highway of tears

 

1. What main story do you think Investigative Reporters Bob Friel and Peter Van Zant wanted to tell (Is it about Madison Scott? Loren Leslie? Cody Legebokoff? Colleen MacMillen?  Pamela Darlington? Gale Weys? Bobby Jack Fowler? Ramona Wilson?) How can you infer that? How much of the episode focused on the actual missing women from the Highway of Tears? (Look at the Media Smarts article Media Portrayals of Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women) compare that to the Gloria Steinem Woman episode and/or “Highway of Tears” film by Natanael Johansson

1.

They wanted to tell a story relating to viewers of the show, bringing fourth stories of murdered individuals that have similar aspect to daughters of the consumers. Most of the episode was about Madison Scott, focusing around the events of her which just took place close to the highway of tears. Her story, not disregarding the importance of it, wasn't even on the highway of tears. It was just nearby. The story only showcased about 45 minutes of screen time for the story, 30 seconds of which were dedicated to the one indigenous woman. 

2.

because it went from most similar looking person to middle aged white women's daughters(blonde, blue eyes) to lesser similar looking people. So it started off with Madison Scott as she was the most white looking of the people discussed. Despite the fact that Indigenous women are 5 times more likely to experience a violent death, their murders and sexual assaults are so often shied away from the public. The focal point of the film derived around Madison for most of it as it racks in a lot of cash, which is largely the point of a lot of media. Unfortunately, this leaves the real case in the shadows of what's portrayed to general eyes.

1. What audience do reality crime shows appeal to & why do you think so (think demographics - age or gender or social class or occupation - and Psychographics - personal attitudes and values like security or status or caring or exploration/growth) What can Uses and Gratification Theory do to help explain the audience for True Crime stories? What techniques did the editors and storytellers of the 48 Hours Mystery show use to get you invested in the story of the episode? Compare that to the Gloria Steinem Woman episode and/or “Highway of Tears” film by Natanael Johansson

3

Generally, middle-aged white women are the main audience as it plays on their fears of the world. Studios have found techniques to captivate these viewers to keep them engaged in the media they produce. These watchers want to keep safety within themselves, their friends, and their family. They intend to avoid the horrors of life, in doing so pickup different media to inform them on what's going on. This could be a form of(cheesy to say) mama bear instinct or something else whatsoever. They want to protect, and feel safe within their reality. The 48 hours mystery show started you off with a hook, and continues to give you mini-hooks throughout the episode. They want to capture the attention and fear of anyone watching.

4

The 48 hours mystery episode doesn't really care about respecting the situation/who they're talking about so I'd say they have pretty flexible values. They mostly exist to make money as opposed to actually spreading the real story. Just enough to keep the audience engaged.