Charles Manson Interview Analysis

Charles Manson was born on November 12,1934 in Ohio. He is known for his notorious killings of Hollywood stars. He was interviewed by Tom Snyder about his life before and after he was prosecuted for the crimes he committed. In the interview, the relationship caused the interview to lose its credibility.
In the interview both Snyder and Manson insulted one another while asking and answering questions. While asking a question,at the beginning of the interview, Snyder identified Manson as a maniac. Them arguing caused the interview to lose its credibility because Manson would focus on the insult instead of the question that was asked. This makes it difficult to conduct an effective interview because the interviewee is more focused on what was …show more content…
In the interview, Snyder would tell Manso to “ skip that for a second”( 6:28). When the interviewer stated this, he was stating that Manson could only answer the questions he asked him. That Manson could not tell his story the way he wanted to. This caused the interview to be only about the question the interviewer had and not about Manson’s life. The interview lost its credibility when Snyder did this. It caused a loss in credibility because the interviewer was not concerned with obtaining any additional information from the interviewee. In Grele’s article, that criticizes oral history, he stated “ they tend to ask the same ill prepared and badly formulated question” ( Grele, 39). Snyder had badly biased questions that made the interview uncredible. With the questions the interviewer had, it caused the interview to was a question and answer and not a conversation. The interview should have a laid back conversation because the interviewee is more relaxed. When an interviewee is more relaxed, they give more information to the interviewer. Furthermore, the information they give out is more credible because they are relaxed and not pressured to answer multiple questions. While Manson was answering the questions, Snyder begins a new question before he is done answering the first question (6:37). This challenges the credibility of the interview because the interviewee does not have time to answer the question.The …show more content…
Manson also changed his tone when answer the question “....” (). His response “ hell yea” (), suggests that he was lying. When initially answering the question, Manson began to say no. The way he said it suggests that what he was saying in the entire interview was not valid. In the interview, Manson would raise his voice when Snyder would get distracted about his surroundings.When the interviewer got distracted, it made the interviewee sense they were not interested in the interview. This causes the interviewee to think if the interviewer is not interested in the interview why should they explain their story. Furthermore, the interviewee would began to avoid disclosing essential information that give the interview credibility. When Manson was asked if he thought he was getting out of jail, his tone changed and became more mellow. The change in tone anticipates that he was thinking about the crimes he committed but continued to lie and say “ I’ve never killed anyone” (5:01). His tone also mellows when he gives advice to his son. The change in his tone emplifies that he is telling the interviewer what he wants to hear instead of telling the truth. In an article it states “ the most important tool that a confidence man possesses is the ability to manage the impression he gives of himself to others” (). Furthermore, it explains that his tone changed because he was confirming what the media and Snyder thought of