Deadly Stereotypes & Scapegoats: Media Effects & The Anxieties Which Encompass & Distorts Pop Culture

The population's relationship with pop culture has not only been unhealthy, but incredibly dangerous. As seen in Ellen Seiter's essay Power Rangers at Preschool: Negotiating Media in Child Care Settings, the population is divided into two distinct groups: Group One has people who harbor anxieties and distrust towards television and pop culture, like Gloria Williams; and Group Two has people who utilize pop culture to their benefit (compatibility) and trusts television, illustrated by Sara Kitses. Of course, there are neutral parties between this War on Pop Culture who teeter on the tight rope which both groups have created in order to persuade the Neutral Group to their side. Nevertheless, Group One seems to demonstrate the most destructive and dangerous behavior in regards to their actions towards themselves and others, specifically providing injustice to their victims due to their bias and anxiety formerly known as their 'witch hunts.'

Group One's hatred and anxiet perpetuates the hostile environment in pop culture. With this said, the Gothic world has been the most attacked and ostracized social groups (excluding race) in pop culture, with singer Marilyn Manson as a prime example. In the documentary Bowling for Columbine, which documents the disturbing high school shooting of two seniors, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who murdered twelve students and one teacher, while injuring twenty-four others, illustrates Group One's mob-mentality of scapegoating and finger-pointing pop culture than investigating crimes objectively. During the investigation of the shooting, the news media and Group One were quick to point their fingers towards the unique Gothic appearance and music of Marilyn Manson (he was one of the singers which Harris and Klebold listened to). As a result, Marilyn Manson became the scapegoat for the two shooters' crimes, instead of everyone's attention focusing on Harris and Klebold's life, specifically the intensity and quantity of being continuously bullied. Although getting bullied by others does not justify murder, the media and Group One could have utilized their time and energy by understanding the circumstances which pushed the two shooters into their killing spree, and attempt to prevent such atrocious actions in the future. Instead, Marilyn Manson's Gothic appearance and music were unjustly critiqued and blamed for persuading the shooters to create the Columbine shooting. This relates to Henry Jenkins' essay Mr. Jenkins Goes to Washington, where Jenkins was invited to the Senate to analyze and explain the correlation between video game violence and child violence. His words were unheard by the majority of the population of finger-pointers, yet he continues to show the population that pop culture does not control us. Furthermore, Jenkins relates to media coverage of Columbine because by the end of the day, true objective justice is not pursued because, as Jenkins expressed: "all the media wants to talk about is[...]violence."

Jenkins comments about the Gothic culture becoming unjustly attacked and the negative effects Group One had on the population in his essay: "Goth kids [were] harassed for wearing subcultural symbols and pushed into therapy. Kids [were] suspended for writing the wrong ideas in essays or raising them in class discussions. Kids [were] pushed off line by their parents. And I wanted to do something to help get the word out that this was going on." In this sense, Group One becomes the bully and the victims they accuse are bullied even further (yet Group One wonders why their victims snap and the vicious cycle of victim-blaming continues). Jenkins fits into Group Two which understands the benefits of pop culture and takes into account that the population is not a hoard of zombies who absorb and reenact all social media without intellectual decision-making. With this said, it is safe to assume Jenkins would have defended pop culture and would have attempted to explain that "the key issue isn't what the media [is] doing to our children but rather what our children are doing with the media." Furthermore, Seiter would also fit into Group Two through her insistence in following Sara Kitses' example, utilizing pop culture to our advantage and understand its benefits, than Gloria Williams who provided her students with a negative connotation towards television through her refusing to acknowledge pop culture and strictly regulated television (even though she recollects positive experiences of television in her childhood). Seiter also sheds light on the social hierarchy of class which is seen in the documentary Paradise Lost, which sheds light on the corrupted and bias trial towards the West Memphis Three (Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr, and Jason Baldwin) about three young children who were beaten, sexually assaulted, and murdered.

Echols, MissKelley, and Baldwin were victims of the Gothic stereotype by listening to metal music, dressing in black, believing in Wicca, and refusing to become the cookie-cutter individual our society wants us to become. What was moreso in their disadvantage was their low economic status. With little to defend themselves from Group One's anxiety and distrust towards the pop culture, as well as their desire to scapegoat others, the three young men were found guilty on killing the three children even though there was strong evidence which proved their innocence time and time again. The media effects were distorted by Group One by their bias. Evidence found by the police were "accidentally" discarded, actual witnesses were denied to speak during the trial by the judge, and even the case number was changed to "666" to increase the anxiety pop culture provides. Even during the trial, Damien Echols was questioned on why he changed his first name to Damien, the lawyer hinting at devil's child having the same name in "The Omen" (1976). Just like what Jenkins saw of individuals isolating twenty-seconds of the "Basketball Diaries" to emphasize their case of violence and create bias to the Neutral parties and others, the young men were attacked by Group One and the news media by the manipulation on pop culture as a prime persuader. This alone proves quite ironic due to their intense dislike for pop culture.

With all of this said, blaming pop culture for the actions of others not only discredits the perpetrator(s) but also ignores the emotional, physical, and psychological instability of the perpetrator(s). Because people of low economic status, such as the West Memphis Three, already have a negative stereotype surrounding them than if they belonged to a higher economic class. Thus, what Seiter properly discusses in her essay is how the children in lower-class areas need to use pop culture to their advantage and learn from it. Although television continues the lower class status since it is "cheap," being like Kitser by providing a safe environment for the children, an environment with no judgment towards the children, can help the children grow with little bias of others.

What stuck to me was the sheer bias, hatred, and animosity Group One continue to perpetuate towards Gothic culture. They took 'negative' Gothic stereotypes and distorted them in order to continue their circus in talking only of violence and censorship. Marilyn Manson was attacked for his appearance and was seen as "satanic" and a danger to children. The West Memphis Three were attacked and thrown in jail (Damien Echols on death row) because the individuals investigating the crime they were accused of were too focused on making the three young men murderers (because they were easy targets) than finding the actual murderer(s). Harris and Klebold were continuously bullied and harassed until they snapped and exacted 'revenge.' Yet these events could have easily been avoided if others listened to Group Two and analyzed the other variables which lead to the crimes and these witch hunts. These injustices and distortion of pop culture are exactly what needs to be addressed, yet others would rather censor everything and remind blind, bias, and uneducated. As Henry Jenkins tells us: "Listen to our children. Don't fear them." As a whole, we need to understand everyone's environment, what they are going through, and look through the manipulation of stereotypes and social media in order to provide proper justice and social improvement. If not, there will be more censorship as a result of deadly stereotypes and scapegoats -- and, like Damien Echols, Group One may attempt to end your life in order to enforce this unneeded witch hunt for censorship.