Murder By Numbers

One of the most disturbing serial killer cases in Canadian history is currently unfolding in Vancouver. Robert Pickton is on trial for the murder of six women, with another trial for the murder of 20 other women set to follow. The facts of the case, which started to be revealed last week, are gruesome – beheadings, sex toys attached to weapons and many other graphic details. It can be difficult to read or watch on TV, but the facts are the facts.

Meanwhile, on last week’s episode of CSI, a woman was bludgeoned to death and then injected with drugs. On CSI: Miami, a man was shredded by a landmine; on CSI: New York, a corpse was found stuffed in a salt truck. On the last episode of Bones, a man was shot dead on the rooftop of a hotel. The shooter, in a hood, straps the victim to a cross, guts him, and then lights him on fire. All watched by millions of Canadians.

The difference between these two events is one has people complaining about the sensationalizing of human tragedy and the other has them sitting in front of the tube with snacks. CTV's Lloyd Robertson and Global National's Kevin Newman have stated that because the facts may be too upsetting for viewers, they have decided to withhold certain aspects of the day's proceedings. Many newspapers and radio stations are doing the same. Nobody is complaining about the fictionalized version.

I don’t want to see the trial sensationalized – don’t put the gore in the headlines, don’t lead with the brutal details – but I don’t want to see them hidden either. I find it odd that people can be entertained by blood and guts but don’t want it aired when it’s the truth. We can watch Saving Private Ryan, but don’t show us the experience of real soldiers in Afghanistan or Iraq. In this weekend’s Globe and Mail there was an article about how Canadians are turning away from the grisly details of the accused serial killer’s trial. Six pages later there is an ad for a stage production of Sweeny Todd, about a 19th century serial killer.

“You can watch CSI and it's completely divorced from the real experience. If CSI had an episode featuring human body parts, people would simply say ‘gross,’” says Robert Thompson, a professor of popular culture. “When a news anchor reports it, you'd want the kids to leave the room. I don't think CSI has made us shrug our shoulders at the real story of people being beheaded. We make these distinctions.”

People aren’t shrugging their shoulders, they are averting their eyes unless the deaths come wrapped in quick edits and cool music. TV violence hasn’t inured people to real violence, it’s made them only want to see it when it’s entertaining.