Circuses, the medium and the death of Leo

A large part of the reason for the existence of circus performances with a nature of self-mutilation (bone shrinkage, chest crushed stones, deformed people, etc.) may not be that its own stimulation satisfies human curiosity, but is more likely to be due to The way it is viewed. This is an important point that is often overlooked - circuses are always watched. A deformed man without a limb or a leg dancing in front of you alone will either touch your pity or make you feel a little sorry for your sanity; but now you are in the circus as a spectator and they perform Life-threatening moves, they use their own flesh to add excitement, and you'll be indifferent. Because the viewers have become a group, and the group and the individuals in the group are far less sensitive to their own morality than the individuals who keep a distance from the group. In the group, the individual hides himself, the moral responsibility is replaced by the "will of the majority", and the group, in the name of the majority, has a dark sense of morality.

This black classic "Ace in the Hole", shot in 1951, seems to be intended to illustrate the responsibilities of media people and the complexity of human nature, but looking back today, there may be more surprising discoveries. Tatum is an old fritters reporter who knows how to "make news", and "Bad news sells best" is his yardstick. At this time, Leo was trapped in an Indian cave. He could not escape because of the collapse. Tatum passed by the cave, and his professional sensitivity made him immediately feel that the opportunity was coming: he wanted to concoct a news - one that included Indian mystery, rescued The hardships, the optimism of the trapped and their families, the efficiency of the police, and of course his own heroic news, all in one Super News. And so the most interesting scene began. After the news was on the front page, the crowd and other reporters flocked. The barren hills that were barren were transformed into a huge playground in a few days. Volunteers, small vendors selling Indian ornaments, amusement park owners and all kinds of "enthusiastic" people.

But the end--Leo's death swept all these people away. Leo could have been rescued within 12 hours, but Tatum, anticipating how people would react after reading the news (he expected it right), decided to win the audience by going for a different, more time-consuming and unreasonable method of rescue. (That's the flock of viewers) More accolades and bigger rewards -- and you know, the longer news stays on the front page, the more famous he'll be. The enthusiasm of the audience is the biggest driving force for the news to "dig deeper". In the end, the story ends in absurdity. The superficial responsibility for Leo's death lies in Tatum's greed for fame and fortune, while the deeper reason lies in the fact that the mutual use of the media and the spectators (this mutual use is unconscious and fatal) eventually leads to the fact death.

Whenever a clown in a circus falls into a pre-designed trap, the spectators are more enthusiastic and applaud. Humans are happy to watch the plight of the same kind, even if it is pre-designed, let alone in reality. But the weird thing is, what's wrong with this kind of onlookers? All the people came from thousands of miles to see Leo in distress. They knew about the incident through the media, and they were kind and sincere. And when all the kind people form a circle, the paradox happens, everyone's sorrow suddenly turns into a group of people's carnival. Unlike the direct face-to-face circus, the development of modern social media has magnified the group nature of the event, making Leo a well-known figure. The original rescue act was distorted by the enthusiasm of the audience. Tatum, he knows the psychology of the group well, he just used it despicably, and for the audience, Tatum's report also perfectly catered to their psychological expectations, as for the final outcome - just a game that has nothing to do with itself Just a good show.

So journalism ethics doesn't apply here at all. No matter how honest a media person is, when all the media around him are bombarding the same news, he has no choice. This is a tragic fact, and this tragedy comes from the onlookers of the entire group - it is not wrong in itself, but it will cause wrong consequences.

And the consequences are so similar, one died and the other retired. Did they do anything wrong? Is it wrong to encounter a landslide with bad luck, or is it wrong to take a selfie? Is the media wrong, the tracking report wrong? Is it wrong to reveal the truth? It seems that no one is right. Now that the good show has ended, the clown has also taken off his mask to entertain the public and is ready to pack up and go home. People are leaving the venue one after another, looking forward to the start of the next performance.

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