I’ve often had an uneasy feeling when watching large-scale tragic events unfold on television and the internet. Sometimes I’m keen to find out the latest news, the death toll, the extent of the damage. Not because I need to know, not because I will necessarily do anything in response, not because it will fuel my prayer. But often it’s because – in a perverse kind of way – I’m entertained by the unfolding drama. In reality, I do care, I do respond, I do pray – but often I need to switch off the constant coverage to avoid falling into the entertainment trap.
Yesterday, Tim Challies reposted an article that he wrote in the aftermath of the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti. I think it has a particular relevance to the 24/7 media circus surrounding the tragic floods in Queensland, Australia. Each of the core free-to-air TV stations are jostling for the exclusive interview, they want to be shown to be in the thick of the disaster zone, and they want to be seen to be helping. I don’t think I’m just being cynical.
Challies’ article is written with an intermingling of quotes from Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death (I’ve briefly referenced Postman’s brilliant book before). Postman’s book is all about media in the age of entertainment. I was going to insert an extract, but you’re better off clicking here and reading the whole article.
Am I alone on this one? How do you avoid treating tragedies like entertainment?
