Ukraine- The name brings up images of fire, marching armies, rubble, and guns. Everything that the current American concept of Ukraine contains is negative, focused on destruction. Before Russia invaded Ukraine, Americans payed very little attention to it, just knowing that it was that place that looks like Russia but wasn't. However, immediately after the disaster of the invasion occurred, it became America's favorite eastern European country. Why? Why is it only in the moment of crisis that we pay attention to Ukraine? Why did we only care about Haiti when the earthquake struck? They're all symptoms of an addiction, an addiction to disaster porn.
Disaster porn is harmfully affecting America, it draws all of our attentions to the overwhelmingly negative aspects of a situation instead of recognizing the positive things about an area as well. We don't think about the way that Ukraine used to be now, we only think about the burning ravaged land that the media portrays over and over again. America's addiction to disaster porn changes our perception of other countries into an apathetically concerned scenario. We portray disapproval of the events going on over there, and yet we keep consuming them as quickly as the news can pump them out. Some of us urge our leaders to get involved in Ukraine, and yet the sluggish movement on the part of the US belays our true apathy towards the situation.
Our addiction to disaster porn is a harmful result of the media's relatively new transition to overwhelmingly visual medias. Pictures and videos became the new words, transmitting much more excitement and "in-the-momentness" that Americans have come to crave. This consumption of disasterous imagery doesn't need to be bad, so long as it spurs appropriate response to it. However, it doesn't. We care about the afflicted area for only as long as we can see imagery of how much it's damaged by whatever events are occurring over there. We never have a long-term investment in the country. And that's something that's got to change.
Wow what a concept. I've never heard of it before and now that you mentioned it I realized that the news has been inundated with these kind of disasters lately. I think the concept you are explaining is most similar to sensationalism. The media and especially big cable news companies are all guilty of heavy sensationalism. I think you are right that society's (and the media's) "transition to overwhelmingly visual medias" has caused this. People are always switching between electronics and multitasking and whatnot. We (humans) don't have the attention span we used to. People are always wanting to be entertained and when it comes to news no one would pay attention if there wasn't an extra kick to it. It's always "DEADLY virus" or "Terror THREAT" or like you said some global conflict that will keep us interested in the moment, until, one day a new threat comes along and everyone forgets about it. Great Post!
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