Essential Question #(one)

[kevonohanlon]

American, or Western culture in general, thrives on a twisted sense of excitement. It seems, in a way, that out society thrives on the pain of others. A common idea that has been expressed to me in the past is that: if a few people die, it is a tragedy (like the murder of the Clutter family), but if a large number of people die, it is merely a statistic. This is what I mean when I say our society has a "twisted" means of excitement. Another point is that a lot of the time people are very hurt or mournful for the murderous loss of a loved one or someone they know, but if a situation is presented that depicts the murder of someone else, that they DON'T know, they are all the more interested; they over look the tragedy of it all and look instead on the mysteriousness of the means and/or motives, and also look for ways that the case can be "solved". If this wasn't accurate, a True Crime genre of stories would not exist. In Capote's In Cold Blood, this ideology aforementioned is shown perfectly. People all over Holcomb that knew the Clutters personally are devastated and fearful. Some are SO fearful that they opt to leave the town, completely. On the contrary, people from outside of the town are all to thrilled to call the head detective with possible suspects, means, and motives, even if it's not true. This thrill and excitement for a situation, that in no sensible way should be exciting, is a obvious demonstration of American True Crime fascination.      

[kaitlinhall]

I agree with what you said completely. When you talked about the "twisted" way that people see society today because of murders is great and really reflects on the ideas of today and in the book. When you talk about how if a few people are killed it's s a tragedy while if a bunch of people are killed it's a statistic, I like that because you are showing how we have been taught in the past and there really is a true meaning behind that. We see people die everyday, we know that people die everyday. Some is just the circle of life while others could be brutally killed, just like the Clutters, and we have to except that but not as a stat but as people who were killed for sometimes unknown reasons. I like what you said and I agree with you on your view point of American society today.

[jasper]

I completely agree with kevon. Our culture glorifies violence, tragedy, and vengeance. We feel some sick pleasure when we learn the horrors of others, purely because they aren't happening to us. The people of Holcomb who were not closely tied to the Clutters showed so little remorse or sorrow, they merely gossiped and presented their own theories about the murder. People don't want a loss of crime, for then life would lose much of it's twisted excitement. We only want, as a society, for the brutal killer to be brought to justice.

[taylorp]

I agree Americans tend to not think about the mournful loss people have unless it is their own. They are more focused on the gory details of what happened, who did it, and why, but they don't genuinely care, they are just fascinated with that sense of mystery. Your example from the book was a perfect demonstration of this "twisted" view Americans have on crime and mystery. The community was deeply affected and genuinely wanted to know the truth, but the outside world jus wanted to know the end of the story.

[ajguth]

I completely agree with Kevon. It is human nature for us to want to know everything, and often, people do think that they know everything. Likewise, the obsession with "gossip" and storytelling proves to be prevalent in our culture that, as you said, "thrives on a twisted sense of excitement". This is shown through our fascination with crime, and why the genres of both "mystery" and "horror" are both major sellers. We are obsessed with the unknown. The suspense excites us and for some reason, we like the feeling that comes upon us during mysteries or horrors. This is why haunted houses during this Halloween season see so much business. We torture ourselves with the vulnerability of not knowing what is going to happen next, and then being terrified, yet somehow we leave wanting more. Additionally, you mentioned that people want to help "solve" these crimes. Essentially they are like puzzles to us, and the obsession with trying to fit all the pieces together and be the one who figures it all out thrills us. Moreover, we love the idea of justice, and I think that more than anything, we want the criminals to pay for what they have done because we feel sympathy for the victims and want the criminals to feel the same amount of pain that they have caused everyone else.