The Role Of Media In Bonfire Of The Vanities

Released in the 1980s, Tom Wolfe’s, Bonfire of the Vanities, slotted itself into a time of great racial unrest and tension. In the wake of the Tawana Brawley and Bernie Goetz affairs, Wolf’s novel seems to foresight the insanity that would befall all following cases of similar topic: the rampant witch-hunt by the media to find a ‘Great White Defendant ’in order to right the racial wrongs of America. Demonstrated by the fate of Sherman McCoy, it is evident that the press played a crucial role in fanning the fires of racism, sweeping all facts aside in order to paint a crime of class warfare that would rack up falsified views and public support. As the novel unfolds, it becomes evident that the McCoy case, rather than having an outcome of lawful

justice, is the vilification of a white defendant, regardless of his possible innocence, against a black victim in order to avenge social inequality.
Although a simple hit and run that would normally pass unnoticed under the noses of the press, the McCoy case blew up into a mass hysteria egged on by the media and twisted by Peter Fallow, a reporter for The City Light. By bending information fed to him by Al Vogel, Fallow manipulates the story to create maximum sympathy for Lamb in the hearts and minds of the public. Such chicanery is particularly evident in a phone call between Fallow and Mr Rifkind, Lamb’s English teacher, ‘“You’re thinking about ‘honor students’ and ‘higher achievers’ and all that, and that’s natural enough, as I say. But at Colonel Jacob Ruppert High School, an honor student is somebody who attends class, isn’t disruptive, tries to learn, and does all right at reading and arithmetic. “
“Well, lets use that standard. By that standard, is Henry Lamb an honor student?”
“By that standard, yes.”(Wolfe. ch. 9)
When the article is published, Fallow refers to Lamb as an ‘honor student’ destined for college, regardless that from the context of the conversation this is clearly not what Lamb’s teacher meant. This presents the ease and willingness at which the press distorts a story in order to mold it into one that will acerbate racial unrest. Not only will Fallow receive credit as a star reporter on the crusade for justice but also Reverend Bacon and Al Vogel who will both gain fraudulent profit from lawsuits they will file in Lamb’s name.
Additionally, Fallow relies heavily on stereotypes to get his point across. Depicting Lamb as a special case, an innocent anomaly in the midst of the typical delinquents found in the ghetto, is eminent for Lamb to be worthy of media consumption. This is incredibly patronizing for the Lamb family as it suggests they would not have been taken notice of if represented in any other way. More than anyone else, Fallow stresses the narrative of ‘poor’ ‘black’ ‘honorable’ Bronx versus ‘rich ‘white’ ‘malicious’ Manhattan. As a result, Fallow effectively sets the stage for a fight of ‘good’ versus ‘evil’ that would evidently have drastic consequences on the lives of those involved, as Kenneth S. Lynn states, ‘The life of Wolfe’s thirty-eight-year-old protagonist, the imperious but hardly evil Sherman McCoy, becomes a hell as a result of the media’s vile eagerness to destroy respectable reputations’. (Lynn) The media has little concern for the truth but rather is driven by the opportunity to tear down Sherman McCoy, ‘the Great White Defendant’ who in their eyes is the representative for the white power structure that is controlling Manhattan.
Accompanying the embellished and crooked words of The City Light, Channel 1 invited by Reverend Bacon, displays its own devious influence in promoting the McCoy case. This comes in the form of a fraudulent demonstration at the Edgar Allen Poe housing projects. As the protesters gather it becomes obvious that it is a setup, a publicity stunt staged for television cameras rather than a spontaneous reaction of the people. Kramer watching the action from afar, duly notes the artificiality of the situation in a conversation with Detective Goldberg: “What the hell’s is that?”
“That’s the lesbos and gaybos.”
“What are they doing here?”
“Don’t ask me. The unity of the oppressed, they call it. Any of these groups need bodies.”(Wolfe ch.13)
The broadcasters, parallel to Fallow and his way with words, capture misleading footage that is intended to lead viewers to believe the whole ordeal is much bigger than it really is.

In doing so, the media has found yet another way to stir the pot of racial upheaval creating an exaggerated illusion of an angry mob advancing on their victim: the white upper class of New York. However, in reality the protesters have very little heart and show up either for a chance to be on a TV photo op or simply out of curiosity. Additionally many who show up as stated by Detective Goldberg, aren’t even associated with Lamb. Nonetheless, the media doesn’t care; their aim was to make it appear as if the entire force of the population of the Bronx was behind Lamb ready to take down Sherman McCoy and New York. As restated in ‘The Fire This Time’, ‘TV crews ….the curling lip of a multi-racial, multi-ethnic tidal wave of the disadvantaged, in which the varied elements of the city’s historic stability are fated to drown if they have not done so

already.”(Lynn)
It is at a public meeting in Harlem, where the Mayor of New York up for reelection is giving a speech, that the media’s tidal wave of provoked black versus white anger and resentment comes crashing down.

The Mayor’s audience, a restless crowd consisting mostly of blacks, is depicted spewing slews of racially offensive insults towards him. They accuse the mayor of racism, but ironically, they are the ones shouting the racial abuse at him. This scene is mostly one of obvious confusion, contradictions and racial hatred, however amidst the chaos are a distinct few that are thoroughly enjoying what they are witnessing. As Lynn’s observes, “The TV crews in attendance, their cameras coming out of their heads like horns, are diabolically delighted by the spectacle, “They’re eating it up! They’re here for the brawl!…They’re cowards! Parasites! The lice of public life!”(Lynn, Wolfe. prologue) The media is truly exposed for all their grotesque ways and untalented cheats as they watch in pride as their monstrous creation finally splinters. They have successfully pinned black against white, poor against rich, the Bronx against

Manhattan.
Throughout The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe exposes the media’s manipulative and deceptive role in fueling black versus white tension. Sherman McCoy, a rich WASP working as a bond trader, is involved in a hit and run that results in a black boy, who lives in the Edgar Allen Poe project housing, falling into a fatal coma. As the case unfolds, it becomes irrelevant whether Sherman is innocent or not; he has become a sacrifice destined to be fed to the voracious race baited media in order to avenge social injustice. The media, through their twisted ways, gleefully portrays Sherman as a villainous ‘Great White Defendant’, pinning him against an innocent black victim. As facts are swept aside, lawful justice is no longer important trumped by the raging racial madness taking hold of the city. According to Al Vogel, the central issue of the McCoy’s case is, “How much is a human life worth. Is a black life worth less that a white life?’ (Wolfe ch.17) However such a question ineffectively embodies this case for it is clearly a much bigger matter than that of a single life. The whole affair ultimately is not about Sherman McCoy versus the justice system, or even Sherman McCoy against Henry Lamb. The issue has become far bigger than just two people, they are just pawns in a much more important game: Park Avenue versus the Bronx.