Grisly crime
America is obsessed with the murder trial of Alex Murdaugh. The media, too, can’t get enough of it, constantly feeding content to true crime fans all over. The six-week-long trial that ended last week has been covered by newspapers, cable news, podcasts and two documentaries, one of which is on the Netflix list of top 10 shows.
Alex Murdaugh belongs to an influential family of lawyers in South Carolina and was sentenced to two life terms by the jury after he was found guilty of murdering his wife and son. Murdaugh himself was a powerful attorney with connections in the government, police and judiciary.
The three-part docuseries on Netflix, Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal, covers all the improprieties and other crimes connected with the family over the decades.
The other streaming giants have followed suit: HBO Max created Low Country: The Murdaugh Dynasty, which explores the family’s history, and CNBC’s American Greed documentary series did a two-part exploration of the family’s business dealings.
The media provided round-the-clock coverage of the trial with salacious, ‘exclusive’ details, even breaking into regular prime-time TV shows to provide the latest updates. The nation’s obsession with true crime can be traced back to OJ Simpson’s televised trial in 1995 — the verdict was watched by 107.7 million people, according to The New York Times.
Season of stars
The awards season — a time to celebrate and honour all things film, art and television — is upon us. The calendar kicked off with the Golden Globes on January 10, followed by other award ceremonies, ending with the Oscars, which will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, on March 12. The top contenders for the Oscars this weekend include Avatar: The Way of Water, The Banshees of Inisherin, Elvis, Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Fabelmans and Top Gun: Maverick.
The 80th Golden Globes turned out to be a star-studded affair but was wrapped in controversy over last year’s cancellation of the event after the backlash against the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s membership and nomination processes. The Banshees of Inisherin garnered the most wins with three awards, including Best Motion Picture in the Musical or Comedy category.
The Grammys, also steeped in controversy over their nomination process, were hosted by Trevor Noah this year. Harry Styles took home the Album of the Year award while Beyoncé’s several wins made her the most-feted artist in the award’s history. Another recently hosted, A-listerfilled ceremony was the Screen Actors Guild Awards — the only ceremony that exclusively honours actors. Big-name stars such as Cate Blanchett, Viola Davis, and Michelle Williams attended the event. The SAG Awards will be streamed live on Netflix next year.
Bidding wars
The 2024 presidential election is drawing closer and the bids for candidacy are heating up. The president, Joe Biden, has expressed his intent to contest again with Kamala Harris as his running mate. But Biden’s ratings are mediocre and people are questioning his fitness to run, given his age. At 80, he’s the oldest president in history. The Democrats have performed surprisingly better in the midterms which gives them hope.
On the Republican side, the twice-impeached former president, Donald Trump, has announced his decision to contest, daring other Republicans to run against him. Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, has announced her bid as well. The other confirmed contender is Vivek Ramaswamy, a multimillionaire who was born in Ohio to Indian immigrant parents and rose to prominence in the rightwing, ‘anti-woke’ circles.
The Republican governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, is also expected to run. But Trump has hurled insults against DeSantis, referring to him as “Ron DeSanctimonious”. This indicates a fiery clash between the two in the coming months.
Privacy concerns
TikTok, the Chinese video company with over a billion users, is now on the chopping block with senators wanting it to be banned due to privacy concerns. The White House directed the employees of all federal agencies to delete TikTok from their devices. The House Committee voted to advance a legislation that would allow the president, Joe Biden, to ban TikTok nationwide. The bill passed the Republican-controlled committee with unanimous GOP support and no Democratic votes. Educational institutions are also cracking down on the app. Several countries have expressed concerns that the Chinese government will use sensitive user data to spread misinformation. However, TikTok has referred to the ban as “political theatre”.
Footnote
Meghan Mangrum (picture), a reporter with The Dallas Morning News, was fired after addressing the Black mayor, Eric Johnson, as “bruh” on Twitter. Mangrum later said that her tweet was a response to the mayor’s remark that local media only reports negative news about the city. “Bruh, national news is always going to chase the trend. Cultivate relationships with... local news partnerships,” read the now-deleted tweet. Journalists are usually reined in for their views, but the disciplinary action against Mangrum was too harsh.
