Opportunity Knox
Newspaper editors up and down the country must be saddened a little by the fact the Meredith Kercher murder case is coming to an end. Not because it's been a particularly interesting story for the papers; not because they had a tremendous amount of sympathy for the victim; not because anyone outside of the family was interested in the outcome.
No. It's the beginning of the end of having pictures of Amanda Knox in the paper every single day, for no reason other than she's been deemed to be an attractive young woman, with the bonus spice of being involved in a murder case. Today is no different, with the 'quality' papers deciding to put enormous photos of her in:
I don't know whether it says worse things about them or us - and by 'us' I mean male readers. It would appear that men are held in such contempt by newspaper editors, so hated and disregarded, that they think we're simply a bunch of lazily wanking chimps foaming at the mouth whenever we see a picture of a pretty lady. "Go on lads! Here's today's picture of Amanda Knox! Here she is, walking down a fucking corridor, or standing in handcuffs. Eh? I mean, if you were going to be murdered, wouldn't you? Eh? Isn't it? Look at the pretty lady! Look at her!"
It's a bit wearying really. Just like I said yesterday about the whole Tiger Woods affair, does anyone really give a shit about Amanda Knox? Or is it some kind of weird parallel world the newspapers are living in? I understand there's been a murder, and yes it's a British person who was killed, but you hardly ever hear anything about Meredith Kercher in all this. It's always all been about Amanda Knox, from start to finish. No doubt there'll even be more days and days and days of this after the verdict, another billion photos of her, and the victim pushed well into the background, forgotten about, because she wasn't pretty enough to hold a front page. Does that reflect badly on us or newspapers? I'm not entirely sure. All I do know is I'm tired of it.
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December 4th, 2009 - 11:24
All true, but I'm equally fearful of the opposite reaction; it's not Knox's fault that she's pretty, and it doesn't make her guilty.
As for the victim's story, call me heartless but I find it quite refreshing not to be hearing much of it. It's Knox (and her co-def) whose future is at stake, not Kercher, who has none. Naive it may be, but I suspect that making murder trials a bit more about the humanity of the accused, and a bit less about the beatification of the deceased, might be no bad thing for Justice in the long term.
December 4th, 2009 - 11:24
Worst of all is the way that some papers refer to her as Foxy Knoxy; for example:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1232931/I-pray-day-real-culprit-confess-Foxy-Knoxys-defendant-protests-innocence.html
Foxy Knoxy! If she's guilty, imagine how her parents will feel knowing the the press have lusted after their daughter's killer.
December 4th, 2009 - 11:47
I'd feel much happier if this was just a 'pretty girl in the news' thing. It's the very 19th century 'sex obsessed murderess in the news' thing that's turning my stomach. But yes, the victim has got forgotten about somewhere along the line.
Brace yourselves for full-scale demonisation if she's found gulity, stereotype-filled hatchet-job on the Italian legal system otherwise.
December 4th, 2009 - 12:07
I don't think it's just for the chaps. Female celebrities – because that's the treatment here – are supposed to titivate you lot and inspire us ladies. I think I am supposed to wonder whether the pea-green murder-suspect look would work for me?
But Rob is right – Ms Knox's attractiveness shouldn't have any bearing on anything, but I doubt that it helps anyone consider her humanity. Women who are seen as having sexual power are rarely seen as innocent – quite apart from the fact that she gets "sexier" if she understood to be guilty. Meanwhile, if the pair do get convicted, the world will judge this lady far more harshly than they will the bloke involved – if indeed, they don't already.
All that, as well as this being horrendously disrespectful to the victim, regardless of the outcome of the trial or the truth of the matter. Very messed-up.
December 4th, 2009 - 12:38
I'm not sure I've seen enough of the evidence in the case to come out and say I believe she's innocent, but Giuliano Mignini, the prosecutor in the case, has been running down all kind of "satanist" theories, of the sort that he has already been warned by another judge for using. It seems he likes to se improbable sacrifice where simple crimes fit Occam's razor best. Of course if this British exchange student was murdered by an American exchange student, rather than by an Italian, then all this is just us filthy foreigners scrapping amongst ourselves (going over there with our filthy protestant ways, knife-criming up their universities) and not a problem the decent, hardworking Italians need to worry about.
December 4th, 2009 - 15:17
I would.
December 7th, 2009 - 00:19
It has taken two years to arrive at at this verdict.. I'm thinking that, even if Knox does appear her recent guilty verdict, she will be eating prison food for a long time in the future.