Family deaths, terror attacks, flight malfunctions, and car accidents are just a few of the tragedies people might witness in their lifetime. When these instances occur, many people look for something to blame these sudden disasters on and rid themselves of the mystery behind the motive of the event. Although tragedies are often times extremely difficult to find a an explanation for, people try to understand why they happen and look for the fault that caused the tragedy. This is done to create a logical explanation with which people can continue living their lives, offer a solution to the problem of the tragedy’s effect on people, and create a system through which people try to avoid the reoccurrence of the tragedy. News of tragedies usually spreads throughout the audiences to which it has an effect. When these counter-societal situations occur that go against societal norms and routines, they create a cultural and societal disturbance. Whether a tragedy occurs within a family or among the global population, it …show more content…
Often, authorities initiate investigation teams to gather information about the variables of public tragedies. They try to connect the pieces of the puzzle in the situation and identify a source from which the tragedy stemmed. With this information, people feel that they are able to prevent the tragedy from reoccurring. They put an effort to predict actions and situations that lead to similar tragedies and implement ways to inhibit catastrophes. Additionally, they try to analyze the motives behind tragedies, especially if they were fulfilled by humans, and apply their conclusions to educate the public on signs of potential risks of tragedies. Many times these attempts to avoid tragedies are successful, but when they are not, they can cause further confusion in the public opinion and
Consequently, “In recent years, tragedies involving mass killings in the US, such as The Aurora, CO movie theatre shooting in July 2012, and the Newton, CT has intensified social focus on trying to understand the dynamics and contributing factors that underlie such events”(Towers 2). Both of these shooting left the public shocked and concerned. As an article says one of the main concerns was “concern with the publics understanding of the shooting specifically who or what did the public blame” (Joslyn, and Do...
...poses. Who is to blame for these tragedies that continue to repeat themselves, tragedies that recycle?
These two literary works, 40 Hours in Hell by Katherine Finkelstein and Third World by Dexter Filkins, both present diverse perspectives on what occurred during the World Trade Center attack. Although both texts approach the coverage of this attack differently, as reporters, they both base their news using normative theory. Normative theory is the consideration of what is morally correct or incorrect. In relation to normative theory is the Social Responsibility Theory. This theory deals with how an individual must complete their civic duty, since they are apart of the press, as well as their actions must benefit society. Nonetheless, of these two texts, 40 Hours in Hell best fulfills the requisites of the Social Responsibility Theory.
In the end, of course, there is no one person or agency responsible for the accident. The accident is just that -- an accident, one of those frighteningly random events that occasionally disrupt the even flow of daily life, underscoring the innate precariousness of life, our susceptibility to grief and loss and hurt.
In an emergency situation where the only the bystander is present, the bystander might fear for their safety but all of the pressure to intervene is focused on the bystander increasing the chances of intervention. In a similar situation but there are several observers present, the pressure to intervene is shared among all the observers. None of the witnesses feels solely responsible and this results in no action from the witnesses. In terms of blame, individual behavior is driven on consequences and this influences a bystander to act. In a group, blame cannot be assigned to a single individual resulting in inaction. In a case where observes are known to be present but their behavior cannot be observed, a bystander can assume the observers have intervened so the bystander’s intervention is unnecessary. The researchers began their experiment with the hypothesis that the more bystanders present at an emergency; the less likely any one bystander will
information and to make inferences about what could have happened on that horrific day in
A tragedy, in literary terms, is defined as a literary work in which a great person suffers extreme sorrow, or is destroyed as a result of a character flaw or a conflict with an overpowering force, often through no fault of their own. William Shakespeare is known as one of the greatest play writers in the world. Many of his tragedies exemplify this common theme: some things in life seem destined to happen, regardless of the path we take. Three of his most famous tragedies, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, and Romeo and Juliet, illustrate this theme.
A moral panic can be defined as a phenomenon, frequently initiated by disquieting media and reinforced by responsive laws and public policies, of embellished public concern, angst or anger over a perceived danger to societal order (Krinsky, 2013). The media plays a crucial role in emphasizing a current moral panic. In Jock Young’s chapter Images of Deviance (1971), he comments on the phenomenon of deviance magnification, he deems dramatic media coverage of deviant behaviours to be ironic, owing to the fact that it unintentionally increases rather than restrains the apparent deviance. In hind sight the media create social problems, owing to the fact that they can present them dramatically and are able to do it swiftly (Young & Cohen, 1971: 37).
Do tragedies affect success? It may not be a commonly asked question but it is an important one. What if people knew that if someone experienced a tragedy they were more likely to succeed. This does not mean that if you live a normal life you will end up working at a low end job for the rest of your life, quite the contrary. People that live in a family environment grow up exposed to more love, protection, and support, all crucial later on in life. Equally crucial, if not more so, are grit, self-reliance and drive, which can come from tragedy. Through my research I have found that there are three main forms of tragedy that shape someone’s life. One is loss of limb, another is loss of a parent or parents, and a third is cognitive impairment. Many say that success isn’t an easy road, and this just proves it.
The media, including television programming, cartoons, film, the news, as well as literature and magazines, is a very powerful and pervasive medium for expression. It can reach a large number of people and convey ideas, cultural norms, stereotypic roles, power relationships, ethics, and values. Through these messages, the mass media may have a strong influence on individual behavior, views, and values, as well as in shaping national character and culture. Although there is a great potential for the media to have a positive and affirming effect on the public and society at large, there may be important negative consequences when the messages conveyed are harmful, destructive, or violent.
Every so often we come face to face with life events that have lasting effects. When faced with
A modern tragedy of today and a tragedy of ancient Greece are two very different concepts, but ironically, both are linked by many similarities. In “Poetics”, Aristotle defines and outlines tragedy for theatre in a way that displays his genius, but raises questions and creates controversy. Aristotle’s famous definition of tragedy states:
Researchers have noticed for as long as the media system dependency theory has been studied that, what people hear, see, and read inflicts an experience on the consumer. It affects their thoughts about the information they have just taken in and allows for judgments to be formed as well as a relationship to the media source itself (Loges & Ball-Rokeach, 1993). We have decided on a qualitative design that will allow us to understand more in depth implications media places on society when devastation hits a country. As a group of researchers we are going to base our research off the exploratory descriptive research. This will allow us to pick and choose which we feel is the best way to attain information we need from media consumers about the event...
People are often blinded by the situation in which they are in, and by their personal motives which drive them to act. Humans, by nature, have faults and vices that are potentially harmful. It is the responsibility of society to anticipate harm, whether to oneself or to others. Once dangerous patterns and habits are recognized, it is imperative to anticipate and prevent injury from reoccurring. To allow any individual to be inflicted harm forces citizens to lose trust in the government, thus unraveling the fabric of society.... ...
There is no doubt that tragedy has changed considerably since Aristotle first wrote the definition of tragedy in his Poetics in Ancient Greece, but these changes raise the question of whether modern tragedy still fits the classical definition of tragedy. Tragedy has evolved greatly since the times of the classical tragedies, including Oedipus Rex and Hamlet, to the more modern forms of tragedy, as seen in The Hairy Ape and Death of a Salesman. Despite its evolution and deviation from Aristotle’s definition, modern tragedy holds by the same principles, and retains the same power and message expressed by Aristotelian tragedy.