Remembering the Dead and Say Their Names

Resonance ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 427-432
Author(s):  
John F. Barber
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mass Shootings ◽  
Police Violence ◽  
Media Activism ◽  
The Dead

This essay considers the role of sound, as in spoken voice, in two multimedia memorials to individuals killed by violence in the United States. The first is Remembering the Dead, a memorial to victims of mass shootings from the 1880s to the present. The second is Say Their Names, a memorial to victims of police violence and brutality. The use of sound (the speaking aloud of victims' names) in both these installations is meant to create and extend a space, a temporary autonomous zone that offers—through thoughtful listening to the names of victims spoken aloud—perceptual, phenomenological, and sensory engagements with the act of remembrance to provide witness and memorial for those killed and to promote meaningful social and civic justice to stop the killings. In this regard, both projects were conceived and developed as media activism.

scholarly journals The role of domestic violence in fatal mass shootings in the United States, 2014–2019

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa B. Geller ◽  
Marisa Booty ◽  
Cassandra K. Crifasi
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Family Member ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Case Fatality ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mass Shootings ◽  
Mass Shooting ◽  
History Of

Abstract Background Fatal mass shootings, defined as four or more people killed by gunfire, excluding the perpetrator, account for a small percentage of firearm homicide fatalities. Research has not extensively focused on the role of domestic violence (DV) in mass shootings in the United States. This study explores the role of DV in mass shootings in the United States. Methods Using 2014–2019 mass shooting data from the Gun Violence Archive, we indexed our data by year and mass shooting and collected the number of deaths and injuries. We reviewed news articles for each mass shooting to determine if it was 1) DV-related (i.e., at least one victim of a mass shooting was a dating partner or family member of the perpetrator); 2) history of DV (i.e., the perpetrator had a history of DV but the mass shooting was not directed toward partners or family members); or 3) non-DV-related (i.e., the victims were not partners or family members, nor was there mention of the perpetrator having a history of DV). We conducted descriptive analyses to summarize the percent of mass shootings that were DV-related, history of DV, or non-DV-related, and analyzed how many perpetrators died during the incidents. We conducted one-way ANOVA to examine whether there were differences in the average number of injuries or fatalities or the case fatality rates (CFR) between the three categories. One outlier and 17 cases with unknown perpetrators were excluded from our main analysis. Results We found that 59.1% of mass shootings between 2014 and 2019 were DV-related and in 68.2% of mass shootings, the perpetrator either killed at least one partner or family member or had a history of DV. We found significant differences in the average number of injuries and fatalities between DV and history of DV shootings and a higher average case fatality rate associated with DV-related mass shootings (83.7%) than non-DV-related (63.1%) or history of DV mass shootings (53.8%). Fifty-five perpetrators died during the shootings; 39 (70.9%) died by firearm suicide, 15 (27.3%) were killed by police, and 1 (1.8%) died from an intentional overdose. Conclusions Most mass shootings are related to DV. DV-related shootings had higher CFR than those unrelated to DV. Given these findings, restricting access to guns by perpetrators of DV may affect the occurrence of mass shootings and associated casualties.

scholarly journals Whose Streets? Police Violence and the Recorded Image

Arts ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 155
Author(s):  
Terri Weissman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Space ◽  
The United States ◽  
History Of Photography ◽  
Police Violence ◽  
History Of ◽  
Recorded Image ◽  
Street Photography ◽  
Brown Bodies

This essay reframes street photography in terms of the images and videos taken by bystanders who find themselves witness to egregious acts of state-sanctioned police violence against black and brown bodies in the United States. Along the way, it challenges the belief that bystanders are “innocent” observers and investigates the meaning of “evidence” and the role of representation in order to argue for a model of seeing that can simultaneously reveal moments of ongoing racial debilitation and work to create new political subjects capable of transformative collective action. The goal is twofold: (1) to disrupt a history of photography—and more specifically a history of street photography—that emphasizes innovation, biography, and universal experience; and (2) to reorient what it means to discuss the politics of the image (in particular, the digital “documentary” image) away from a discourse that either privileges “uncertainty” or understands images as empty simulations, and toward one that acknowledges representation’s complexity but also its ongoing power. In the United States, we may never be able to tell a story in and about public space without replaying scenes of violence and targeted assault, but this essay argues that finding ways to let voices and images from the past—both tragic and redemptive—resonate in the present and speak to us in the future, may provide some way forward.

scholarly journals Remembering the Dead: Electronic Literature as Memorial and Meme

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-74
Author(s):  
John F. Barber
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gun Violence ◽  
Electronic Literature ◽  
Mass Shootings ◽  
Community Interaction ◽  
Network Awareness ◽  
The Dead

This essay describes a multimedia memorial, Remembering the Dead, that seeks to remember victims of mass shootings in the United States of America. This elegiac work may be considered a diversity for electronic literature, specifically one focused on social justice. By remembering those killed by gun violence, we recall and reinforce their humanity. Additionally, we gain a broader engagement with community interaction, as well as an increased critical network awareness of how electronic literature might provide bridges between communities. Remembering the Dead provides a meme regarding how to move forward with these ideas in an increasingly fractured world.

The Role of Gender and Sensation Seeking in Film Choice

2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 97-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Smita C. Banerjee ◽  
Kathryn Greene ◽  
Marina Krcmar ◽  
Zhanna Bagdasarov ◽  
Dovile Ruginyte
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Sensation Seeking ◽  
Negative Mood ◽  
Positive Mood ◽  
The United States ◽  
High Arousal ◽  
Subject Design ◽  
Happy Mood

This study demonstrates the significance of individual difference factors, particularly gender and sensation seeking, in predicting media choice (examined through hypothetical descriptions of films that participants anticipated they would view). This study used a 2 (Positive mood/negative mood) × 2 (High arousal/low arousal) within-subject design with 544 undergraduate students recruited from a large northeastern university in the United States. Results showed that happy films and high arousal films were preferred over sad films and low-arousal films, respectively. In terms of gender differences, female viewers reported a greater preference than male viewers for happy-mood films. Also, male viewers reported a greater preference for high-arousal films compared to female viewers, and female viewers reported a greater preference for low-arousal films compared to male viewers. Finally, high sensation seekers reported a preference for high-arousal films. Implications for research design and importance of exploring media characteristics are discussed.

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