Natalee Holloway’s eyes shine with youthful eagerness in her senior portrait. One can imagine her living it up in Aruba, lying on the beach, drinking fruity cocktails, and partying late into the night. Appearance-wise she embodies all the ideals of American youth: blonde hair, delicate features, slim build, and has become the obsession of the American news media. The media’s overwhelming coverage of missing persons cases involving rich, white females perpetuates the notion of superiority among the genre of the white elite. Americans are obsessed by those whose lives seem ideal, and even more fascinated by their downfalls. While status makes them worthy, tragic situations put them in the national spotlight. Time and time again America’s News media becomes consumed with the disappearances of the rich, white, and blonde. Natalee Holloway, JonBenet Ramsey, and Elizabeth Smart are only a few examples of cases that have sprung up in recent history. Beautiful and privileged, these girls represent the media’s skewed priorities, which influence the way people develop their own identities and judge others.
In 2005 Natalee Holloway disappeared in Aruba as she and many of her classmates kicked off their post-high school lives with a trip to the Caribbean. She was last seen with three Aruban teens whose theories about what really happened that night can be described as shaky, at best. Though an extremely extensive investigation took place initially and continues to take place today, Natalee’s body has never been found and no suspect has been formally charged with her murder, although many believe that the three Aruban boys she was last seen with have something to do with it. One other popular theory is that Natalee died of an overdose of alcohol (which she had been drinking excessively the day of her disappearance) or drugs (which she was witnessed to have possession of also on the day she disappeared) and that someone she was with simply disposed of her body in a fit of fear and/or desperation. (Source)
Elizabeth Smart was abducted in the middle of the night from her affluent Salt Lake City neighborhood. Her little sister witnessed the entire thing although she remained paralyzed by fear with the thought that the kidnappers may have abducted her as well if they discovered she was awake. In the following months, police carried out an intensive and thorough investigation with several suspects, including one who died of a brain hemorrhage before he was cleared of any involvement in the case. Miraculously, nine months after being taken from the safety of her parents Elizabeth Smart was found with her two mentally ill abductors in nearby Sandy, Utah. Both were deemed mentally unstable and unfit to stand trial. Several media outlets aggressively pursued the Smart family for accounts of their ordeal and a few high profile interviews took place as well as a made-for-TV movie and book about the experience. (Source)
JonBenet Ramsay was another infamous news story involving a blonde, privileged victim. The day after Christmas 1996 is a day that remains infamous in the history of American crime as the day JonBenet Ramsey was found strangled to death in the extraordinarily upscale home she shared with her family. This case continues to have marked significance and magnetism due to the insinuating details of contradiction and blatant incompetence of the boulder police department. JonBenet’s Father had just received a bonus at work for almost the exact amount that a ransom note in their home asked for. Shortly thereafter JonBenet’s father discovered her in their basement and moved the body, destroying important evidence at the crime scene. Several family and friends were also present in the house that day to aid in the search for Jon Benet, further eroding the clues that could have given insight into the events of her murder. Even though certain clues suggest that an intruder was involved, JonBenet’s parents have always been widely criticized for not only their possible involvement in but also their handling of the investigation into their daughter’s death. JonBenet Ramsey’s murder remains unsolved after more than 10 years and will likely remain unsolved because so little reliable evidence exists. (Source)
Ever since each of these stories began to come out in the media they have recieved an extreme and uncanny amount of attention by news programs, newspaper and magazine articles, and all sorts of internet coverage and disscussion. These three cases are fascinating and captivating in their own right, but have been highlighted in the news media due to the fact that they all involve white, affluent (and blonde) young girls. The volume of coverage that these examples received has established them not as just news stories but as entities that remain ingrained in American culture, carrying huge significance in their implications. Increasingly, the media is receiving criticism about the blatantly inflated coverage that it bestows on cases such as these involving wealthy, white females, and ironically the media now reports on its own unbalanced coverage.
This biased coverage all comes down to the media’s need to create a narrative out of factual information. The disappearances of Natalee Holloway, JonBenet Ramsay, and Elizabeth Smart have been formulated to resonate in the American’s mind in the same way that a blockbuster at the local Cineplex would. They are tragedies in their own right but tragedies whose details are dramatized to the point of giving the impression of superceding other cases. They become dark fairy tales and the American public is driven to want the victims to be found and “saved” much in the way that people want Cinderella to escape the wrath of her evil stepmother and live happily ever after. People want Natalee Holloway to be found and live a beautiful life happily ever after. This innate bias fostered by the media coverage is yet another factor that contributes to the continuation of the superiority of the rich and white in the contemporary mind.
In 2005 Natalee Holloway disappeared in Aruba as she and many of her classmates kicked off their post-high school lives with a trip to the Caribbean. She was last seen with three Aruban teens whose theories about what really happened that night can be described as shaky, at best. Though an extremely extensive investigation took place initially and continues to take place today, Natalee’s body has never been found and no suspect has been formally charged with her murder, although many believe that the three Aruban boys she was last seen with have something to do with it. One other popular theory is that Natalee died of an overdose of alcohol (which she had been drinking excessively the day of her disappearance) or drugs (which she was witnessed to have possession of also on the day she disappeared) and that someone she was with simply disposed of her body in a fit of fear and/or desperation. (Source)
Elizabeth Smart was abducted in the middle of the night from her affluent Salt Lake City neighborhood. Her little sister witnessed the entire thing although she remained paralyzed by fear with the thought that the kidnappers may have abducted her as well if they discovered she was awake. In the following months, police carried out an intensive and thorough investigation with several suspects, including one who died of a brain hemorrhage before he was cleared of any involvement in the case. Miraculously, nine months after being taken from the safety of her parents Elizabeth Smart was found with her two mentally ill abductors in nearby Sandy, Utah. Both were deemed mentally unstable and unfit to stand trial. Several media outlets aggressively pursued the Smart family for accounts of their ordeal and a few high profile interviews took place as well as a made-for-TV movie and book about the experience. (Source)
JonBenet Ramsay was another infamous news story involving a blonde, privileged victim. The day after Christmas 1996 is a day that remains infamous in the history of American crime as the day JonBenet Ramsey was found strangled to death in the extraordinarily upscale home she shared with her family. This case continues to have marked significance and magnetism due to the insinuating details of contradiction and blatant incompetence of the boulder police department. JonBenet’s Father had just received a bonus at work for almost the exact amount that a ransom note in their home asked for. Shortly thereafter JonBenet’s father discovered her in their basement and moved the body, destroying important evidence at the crime scene. Several family and friends were also present in the house that day to aid in the search for Jon Benet, further eroding the clues that could have given insight into the events of her murder. Even though certain clues suggest that an intruder was involved, JonBenet’s parents have always been widely criticized for not only their possible involvement in but also their handling of the investigation into their daughter’s death. JonBenet Ramsey’s murder remains unsolved after more than 10 years and will likely remain unsolved because so little reliable evidence exists. (Source)
Ever since each of these stories began to come out in the media they have recieved an extreme and uncanny amount of attention by news programs, newspaper and magazine articles, and all sorts of internet coverage and disscussion. These three cases are fascinating and captivating in their own right, but have been highlighted in the news media due to the fact that they all involve white, affluent (and blonde) young girls. The volume of coverage that these examples received has established them not as just news stories but as entities that remain ingrained in American culture, carrying huge significance in their implications. Increasingly, the media is receiving criticism about the blatantly inflated coverage that it bestows on cases such as these involving wealthy, white females, and ironically the media now reports on its own unbalanced coverage.
This biased coverage all comes down to the media’s need to create a narrative out of factual information. The disappearances of Natalee Holloway, JonBenet Ramsay, and Elizabeth Smart have been formulated to resonate in the American’s mind in the same way that a blockbuster at the local Cineplex would. They are tragedies in their own right but tragedies whose details are dramatized to the point of giving the impression of superceding other cases. They become dark fairy tales and the American public is driven to want the victims to be found and “saved” much in the way that people want Cinderella to escape the wrath of her evil stepmother and live happily ever after. People want Natalee Holloway to be found and live a beautiful life happily ever after. This innate bias fostered by the media coverage is yet another factor that contributes to the continuation of the superiority of the rich and white in the contemporary mind.
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