Moors murders

In 1974, in a studio in Naples, Italy, a woman stands still as a man aims a loaded gun at her head. Hundreds of people stand watching the scene, but only one decides to push the gun away. The woman, performance artist Marina Abramović, asserts later when the event is over: “If you leave it up to the audience, they can kill you.” The ordeal was of course part of her performance piece Rhythm 0, which is a notable example of how the audience has a tendency to react alarmingly when presented with…

Although Dick and Perry commit a mortifying murder, Capote uses literary devices to explain that just because someone commits a crime they should not face judgement on that action alone, but rather on their overall character; therefore, despite the murder, Perry should not be perceived nor treated as a fiend. Perry’s upbringing was extremely unfortunate, his family had dealt him a tragic hand in life, leaving him in orphanages where he faced abuse and hardship. Capote is able to represent the…

Death: The Impact It Can Have. Throughout the course of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer and The Tiger’s Wife, by Tea Obreht the theme of mortality is used to show the significant impact death has on those left behind. The novel of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is an individual story of how an 11 year old boy deals with the shocking death of his father on 9-11. In The Tiger's Wife Natalia, the main character, deals with the many emotions that comes with the…

The American judicial system is riddled with corruption, racism, and privilege. In his book, Just Mercy, author and lawyer Bryan Stevenson chronicles the unfortunate and rapid deterioration of the mental health of his client and friend Walter McMillian following his release from death row. Mental illness resulting from wrongful imprisonment on death row stands as a deplorable and preventable collateral consequence of the negligence of the judicial system. The trauma of the death row experience…

The correct way to punish criminals has been an ongoing mystery for many years. Various methods of punishment for criminals are in place around the world, some harsher and more effective than others. In “Time to Assert American Values” and “Rough Justice” two authors present the argument of whether or not Michael Fay’s caning was justified. After carefully analyzing the two texts, the reader realizes that the article “Rough Justice” has the most relevant and sufficient evidence to support it…

In the 1992 movie The Player (Robert Altman), the main character Griffin Mills, a wealthy movie executive, murders a writer, David Kahane, whom he believes to be terrorizing him after not producing Kahane’s movie. Griffin represents the kind of entitlement seen in Hollywood, he makes demands he has no right to be making, he cheats on his girlfriend, and the worst offense : he walks into Bicycle Thieves only to catch the last 5 minutes, and then has the audacity to suggest a remake where the…

The early October Common Book Event “Friendship Across Cultures was presented by Roger Baumgurte Ph.D. He began the event by giving us a real-life scenario about being in the car with a friend, they hit a person and you are the only witness. The question he asked us was “How would you testify being the only witness?” This was a question asked to people in a study about friendships and how different people treat them. The study showed that Americans would testify against the friend, seeing law…

problems such as genocide, because statistics usually are unable to motivate people to be upstanders rather than bystanders. As seen in the article, it is clear that statistics do not allow people to accurately understand the degree of severity of mass murder or other tragedies affecting many people. When genocide is mentioned in the news, the main way…

In “The Politics of Negotiating Public Tragedy: Media Framing of the Matthew Shepard Murder,” authors Brian L. Ott and Eric Aoki analyze the Matthew Shepard case, discussing how the media was able to alleviate the blame from the public surrounding the case and clear the public of any guilt. Additionally, the pair address the stigmatization of the LGBTQ+ community, and how this stigmatization delays efforts to prevent similar situations. Within the article, the authors provide insight that is…

David Gale and Dead Man Walking have many similarities and differences. Directed by Alan Parker, The LIfe of David Gale is about a college professor named David Gale who is part of an anti death penalty group. He is sentenced to death for rape and murder of another member of the group named Constance Harraway. A reporter, named Bitsey Bloom, is asked to interview David on his last days. Surprisingly,…