Reflections on Oscar Pistorius, Marikana and the Media

In Signatures of the Visible, Fredric Jameson states that “the visual is essentially pornographic” – that is, its end is in “mindless rapture”. That being said, as any reader of Orwell knows, there are degrees of equality; that is to say, while all ‘visuals’ (forgive the clumsy expression) are essentially pornographic, some are more essentially pornographic than others. The trial of Oscar Pistorius, so widely broadcast this summer, was one of these paradoxical beasts – the Napoleons and Squealers, the generally ‘more equal’. The obscene spectacle of a sordid celebrity tragedy was seized upon by the major news channels as not only a worthy news piece but further as so important as to merit global coverage. It seems this turgid carnival with a faceless protagonist succeeded in trumping George Alagiah and Adam Boulton alike. The trial even inspired some program titles – my favourite: ‘Oscar Pistorius: The Sentencing’ – reminiscent of the cheap thrillers purchased in airport lobbies, half-read before swiftly falling into desuetude.

I must confess that I did not follow the trial. I don’t know the ins and outs of the case, the arguments or the technicalities. I didn’t actually know the verdict until I googled the trial for this article. I was, to be frank, mostly indifferent to an essentially private affair and slightly repulsed by the vulgarity of the coverage. I am dubious about the propriety of broadcasting a trial from a country which constitutionally presumes innocence and I suspect media coverage does not a little to undermine formal equality before the law. These are, however, subjective impressions and the proper sociological studies would have to be made before asserting them with any confidence. I was disgraced by a media which can dissect like a vulture the offcuts of a domestic legal affair while refusing to broadcast the devastation of Israeli bombs on the grounds of ‘respect for the dead’.

The worst of it, however, becomes apparent if we compare it to the media response to the state-sanctioned murder of 34 South African miners at the Marikana platinum mine in 2012. A further 78 were injured. If I Google the words “Marikana platinum mine” there are 274 thousand hits in comparison to the 13 million for “Oscar Pistorius trial”. This though the Marikana strikes kicked off the year of greatest protest in South Africa since Apartheid. This though two years on no policeman has faced jail for the use of live ammunition on fleeing crowds. This though the strike marked South Africa’s “first post-apartheid massacre”.

It appears that the mass murder of black workers in South Africa and the most important event in the country’s recent history deserves a week of coverage – as much condemnation of the strikers as sensible analysis – while the violent “indiscretion” of one of the country’s ex-‘darlings’ several months. Sadly this balance will not be redressed through the major media channels. There are, however, other ways; next Wednesday the documentary film ‘Miners Shot Down’ which follows the events at Marikana is showing at the Hackney Picturehouse. It would be an irenic fantasy to expect this to bring about greater parity, but the more people who are aware, the more can be made aware. Book a ticket.