Death through the lens: The Virginia massacre
Cho Seung-hui wields guns and rants at the camera in his video
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Friday, 20, Apr 2007 11:15
The massacre of 32 people at Virginia Tech University by Cho Seung-hui has made headlines across the world. Dozens of students and professors were shot down in the idyllic rural setting, bringing back memories of some of the darkest moments in American history, most notably the day in April 1999 when Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 13 people and then themselves at Columbine high school.
Then, just as now, the incident was rendered all the more vivid by videotaped images of the killers. Questions are already being asked about how such an incident could come to pass unnoticed, what it says about the gun control laws in the US and ethical questions about the broadcast of footage in which Cho vents his anger and fury - apparently in a brief hiatus during his murderous rampage.
But one of the less-remarked upon facts of the startling footage is not just how it shapes the reporting of such gruesome crimes but its signal of the ingrained nature of digital technology in modern society. Leaving aside the debate about whether NBC should have released the footage - posted by the 23-year-old killer after he had shot dead two people and before he would slaughter another 30 - the immediacy and reach of video footage has made it a hallmark of violence and the way it is reported.
Like Columbine, the video footage was offered up as a legacy for people to discover, adding layers of ghoulish reflection to the original crime and enabling the culprits to assume control and centre stage in a way they could not do in real life.
For Cho, the video message he posted was a chance to create an image of himself and his peers and also to attribute blame. In a rambling diatribe, the South Korean student rails at the "rich brats" who he says have "blood on your hands that will never wash off". Like Columbine the awareness of his actions - and their reception in video form - somehow heighten the macabre calculated nature of the crime. The premeditated crafting of the 23 QuickTime files Cho sent to NBC has a grim sense of foresight.
After the Columbine shootings, videos emerged showing Harris and Klebold performing target practice. In one of their video diaries shot a month before the attack, the pair thank Mark Manes, the man who sold them the guns - and correctly observe he will probably share some of the blame as a result of their messages.
The one-way 'dialogue' of the video also avoids the ambiguity of real life: culpability of 'others' is made clear without contradiction. The Virginia massacre recalls the shooting at another college, in Canada, when Kimveer Gill shot one student dead and wounded 19 others at Dawson College in Montreal last September.
Gill, who professed to "hate this world, hate the people in it, hate the way people live" was angry at what he saw as "deceivers" and "betrayers". Like Cho, he was also keen to glorify his role as a bringer of vengeance and even 'justice'. He also appeared to revel in creating an image to back up these claims: eerily similar photos of him brandishing guns, pointing them at the camera and posing, speak of an emasculated loner finally in control.
The digital footage Cho released parallels another set of young, marginalised men, who use extreme violence and the internet to reach the mainstream audience they had never been able to join. Cho's 'manifesto' compares himself to Jesus, who he says he emulates in his "sacrifice" to "inspire generations of the weak and the defenceless people". His words recall the finger-jabbing images and softly spoken defiance of Mohammad Sidique Khan, one of the suicide bombers who detonated a bomb on the London Underground on July 7th.
Khan's video tape, released months after his death, bore all the hallmarks of Al-Qaeda's slick media operation, but also spoke of a lonely, man driven by a sense of purpose. Looking at the camera, Khan is clear in his sense of sacrifice: "I and thousands like me are forsaking everything for what we believe. Our drive and motivation doesn't come from tangible commodities that this world has to offer."
In Virginia, technology is not just part of the crime and its portrayal, but has also become integral to the aftermath and even the grieving process. Social networking sites such as Facebook have seen tributes pour in for victims, such as those for 18-year-old Emily Hilscher. One posting, which tells why Ms Hilscher is "cooler than me", underlines how the sites offer a sense of unity so starkly absent in Cho's video. The site - which links friends in social groups - is a phenomenon in universities across the world and is part of daily life for anyone under the age of 30, with individuals gathering friends, acquaintances and colleagues. It is unlikely Cho was able to count many friends if he had a page on the site.
Thanks to digital cameras, mobile phones and the internet, the moving image has become accessible to all in modern times to the point where footage edited by amateurs echoes the production values used in 24-hour news. For those who want to wield a greater influence the visual medium offers an opportunity to edit and shape their image in a way they could not manage in real life. For the marginalised, sitting on the extremes of society, whether it be a loner or a terrorist, modern technology offers a way into the mainstream.
Nathaniel Bertram