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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
let's heat it up on here...
and talk about something potentially controversial-
the video'd death of the Georgian luger
do you think it's appropriate for people to be able to watch this over and over on the internet?
I have to admit, it's so shocking, I watched it twice.
Re: let's heat it up on here...
I saw an edited version on the news. I have no desire to watch it over and over.
While death is sometimes viewed as private and family oriented, he was in a public forum, widely televised and he knew it. This death, while tragic is no worse than 9/11, war pictures, Haiti body dumps, the katrina victim who died in the chair waiting on water, not to mention all the other ones who were found dead. All these things were televised and shown repeatedly and still available to watch.
I think if you want to discourage this type of viewing by the public, then you would be sensoring everything and that goes against what we stand for I think. It's a hard line but it was unfortunately captured on film, and put out there. I don't think you can take it back.
I close my eyes whenever they show it on t.v.
I watched someone die once and I have absolutely no desire to ever see something like that again, whether it's on television, the internet or in front of my face.
I feel awful for the family, but I agree with Buckin when she says that, as Nodar Kumaritashvili was a public figure, the media has a right to air the footage. However, just because they have the right to do it, doesn't mean that I think they should. It's just my opinion, but isn't it enough knowing that he died? Why do we have to witness it?
Yes, he knew he was being filmed and whatever he did would be subject to fodder for nightly news. But, he didn't know he was going to die. I think there is a difference in knowing you're being filmed while performing and being filmed while you're dying.
The difference in all the other public deaths is that those people were already dead. The camera man didn't film or photograph them while they were dying. And at the same time no one else knew he was going to die either. And did he die at the scene (while cameras were rolling) & just pronounced dead once they got him to the trauma center or did he die at the trauma center?
Either way it's unpleasant.
You're exactly right. Censorship is a dirty word for Americans, especially in journalism. If people don't want to see it they shouldn't watch. Change the channel. Close the web page. Do whatever, but you can't censor the news.
I don't want to see it, but I think they have a right to show it. All the reports that I saw very clearly said that the pictures/video they were about to show were graphic. So, I turned my head. I didn't like seeing a photo in the paper accompanying the article about it Saturday morning (in our paper it was of the paramedics trying to revive him.)
I'm not sure of the circumstances, but I don't think he died at the scene. They were clearly working to revive him, and I don't think they would have airlifted him if they knew for sure he was dead.
I can think of several instances of public deaths where the film or video shows the actual death. From 9/11 the people jumping out of the windows in the WTC were certainly not going to live - and that's shown over & over every day in the Newseum here in Washington. It's very hard to see, but you can chose not to watch it (I didn't when we went a few weeks ago). There's also the video of JFK's assassination, the Pulitzer-prize winning photos of the children being burned by napalm, the VietCong prisoner being shot, and I'm sure other video and photos of people actually dying.
The athlete that died during practice before the Olympics. The cameras were rolling during and after his accident.
I think there was a link for it off the Huffington Post site yesterday. I pulled it up b/c I hadn't seen it either. I don't think it's awful that the clip was aired, but from what I heard about the broadcast prior to the opening ceremonies, the footage was being shown over and over, practically on a loop. I think that kind of footage should be shown only once on each network. During any subsequent discussions the anchor could direct interested viewers to the website to see it. To air it over and over is just disrepesectful - it wasn't an action movie with an actor, it's a real person who is no longer alive.
Oh ok. Knew that had happened but didn't know where he was from.
I disagree. The disturbing images of the man jumping from the towers "Live" is burned in my brain forever. All the news camera's trained on those towers as tragedy took place and them collapsing to the ground KNOWING there were people inside, we watched those people die.
Dale Earnhardt, we watched him die. There have been numerous ones that didn't know they were going to die, but they did, on camera and its no less tragic.
OH what's his name: brandon lee or whatever, that died while filming the Crowe, That clip was aired.
When people die on film, whether they intended to die or not, its there. People getting shot during parades, public speaking events etc. It can't be taken back and I don't think it should. Once its aired ONCE, the damage is done to the family and friends of that person because they know what happened and saw it.
We collectively are pretty de-sensitized to death and violence now a days. Our movies glorify it, our tv shows are gruesome. Our cartoons make fun of it. (Happy Tree Friends anyone?) The clip I SAW on tv was sad, but they give warnings and it can't be taken back.
I think you said it (or someone else said it) that we can't sensor what they show, but we can sensor ourselves because they give you warning. That's all you can hope for but I had to disagree on the "dying on camera" statement.
It is my understanding that he died at the trauma center, not immediately at the track. If this is true, I do not know, that is just what I have read.When I first heard of the story it said he had life -threatening injuries and there were pictures of them working on him before he was airlifted attached to the article. After they updated the article and he had passed they removed the pictures.
I guess they showed the video a couple of times prior to the opening ceremonies, but I think it was all in the same story/segment and they did give a warning.
I believe it was the next day, but Bob Costas did say they will not air the footage again during the games.
I think it would be wrong to just show it at random and not give warnings however I do not have a problem with them airing it right after it happened. I do not think I have a problem with it being on the internet.
I definitely remember the images of people jumping from 9/11. I have not tried to find that footage on the internet, but I am pretty sure it is out there.
Another thought, do you think they should have delayed the opening ceremony, changed the schedule more, etc to respect him?
Someone mentioned on the sports board that they thought they should have delayed things because of the death. However I do not think that was necessary and would have been a logistical mess.
Just curious if others thought they should have changed things or if they could have done more to respect him.
I've read/heard people thought so. I agree it would have been logistically messy. I'm not sure how I feel about it. It did happen that same day and they had the opening ceremonies timed down to the second. I felt like they could have flown the flags at half mast. I think they are now? But I wish they had done it during opening ceremonies as well. I do hope they do a little more during closing ceremonies.
Buckin' & Cif. I don't think I expressed my point like I meant to. Also I don't think I read B's original post as thoroughly as I should've. You're right there is live footage of the examples you gave. I was only thinking of still footage, but as Cif pointed out there are prize winning photos of that too. So I was wrong. That's what I get for posting in a hurry.
I think what bothered me most about the OP from B was the statement that he was a public figure and he knew he was being filmed. (I should have quoted you. I can't remember exactly how you put it). It just came across as a little callus to me. I can't imagine anyone, no matter how public a figure, being alright with their accidental death being filmed.
JFK and Dale E. are both good examples. They both knew they were being filmed at the time and the footage gets aired over and over. I just don't think anything makes that alright. Public figure or not.
I don't think it should be on television. . .it's not censorship; it's being sensitive and there are rules about what's on television (Janet Jackson's nipple caused such a stir and they play video of someone dying?). Yes, it's real life, but so are soldiers getting killed overseas. . .some of that's caught on video, but they don't play that. I sea violence and death every day at work, and I'm trying not to watch the tape of the death. The news didn't give warning before playing that. What if kids are watching. If they play it, they should warn those that don't want to see it.
ps Yes, he was pronounced dead at the trauma center, but he was dead at the scene. . .they were doing CPR on the track.
I have to agree with everything you've said Buckin. Was I shocked to see the video on the news of the luger dying? Yes. Do I think they were wrong to have played it? No. They did give a warning before they aired it and I made the choice to not change the channel. I do however think that the news should be a bit more respectful towards the victim's families and stop airing the footage after a while. I haven't been watching the news since Friday so I don't know how many times they've aired it since then. I don't think the media needs to keep replaying certain videos, like the 9/11 footage. For days and days they would keep replaying the same horrible footage over and over.