“Sensationalization of Crimes by Media”

“Sensationalization of Crimes by Media”

Author: Zuha Amreen, a 2nd year 3 Year LL.B, student of K.L.E Society’s Gurusiddappa Kotambri Law College, Hubballi, Karnataka.

India is a land which has witnessed the heroism of great nobles, from the ancient, times who sacrificed their entire lives, serving the country to eradicate evils from the society. India has also has witnessed gruesome & heinous horrors since time immemorial, the screeches of the victims & the silence of the innocent is deafening to our ears.

Indian society is not devoid of crimes. Crimes have taken place in the country from the evolution of mankind. Man is a selfish being & in order to satisfy his needs at times has chosen the path which is horrific. This path is the Devil Gateway & the news of which leaves a spine chilling effect on common man.

A common Indian Man is aware of the crimes which take place in the society. He does not give a deaf ear to the crimes heard & talked about. The interest intensifies with the intensity of the gravity of a crime. Offences such as theft, robbery, dacoit, cheating, fraud etc which gains sympathy amongst public. But bodily injustice such as death, rape, gang rape, murder, cannibalism, voyeurism, photo morphing etc attracts the attention of the public at large. Curiosity is the main cause root of this interest. He has an interest in the crime committed & intends to know more.

Media since its birth has been a mode of transporting information & news all of over the world. The main objective of media either print or electronic has been to create awareness of the happenings in the society. The developments in the society & the achievements were glorified the misfortunes were diluted, blurred & the facts of details of the abuses were not published or picturized.

With the advancement of technology & the coming of the digital era, the innumerable broadcasting platforms of electronic media & the OTT platforms have deviated from the objective of providing news & shifted their interest in order to sensationalize unlawful activities committed in the country. 

Since the dawn of the vast technology, the production houses aim at a targeted audience & their perfect and most suitable catch is that Indian common man is curious creatures. We grasp in content & are ever-interested in crimes. There are documentary films & videos produced of the crimes committed. There is an entire production house of directors who work on creating a real- life like experience of the crimes. The targeted audience which consumes this content is being sensationalized & is creating a feeling anxiousness & fear inside the minds of a common man. 

The most recent shocking crime which the country mourned was the death of Nirbhaya. There are innumerable short movies, videos & even web series produced which go into the detailing of the sexual assault. The scenes of these series still petrify the viewers.

There are innumerable such case which have been enacted & released in the form of documentary films. The shocking case of Delhi's Burari deaths, the Muthara Gang rape, the encounters of rape convicts in Telengana, the Khatua gang rape, the cannibal case of boiling human brains & consuming in the form of soup, the serial killers of Karnataka, the underworld intoxicant dealers, there are infinite such documentary films which are being released, not leaving a positive impact on the society.

These movies & series specify on detailing, production & creation of the evidence, the use of the technology such as VFX & props, the cinematography, the sound production is of the best quality, which gives the best results & ends up in giving a horrendous effect to the common man.

They have created fear in the minds of people. The concept of trust & neighborhood companionship is being lost as man is scared by the ghastly happenings pictures, blogs, and movies. There is a tensed atmosphere in the society. They can trigger thoughts & feelings of panic. Woman, especially homemakers can have physiological effects, create illusions & have dangerous thoughts as an effect of such media as the manipulation of images, sound & story. 

It is high time that the OTT platforms & the production houses realize that there is as a need to reform & change the entire outlook of the crimes. Media has the responsibility to create awareness & keep the general public updated on the happenings of the society& not to glorify the mis-happenings of bodily offences, by spending thousands of rupees into producing web series & documentary films of the crimes committed.