ate the humans. It's not really something I should be excited about, but I just couldn't take my eyes off of it.
ReplyDeleteI definitely know where you are coming from when you talked about "The Walking Dead." I haven't gotten sucked into that show quite yet, mainly because I have too many other shows to watch that are just as gory. I find that when I am not aware of my own morbid curiosity and fear of dying, I have a hard time applying shows that I watch to my daily life. As I have researched this more, I have found little things that make me become more fascinated in the shows I watch. I just recently started watching "The Following" with Kevin Bacon. I cannot miss an episode because I am sooo intrigued. While watching it the other night, I found myself saying that it would suck to have a family member die that way or to have a family member be kidnapped. I have always been afraid of my own death, but I realized that am more afraid of family members dying. Our morbid curiosity helps us avoid situations where our family members can be taken away from us. Thank you for your comment!
DeleteI just recently saw “Warm Bodies”(It was hilarious), and am an avid fan of crime shows, some of which are very morbid and graphic, but I have never seen my fascination with these as a result of my fear of death. Of course I fear death - it’s universal, it keeps our species alive. But just as you said, I’m also intrigued by it and totally curious to learn more about it. While engaging with this media, I find myself contemplating the mark that that person left on the world: who is there mourning, what contribution did they make to their community? I guess I’m more afraid of insignificance that dying itself.
ReplyDeleteI haven’t experienced much death myself, but sometimes I worry that all of exposure to it with the media won’t let me be able to fully comprehend it when someone close to me dies. How can we let life go on when some loved one has passed on?
I think it is really awesome how you contemplate the lives of those who die in shows (even though they are not real). For me, that is a great quality to have! I want to know some of the answers you have thought up while contemplating that question. I do have the same fear as you. What difference have I made? Will I be missed? Dying without any significance is sad to think about.
ReplyDeleteGood question. Just like you, I have not experienced much death in my life. So I will try to answer your question to the best of my ability. The closest person to me that has died was my great aunt. She was such a great person, but I didn't know her that well. Seeing how sad my grandpa was when his sister passed was what really got to me. What gives me comfort is that I know that I will see my loved ones again. It gives me peace to know that my great aunt is in a better place with God and His Son, Jesus Christ. This also gives me motivation to keep the commandments and covenants I have made with my Heavenly Father in order to be with my loved ones for eternity.
Hope that answered your question! Thank you!