My grandmother once told me that there is no pain like that of losing a child from an unforeseen ailment. If such is the case then I cannot imagine what it must feel like to lose a child to his or her own doing because that child sought escape from the torment of peers. I doubt there are words to define what Tyler Clementi's parents suffer throughout every minute of each and every day. As they faced the press this morning the pain in their face read as big as a billboard in full sunlight and it was extremely unsettling. Then came a few staged scenes in the pre-shot video leading up to a live interview. In a tragic case so full of despair, vileness, and loss, NBC did Jane and Joe Clementi a disservice by airing actions in their home that were obviously staged and directed by someone outside of the family.
There are enough nauseating elements to Tyler Clementi's story without NBC having to create more. Do viewers across the land really need to see the Clementi's leafing through a photo album of Tyler as a young boy in order to increase the drama and get the point across? No, there is enough sadness surrounding the story to stick with the viewer for days. Such actions only cheapen the situation. One clip of an unapologetic Dharun Ravi was enough to take the level of truth in this tragedy to remarkable levels.
Ravi is the roommate who allegedly set up the webcam that filmed Tyler Clementi when he was involved in business that was nobody else's but his own. The fact that Ravi's trial continues after he rejected a plea bargain tells me he truly thinks he is innocent or his lawyer knows of one of those dark little alleys of justice that lead to good chances of having the case thrown out.
Considering all the elements involved in the story, emotional turmoil exists without props and without the direction of some cameraman who just received a Bachelor of Arts in Communications or Film. Such instances are almost as disgusting as the actions of Dharun Ravi. Let the facts tell the story. Tyler Clementi's death and everything associated with his passing does not deserve to be further victimized by melodrama.
Staging emotional triggers should be left to scenes involving the Kardashians and the Teen Moms. I have worked in certain situations and watched some kid holding a camera, under the age of 25, think he knows what is best for the American audience. Sometimes it works and it entertains. Then sometimes consideration for the human element is completely ignored and the result is nauseating. What is the mindset that leads one to think that staging a scene in the tragedy surrounding Tyler Clementi's death is necessary for the piece? Then Ann Curry had to start whispering questions to the mother. Her behavior certainly did not add anything to the piece. She became instantly un-watchable with groundbreaking inquiries such as 'what do you wish you could have done differently.' Jane Clementi has enough of her own demons to face. This morning's broadcast offered many more opportunities to help people facing similar circumstances by covering outlets of assistance rather than re-hashing the past.
Of course the news has been getting away with such nonsense for years. Maybe now is a good time to retire the wanna-be entertainers in favor of journalists who know how to report the truth without melodrama. The more that news leans toward reality television the less amount of truth will be available to the public. Our world is full of enough fiction; we need all the truth we can get. Journalists need not demean the profession they have chosen by turning a news reports into skits. We have enough Alec Baldwins in the world to do the entertaining for us.
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