ARTS & CULTURE

Grace’s Culture Corner: Exploring femininity

Media that reflects on the feminine identity and the role which women play in the arts

STORY Grace F. PHOTOS Rolling Stone, Goodreads, IMBD

Emily Directed By

FRANCES O'CONNOR

EXPECTED 2/17

Film actress Frances O’Connor’s directorial debut, Emily, is a hybrid biographical fictional story about the personal and romantic life of the elusive Emily Brontë. This British author wrote just one novel, Wuthering Heights, but was known to be socially reclusive and in her own imagination. O’Connor uses this film to both show the relationship between Brontë and her sister Charlotte, who was also an accomplished author, but how her own romantic liberties drew her to create what is now a literary classic.

The Crane Husband By Kelly Barnhill

You shouldn’t have a favorite murder

Online obsession with true crime doesn’t stop viewers from becoming victims, it just exploits their fear

It’s Friday night, and people across the country are looking for the perfect way to relax after a long week: laying in bed, eating sugar, scrolling through social media, and, of course, listening to the graphic, bloody details of a brutal kidnapping.

Look through the top podcasts, makeup tutorials, YouTube videos, or social media accounts online, and a common thread appears: murder. One-third of Americans say they consume true-crime content at least once per week, according to the online international research firm YouGov, while at least a half admit to enjoying the genre.

wrote an article titled “True Crime Is Rotting Our Brains” stating she would “rather be stabbed again” than be featured on an online true crime podcast.

Berquiest’s argument, based on research stating that true crime audiences are about 73% female, was that true crime profits off of women’s anxiety and leads to more fear among the general public: “It isn’t naïve or reckless to trust one another. That stranger walking behind you doesn’t want to kill you; in fact, they may just save your life.”

EXPECTED 2/28

Kelly Barnhill’s YA novel The Crane Husband is a modern retelling of the Japanese myth “Tsuru no Ongaeshi,” translating to “The Crane Wife.” The original myth follows a man and the crane he saved, disguised as his wife. Barnhill’s novel swaps the genders of these characters, and explores how the confusion between love and obligation can perpetuate the submissive female stereotypes.

The Record By Boygenius

The internet is hooked on true crime. It may be hard to hear for those who spend their nights pouring over the details of decades-old unsolved cases, but it's time to admit that the internet’s obsession with true crime is having horrible consequences for both viewers and victims.

The most unsettling aspect of true crime obsession lies in the first half of the genre’s name: "true." At the heart of each one of the cases picked over by amateur social media “investigators” lies a real victim with real-life grieving family members and a real-life story.

Yet cases are dramatized online by giddy onlookers; real people are picked apart, their lives suddenly under scrutiny for the crime of simply mourning their loved one’s death. By treating each unfolding investigation like a game of Clue, true crime devotees ignore this grim reality.

In January, Media coverage of the recent stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students in a townhouse off-campus encouraged the spread of false information on social media as sleuths took to online posts to share their theories, with little regard for the humanity of their subjects.

True crime thrives on heightened emotion and fear, persuading viewers that every stranger is a potential murderer. A study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania found that

PAYING fear of crime and violence on television have both increased over time, despite crime rates declining.

Mourners lay flowers on a memorial for Idaho killing victims.

EXPECTED 3/31

The boys are back! Indie-rock supergroup Boygenius, composed of singer-songwriters Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker, and Phoebe Bridgers, is set to release their first studio album, The Record, in March. These three women have all made powerful strides in the indie-rock scene, combining forces to release a self-titled EP in 2018. Dacus, Baker, and Bridgers have all spoken about how women in rock are often pitted against each other, and are hoping that by combining their talents, they can make a new space for respect in this music style.

One TikTok micro-celebrity, Ashley Guillard, claimed, with no proof besides a tarot reading, that a University of Idaho professor had the motivation to commit the crime because she was in a secret romantic relationship with one of the victims. Guillard is now being sued by the professor, who says that Guillard slandered her in over 30 Tiktok videos, that were viewed 2.5 million times.

The ex-boyfriend of a victim also became the subject of a YouTuber’s video that gave his “red flags” as potential evidence of his guilt. A Facebook group dedicated to discussing and speculating about the murders currently has more than 230,000 members.

These are just a few instances of a larger trend where true crime crosses the line between armchair sleuths and misinformed vigilantes.

However, it is not just the relatives, friends, and acquaintances of the victims who suffer when crime is sensationalized; viewers of the content also experience the harmful side effects.

In 2021, stabbing victim Emma Berquist

On Tiktok, I saw a girl show off fake ADT signs in her front yard and stickers plastered on her windows in a video captioned, "Shoutout to true crime podcasts for my paranoia." The video received over 10,000 likes. It was supposed to be funny, but if you really think about it for a second, it isn't. True crime podcasts encourage listeners to trust their instincts, but how can we trust instincts that have been warped by excessive anxiety?

On the opposite end of the true crime damage spectrum is desensitization to violence. Desensitization, the brain's response to traumatic events, can lead to increased aggression and diminished empathy. True crime fanatics may become less sympathetic and understanding of victims and their families. Watching true crime causes a person to become more desensitized and thus more inclined to watch it repeatedly, creating a never-ending cycle.

I’m not trying to say it’s impossible to like true crime and consume it in a safe manner. It’s human nature to be interested in conflict and tragedy. I'm just saying that it's important to think deeply about what you're watching—not just the morbid fascination with the crime and its players, but the real people behind it all, and to set healthy boundaries.

WHAT'S THE VERDICT ON PRIVATE SCHOOLS?

Locals discuss their opinions on the imbalance between public and private schools.

Community Members Battered By Rain