Essential Question 1

[ikschultz]

Americans are obsessed with crime. We hate it and we love it but why? I think it's because when we watch these shows on tv we don't really register in our minds that his awful thing happened to someone. That someone lost a mother, a father, a sister, a brother. Personally I watch these shows from time to time and this question has me thinking "Why do I watch murders like I would watch Grey's Anatomy?" And the answer is because being from a town with a low crime rate and always having a sense of security has created a bubble in my life between reality outside of Fort Thomas and the life that I live. The only crime I've ever known personally is the McCafferty murder back in 2007. I was only 10 so I didn't really understand the full extent of what had happened. I remember the news and all the stories being reported on the murder and I feel like "In Cold Blood" gives us an insight to how journalists are hungry for a good story so they all show up to the murder scene or police department to get news or something to give to the general public. A slew of reporters came from all over the country to Holcomb to get statements from loved ones and the real facts so they could spread the news all over the world. People are very nosey when it comes to gossip. We take a personal interest into other people's private lives which is just something that our society has developed over time. Do you think people who live in more crime prone areas are as likely to watch these shows?

[Kamryn Balson]

I agree with Izzy about individuals being so interested in crime because like us we live in a small town with low crime. Murder is exciting and mysterious and we all want to know how or why someone would do something like murder. The most that happens that is exciting in a small town is a football game or kids getting in trouble, while murder is a whole new story. Also I think individuals are so interested in crime because we want to understand what made someone do such a thing because most of us don't think like that. Understanding their thinking is a key interest.

[mollyfernandez]

I agree with you all. I think that we are obsessed with crime because it successfully makes us scared and intrigued at the same time. Just like in the book, the town members of Holcomb are conflicted because they are so disgusted with the murder but at the same time they want to be right in the middle of the gossip and want to be right there when any more news breaks out. In America, crime is the crime is like the car crash that you want to look away from but you can not. Even when we know there will be a tragic end, we just can't seem to take our eyes off of it. While some people say we have become desensitized to murder, I don't think we have. I think that society just is simply ignorant to the situation as they watch the tv show or read the stories. When watching, they don't think about the families who lost a loved one and they don't remind themselves that this is real, that someone lost their life for this entertainment. They don't think about because if they do, they would turn out like the people of Holcomb, paranoid every time they go out and living their life through fear.

[lesliemelendez]

I agree with you guys as well, while living in a small town nothing really major happens here, and murder "excites" everyone in some sort if way. Whether it be sadness for the victims or hatred for the murderers, everyone feels something. True crime is very popular in our modern society with TV shows such as Blue Bloods, CSI, Criminal Minds, and many more. These shows over exaggerate crime to make it exciting to the audience and to build up the emotion to when the main characters finally solve the murders causing the audience to become attached to the crime solvers because of the immensity of them catching a killer. The crime that took place in Holcomb created excitement in the town and the country because everyone was asking "who did it?". This town is now known for the Clutter murders which surprisingly puts this tiny town on the map no matter how horrible the crime was.

[ellievancuren]

I agree as well that society's fascination with true crime has grown, which can be seen through the multitude of successful shows and movies that have been made that revolve around this topic. As they stated before, not much crime happens in Fort Thomas. This means that people from this town and others like it are not exposed as much to such crimes, especially murder. Therefore, we watch these shows and movies and read these books so we are able to hear about these stories and learn about them. However, I disagree with Molly when she states that these shows prove society's ignorance. An avid fan of these popular crime shows myself, I do sympathize with the families and ask myself what it would feel like to be in there situation. I think we watch these shows because we are curious and yes, they are entertaining, but they are so because they interest us and force us to think about life in different ways. When all the movies were made about the 9/11 attack, was society insensitive to victims and their families when we watched these? I don't believe so. It is the same idea when we read In Cold Blood. Is it insensitive to the Clutter family? Some may think so, but I think that we read it because we are curious and intrigued. We read it because we want to learn about these people and maybe we want to figure out why they would commit such vicious acts.