Disaster Porn: "Why CNN Crew Took Pictures (video, actually...) of Dying Man"

Sensationalism has gone too far; to the point of running up to people who've been shot and lay spewing blood on the street --trembling as they gasp for air and die--and film their final moments only to broadcast them to the world. The purpose? To supposedly show their pain. But lest we do anything to stop it.

In the process, in the effort to get that perfect footage, reporters are trained to put aside all emotion and to film the juiciest happenings they can. They do absolutely nothing to help people and instead take on quite a noble job, going to horrific scenes and making sure it's all on tape so people can be stripped of their privacy and dignity as their lives crumple around them. The viewers, well we just eat it up; the true definition of sensationalism. It has gotten to the point, however, where it is almost physically impossible to film content more shocking than the last.

Death is held to be sacred amongst all cultures, throughout the history of humanity. It would send shock waves throughout a town if one desecrated a cemetery. It would bring people to their knees if after September 11th camera crews scoured the wreckage in order to capture people trapped and to film them die. Imagine news networks going to the scenes of fatal car crashes and filming the dead and dying people in the wreck and then traveling to their families' homes and filming their devastated reactions.

What the hell has happened.

Five years ago in my high school psychology class we reviewed an infamous photo taken by Kevin Carter in 1993. The photo was in Sudan during a famine and was of an emaciated child who was too weak to crawl to a food center and had collapsed on the barren ground, left alone after the photograph to die. A vulture waits in the background of the picture. The photo is easily accessible if you search 'starving child vulture'. The purpose of analyzing this photo and its related backlash was to understand the insensitivity of the media, shock value, and the lengths that media organizations will go to to get a story. I remember even then that I was shaken by how someone could just leave a child to die. Well today we've outdone ourselves again, hurriedly swooping in to get the last glimpses of a dying man spewing blood on the street as he dies. We might as well be the vulture, because all empathy is nonexistent. And the fact that viewers around the world sit idly by, watching; humanity has ignored its own definition. The irony of sending millions in aid money when we sit waiting for the next scene of devastation makes me ill.

I can say in all certainty that I will never again support CNN. They have the audacity to post a follow-up story defending the footage.. I honestly just can't take any more. I'm done.

CNN video:
http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/international/2010/01/22/bs.penhaul.hait...

Starving child and vulture:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5241442

Blogs on related exploitation:
http://bit.ly/8R1DGc

Tweet CNN and tell them to stop exploiting Haitians. Retweet the following:
@andersoncooper @CNN -- PLEASE STOP visually exploiting the Haitians! http://bit.ly/8R1DGc (To send CNN the message, pls retweet!)

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• haiti
• CNN
• disaster
• porn
• dying
• man
• vulture
• sudan
• starving
• child
• kevin
• carter
• boycott
• media
• shock
• value
• exploitation
• sensationalism

[thedreadedzero]

I'm afraid to watch the video, but from how you describe it I completely agree that the media is just doing it for shock value and self-promotion. The only thing that gives me hope is the recent news about a camera man in Haiti who put down his camera to save someone's life even though his news team was mad at him for not filming. I hope we get more people like him.

[LondonDreads]

@thedreadedzero Yeah the video is just ridiculous... it's what made me so upset. The guy is literally spewing blood and they're like circling him, right above him, trying to get a good angle of him dying. I just couldn't even believe my eyes. I had to like scroll down so I couldn't see it anymore; I was just so shocked.

[jrod1630]

Ur hair is distracting

[luvnmees]

so they could care less about getting the person any help? You mean after Kevin Carter took the picture, that he wouldnt take her to the foodcenter? DAMN!!!

[MsYourcrap]

Instead of filiming hm they should of held his hand or let him know it will be ok and that someone cares. Poor poor man. I just wonder if they would of filmed it in USA or UK like that? Hes not and animal hes human!!! Someones child/brother possible father.In the west family would of been screaming why didnt you help him in any way you can instead of filimg his death. But I forget that in this world anyone in a third world country is beneath u. 2011 now nothings changed.

[Jimvesterstallone]

I completely agree with you. I haven't watched it, but you're absolutely right. I remember during Katrina watching the news (CNN?...I'm not sure) and they showed a body floating by, and THAT disturbed me. What is more private than death? Have we zero compassion and decency anymore? I wonder if it was the cameraman's brother, sister, daughter, pick-your-loved-one if they would be as insensitive.

[ajackson8]

Thank you for sharing your caring thoughts and honesty. I'm right there with you. Your video was included on a powerpoint presentation discussing disaster porn and pop culture in an undergraduate online class. Your message is getting out there. Take care.

[IluvKirito]

Damn, that's messed up...honestly I don't know where the media got their huevos and lost their hearts, but they need to come to their senses. My bf is a US Marine getting ready to go off to Afghanistan and I'll tell you right now that if he ever got shot - God forbid - and someone fucking FILMED it, I would sue their ass. Right after I beat the living daylights out of them, of course.

[wordsuntold]

i agree but more respect for the dying man than censorship. they're exploiting him by using his last moments. it's lack of respect for him to leave him dying there and watch him die like a squashed bug or something.

[MapexRG]

nice dreads

[line321]

How can you say all this, and not even watch the full video? Isnt it their job to capture what things are really like in the world? I know, it might be a bit messed up the fact that the man is stareing into a camera as he dies, but it is such a surreal moment i dont think hes going to think 'ohshit, im going to be on tv.' things like this make me think what a fucked up and sick world we live in. The guy filming was doing his job, he didnt want to make it graphic, so he films his hands etc..

[AccioJellyBean]

Because they have the power to show more or less whatever they want to many, many people very, very quickly. I believe that what they showed in this instance is an abuse of that power.