Violence in American Pop Culture
Societies are founded upon traditions, morals, and a set of commonly accepted ethnical values. Such customs are important because they set the tone for centuries and decades that follow. In the United States, violence is widely accepted as a central component of American lifestyle and culture. From contemporary gay bashing to explosives and weaponry in video games and movies, violence figures prominently in many aspects of American entertainment and pleasure seeking.
History provides ample evidence and examples that American institutionalized violence discriminates against no man, woman or child. For example, Native Americans were relentlessly and violently stripped of all their resources. Enslaved African persons were brought thousands of miles from their homelands to cultivate and enrich European interest in America. Among the hardships of simply adjusting to this New World, slaves were also sentenced to death through lynching if they refused to be subjected to new rules. Over the past two centuries we have witnessed a Civil War, two World Wars, the Oklahoma bombings, the Columbine massacre, and the tragic events of September 11th, to name only a few of the past and recent tragedies. All of the tragedies have claimed the lives of thousands of our fellow men.
History repeats itself and what began as a means of instituting territory has today permeated the entire culture and has seeped into all types of media. Entertainment is supposed to entertain, but movies, video games and music most often depict a life of bloodshed and carnage. Al Pacino is praised for his roles in Scarface and The Godfather series, exploiting the life of an Italian mafia family that is well known and respected in the world of organized crime. Admiration is given to rap artists like Notorious B.I.G., who rapped about money, power and sexual impropriety. Another street legend is Tupac Shakur, whose life is a prime example of the “thug life.” After surviving several gang related shootings, he ultimately fell prey to a glamorized thug life, murdered in a drive-by shooting on the glitzy streets of Las Vegas, Nevada. In everyday scenarios young children are allowed to entertain and enlighten themselves with video games like Grand Theft Auto, where the thief runs through the city killing citizens, having sex with prostitutes, and robbing people at gunpoint.
The United States is one of the wealthiest nations in the world. However, our nation suffers from moral degeneration. Somehow the American dream has evolved into a nightmare. America time and again rewards individuals who are willing to live and die trying to obtain money, power and privilege. Media could be an avenue for transformation and change, but unfortunately it fixates upon and glorifies these elements of our society.
The Hi-Tech Lynching of Celebrities and Politicians
Lynching, which occurred most frequently in the southern states, resulted in the hanging, mutilation, and death of many blacks at the hands of a powerful white ruling class. While lynchings of this type have not occurred as frequently as in previous decades, it has morphed into a new form, a form that is arguably just as devastating. Instead of unjustly prosecuting blacks, this new form of lynching targets celebrities and politicians and media to accomplish what is commonly referred to as “hi-tech lynching”. The job of the media is to relay information to a general public.
However, bias towards particular persons and issues as well as the desire to garner the most viewers, often results in deceit and misrepresentation. Over time, the media’s initial purpose and goal, to inform the masses, has been lost. In its place, a technology-based lynch mob has emerged, with the lives of celebrities and politicians at its mercy. An alleged late twentieth-century incident of high-tech lynching involved the case of politician, Clarence Thomas. Thomas, appointed to the Supreme Court by President George Bush in 1991, was at the center of media frenzy when law professor, Anita Hill, accused Thomas of sexual harassment. It was Thomas’s word against Hill and though Thomas was confirmed as an associate Supreme Court justice, the lasting implications of the scandal follow both him and Hill to this day
Hi-tech lynching has even effected the “King of Pop,” Michael Jackson. The “policemen of the electronic age” have been involved in destroying the reputation of Jackson by playing video clips and interviews that mock his personal lifestyle (Koppersmith 1). Various networks feed on ratings, instead of the valued notions of morality. Michael Jackson’s case has become the example of guilty until proven innocent, even though we, as American citizens claim to value due process and equal representation under the law.
Black Panther party member, Assata Shakur, is another instructive example of high-tech lynching. In 1973 police arrested Shakur, born JoAnne Chesimard, as an accomplice to the murder of a white state trooper. In her book, Assata: An Autobiography, Shakur chronicles the way she was “lynched” by the media before the murder trial had even begun: “Evelyn had brought some newspaper clippings and it was obvious the press was trying to railroad me, to make me seem like a monster. According to them I was a common criminal, just going around shooting down cops for the hell of it” (39). Shakur’s situation is not unlike that of many political prisoners. Another useful aspect of Shakur’s story is that she provides victims with a way to combat hi-tech lynching: “I had to make a statement. I had to talk to my people and let them know what I was about, where I was really coming from… I made the tape of ‘To My People’ on July 4, 1973, and it was broadcast on many stations” (49). Following Shakur’s example, victims of hi-tech lynching do not have to remain victims. By choosing a medium that he or she can trust, victims can present an image of themselves that is real and not a biased media-creation.
Lynching has evolved from its most primitive, physical beginnings to a new-age, technologically-driven form. The media creates a type of mob lynching by punishing politicians and celebrities for charges of which they have not yet been convicted. Those named here are not the only high profile victims of hi-tech lynching. Unfortunately, this form of lynching has also affected the lives of other famous individuals, such as Whitney Houston and Kobe Bryant, among others.
Works Cited
“An Outline of the Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas Controversy.” George Madison
University. 5 Nov. 2004. <http://www.chnm.gmu.edu/courses/112/hill/hilloutline2.htm.>
Koppersmith, Jeff. “The Lynching of Michael Jackson.” American Politics Journal.
2003. American Politics Journal Publications, Inc. 4 Nov. 2004
2004. www.americanpolitis.com/20030220Koop.html.
Shakur, Assata. Assata: An Autobiography. Chicago: Lawrence Hill, 1987.
This information comes from the internet article titled An Outline of the Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas Controversy.
