Grief porn: Difference between revisions
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'''Grief porn''' is a [[pejorative |
'''Grief porn''' is a [[pejorative]] expression often used to describe a hyper-attention, intrusive [[Voyeurism|voyeurism]] and "gratuitous indulgence of tangential association with tragedy".<ref name=OB>{{cite web | title=Boo hoo, said the crocodile | url=http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/observer/archives/2005/04/07/boo_hoo_said_th.html | work=ObserverBlog | publisher=The Guardian | date= | accessdate=2009-06-02}}</ref> It is distinct from ''[[Schadenfreude]]'' which refers to a joy at the misfortune of others.{{Fact|date=June 2009}} |
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== Origin of usage == |
== Origin of usage == |
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| ⚫ | The expression is common with a long history<ref>http://www.hippopress.com/film/moonlightmile.html</ref><ref>http://books.google.com/books?id=n0h2O_VVNDsC&pg=PA91&dq=grief-porn</ref><ref>http://books.google.com/books?id=IhTkZ6K8c3sC&pg=PA133&dq=grief-porn</ref><ref>http://books.google.com/books?id=BPGA3dWRjmcC&pg=PA180&dq=grief-porn</ref> and has been described by Robert Yates, an assistant editor for ''[[The Observer]]'' as:{{cquote|''Grief Porn''. (n.) Gratification derived from a tenuous connection to the misfortunes of others; the gratuitous indulgence of tangential association with tragedy; getting off on really bad news.<ref name=OB />}} |
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While the term was reportedly first coined by Robert Yates, an assistant editor for ''[[The Observer]]'' in a news conference on April 7, 2005. Described as the following: |
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{{cquote|''Grief Porn''. (n.) Gratification derived from a tenuous connection to the misfortunes of others; the gratuitous indulgence of tangential association with tragedy; getting off on really bad news.<ref name=OB />}}, many other instances of the term predate Yate's usage.<ref>http://www.hippopress.com/film/moonlightmile.html</ref><ref>http://books.google.com/books?id=n0h2O_VVNDsC&pg=PA91&dq=grief-porn</ref><ref>http://books.google.com/books?id=IhTkZ6K8c3sC&pg=PA133&dq=grief-porn</ref><ref>http://books.google.com/books?id=BPGA3dWRjmcC&pg=PA180&dq=grief-porn</ref> |
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Yates was remarking on the phenomenon he first noticed following the death of [[Diana, Princess of Wales|Princess Diana]] and the media frenzy that occurred |
Yates was remarking on the phenomenon he first noticed following the death of [[Diana, Princess of Wales|Princess Diana]] and the media frenzy that occurred afterwards. He reportably observed an increase in activity during times of national mourning and international disaster, and commented dryly that it primarily affects people working in media.<ref name="OB" />}} |
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Carol Sarler, |
Carol Sarler<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/carolsarler</ref>, writing for [[The Times|''The Times'' (London)]], noted that "this new and peculiar pornography of grief" is sometimes called a 'tribute', "the cruder truth is that ersatz grief is now the new pornography; like the worst of hard-core, it is stimulus by proxy, voyeuristically piggy-backing upon that which might otherwise be deemed personal and private, for no better reason than frisson and the quickening of an otherwise jaded pulse.<ref name="NewType">{{cite web | author=Carol Sarler | title=This new and peculiar pornography of grief | url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article2402693.ece | work=Comment | publisher=TimesOnline | date=7 September, 2007 | accessdate=2009-06-02}}</ref> |
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''The Times's'' [[Daniel Finkelstein]], defines the term as "a rather tasteless fascination with other people's disasters and a sentimentalism that is out of place"<ref name="Finkelstein">{{cite web | author=Daniel Finkelstein | title=Can you solve the Madeleine McCann case? | url=http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/2007/09/why-are-we-rive.html | work=Comment Central | publisher=Times Onlie | date= | accessdate=2009-06-02}}</ref>, but considers it misapplied at times. Using the example of the [[Disappearance of Madeleine McCann|Madeleine McCann]] a four-year-old child who went missing while on holiday with her parents, Finkelstein theorizes that "we don't follow the McCann case because we are grief junkies. Most of us follow it because we fancy ourselves as [[Inspector Morse| (Inspector) Morse]].<ref name="Finkelstein"/> |
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== In literature == |
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| ⚫ | The expression |
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== References == |
== References == |
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Revision as of 22:12, 23 June 2009
Grief porn is a pejorative expression often used to describe a hyper-attention, intrusive voyeurism and "gratuitous indulgence of tangential association with tragedy".[1] It is distinct from Schadenfreude which refers to a joy at the misfortune of others.[citation needed]
Origin of usage
The expression is common with a long history[2][3][4][5] and has been described by Robert Yates, an assistant editor for The Observer as:
Grief Porn. (n.) Gratification derived from a tenuous connection to the misfortunes of others; the gratuitous indulgence of tangential association with tragedy; getting off on really bad news.[1]
Yates was remarking on the phenomenon he first noticed following the death of Princess Diana and the media frenzy that occurred afterwards. He reportably observed an increase in activity during times of national mourning and international disaster, and commented dryly that it primarily affects people working in media.[1]}}
Carol Sarler[6], writing for The Times (London), noted that "this new and peculiar pornography of grief" is sometimes called a 'tribute', "the cruder truth is that ersatz grief is now the new pornography; like the worst of hard-core, it is stimulus by proxy, voyeuristically piggy-backing upon that which might otherwise be deemed personal and private, for no better reason than frisson and the quickening of an otherwise jaded pulse.[7]
References
- ^ a b c "Boo hoo, said the crocodile". ObserverBlog. The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
- ^ http://www.hippopress.com/film/moonlightmile.html
- ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=n0h2O_VVNDsC&pg=PA91&dq=grief-porn
- ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=IhTkZ6K8c3sC&pg=PA133&dq=grief-porn
- ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=BPGA3dWRjmcC&pg=PA180&dq=grief-porn
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/carolsarler
- ^ Carol Sarler (7 September, 2007). "This new and peculiar pornography of grief". Comment. TimesOnline. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
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