Monday, April 12, 2010
Hours before the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics were set to begin, Georgian Nodar Kumaritashvili lost control of his luge during a practice trial and slammed into a pillar, killing him. NBC, the American network granted coverage of the Games, captured the grisly footage on video, and viewers originally watched the death of the 21-year-old on television. Later in the day, however, NBC edited the footage to just before Kumaritashvili’s impact, preventing the worst of the footage from airing.
Whether or not this video should have been shown is a debate that perhaps will never be resolved, but should certainly be discussed. The fact that the video was later taken down is a reflection of the media’s good intentions of protecting viewers’ comfort, but others argue that the video’s removal was ill-advised and prevented citizens from seeing reality.
It’s a basic human response to distance ourselves from situations that make us uncomfortable. But how is a viewer supposed to see just how dangerous that Olympic luge track was if the video can’t be shown?
The cliché says that a picture is a worth a thousand words. In the case of these two examples, I believe that statement is correct. I remember that as I watched Kumaritshvili’s impact with a small group of people, our reaction was gasps and shock. We shared the moment of emotion, and could more closely feel the pain of the event. This is something I believe would have been hard to replicate if a Bob Costas summary took over in place of the video.
For another example, could the widespread public unity in the immediate aftermath of September 11 have occurred if news outlets had elected to censor the footage of the planes striking the buildings? Most everyone can remember where they were when they first heard news of the attacks, even years after the events. This leads one to wonder how much of the emotion generated from that day was a result of the media’s willingness to publish the images — albeit disturbing ones.
It’s pretty harmless to debate on the topic when one is devoid of a direct connection to any of images discussed. But, how would you feel if it was someone close to you whose moment of vulnerability was broadcast for millions? This is why it’s difficult to know where the line is drawn in the battle of the rights to see reality versus the ethics of showing violent acts.
The Associated Press ran into this problem last year when it chose to publish a photo of a dying U.S. soldier who had been ambushed in Afghanistan, against his family’s wishes. Although the photo wasn’t nearly as bad as other images of war on the internet, it did show the final moments of the soldier’s life. Even though the Associated Press received harsh criticism for its publication of the photo, it did help remind viewers that, yes, there are still soldiers dying and that, yes, the situation on the front can be deadly.
Removing publication of graphic photos allows the public to be spared from disturbing images, but such an action refuses to tell the complete story. Therefore, NBC and the Associated Press were just in their publication of the respective images – after all, isn’t the complete truth what we demand in our news?
It’s very possible that most of the criticism directed against the Associated Press wasn’t about the soldier’s death. Instead, it may have been a reflection of viewer’s unwillingness to place Afghanistan back in the dominant role of public discourse, much like Olympic fans who didn’t want the dangers of winter sports to interfere with their eager, but safe roles as viewers. The public needs to confront reality.
— Boultinghouse is a sophomore from Girard in history and journalism.
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