The Internet and Mob Mentality

Recently, I've been saddened by some of the things I've seen online. Scratch that. For a long time I've been saddened by some of the things I've seen online.

There's a mob mentality that can come with things that reach popular culture status. As an example, let's talk about say... boybands. Back in the day, a million years ago when I was a kid, I loved Take That. They were HUGE. In a very Beatlemania way, teenage girls screamed and cried when they saw them, they put their posters up, they discussed which member they liked the best with their friends. When a member of that band got a girlfriend and it made the news, people just had to deal. Not saying there wasn't a degree of, "Hey, Robbie Williams is dating another pop star, we hate her now." It happened. But that was it. Because there was no Facebook or Twitter for people to spew their outrage into the world.

These days, One Direction (for example) haven't had the same level of privacy. One of them gets a girlfriend, and all of sudden that girl is getting messages of hate, and teenage girls are yelling their frustration into the Twittersphere because... they can. And when one person sees another person with the same thought, they retweet each other. And then someone else who agrees sees it. Another retweet. And then another, and another until people start thinking, "Well, if this many people agree with me, a) I must be right and b) it's okay for me to verbally attack a person I don't know just because I have a platform to do so."

Most recently, Liam Payne of 1D (allegedly) began dating Cheryl Cole. The abuse she received about this is mindblowing.

Now, let's swing this around to my new favourite subject: Making a Murderer. 

I have said before that it's important to remember that the people in the documentary are REAL people. This is not a fictional story. They are real the same way One Direction and Cheryl Cole are real. Yet somehow, just because they are in the public eye, suddenly they are fair game to be attacked by anyone with a social media account.

We all have our on theories and opinions, and it's absolutely okay to talk about them and discuss them. But what I'm finding more and more frustrating is the amount of certainty people are throwing their theories around with.

Let's look at some instances of things that came up since the documentary that relate to Steven Avery. Those who think he killed Teresa Halbach became obsessed with the evidence not presented in Making a Murderer. They said the fact Steven Avery used *67 when he called Halbach meant he was trying to hide his identity (how that would even work is beyond me. If she answered the phone, what was he going to say? If he wanted her at his house, he'd have to tell her where she was going, and since she'd been there before...). They said that the documentary hid the fact that Avery once opened the door to Halbach only wearing a towel so that must mean something horribly sinister. And then the infamous thing about "sweat DNA" which meant the documentary purposely tried to hide this thing that isn't even a thing.

If you look at any evidence, you can twist it any way you want to make someone LOOK guilty. "Steven Avery gave a false name to lure Halbach to his property."
"Steven Avery had leg irons and handcuffs in his room so he must have planned to do this all along."
"Someone said Avery planned to make a torture chamber so he could torture women."
These are just a few examples of things that could make him appear guilty if nobody bothers to question them properly.

What was Making a Murderer about? Wasn't part of it about the unfairness? About how the police leapt to conclusions the second Steven Avery's name was linked with Teresa Halbach, and the damage this has done to two men?

So... knowing how enraged people are about this, why are so many piecing together information they've found and saying, "THIS PERSON DID IT! I CAN PROVE IT!" Well, if you actually can prove it, great. But unless you have 100% solid evidence that puts that person in the frame, you don't have proof; you have an opinion.

I could give a list of names of people who could be suspects, but they can't all have done it. That means that 99% of that list, and maybe even 100%, would be innocent. People's reputations are being dented on maybes and what ifs.

The presumption of innocence is what Steven Avery never had. That's one of the reasons people were so upset by his story. So why are people treating others the same way Avery was treated?

And now you're thinking... what does Making a Murderer have to do with all that crap about Take That and One Direction? Well, it's this. When people club together to throw insults and attacks at a celebrity, it can lead to a massive snowball of hate which gathers more and more momentum until people notice, and until people start to believe. The same thing is happening with MaM. One person says, "I have found a piece of evidence that says (insert name) killed Teresa Halbach." And another person sees it and says, "You know... I thought that too." Retweet. "Oh my God, them too?! Wow, maybe there's something in this." Maybe a quick internet search to dig up some other "evidence" to back it up. Retweet. "Whoa... this is looking like it can't be a coincidence now." Retweet. And so on and so forth. Before you know it, someone who may be perfectly innocent is being pointed out as a murderer, and when they're harmlessly wandering down the street, people are shouting things at them accusing them. Damaging a reputation that shouldn't be damaged.

If people throw stones, others get hurt. Except accusing someone of murder is less of a stone and more of a gigantic rock. So before you pick up your next rock, ready to hurl it at some unsuspecting victim, you'd best be sure you're throwing it at the right person, and that you have more than hearsay to back it up.

Dear X Factor...

...Your 'don't vote Katie out ' rule is starting to become obvious. Dannii is clearly the only judge with ears and backbone. Katie Waissel is NOT interesting, entertaining and clearly not who the public want to see again based on the epic amount of jeering from the crowd and being in the bottom two three times. I admit Treyc probably wouldn't have won but she deserved the chance to stay longer.

Simon Cowell has admitted he enjoys controversy - but he began the X Factor as a TALENT show. Clearly he is happy to go against what he originally believed in for the sake of headlines.

Cheryl Cole totally copped out - though I understand why she didnt want to choose and it wouldnt have changed the result anyway. But even so - she was asked the question and should have answered it.

Louis Walsh called Katie "style over substance" and keeping her on was dumb.

Writing about Katie Waissel is interesting, granted. I don't want to be one of those internet bullies I keep hearing about - but when a single act who isn't ever going to be the next big thing is blatantly allowed to break the rules then continue through the competition after having fluffed her words and sang out of tune, people will be pissed off. Simples. As such, I will still be reporting on her antics - but doing so as impartially as I can manage.

Well, I'll try.

It's not that I dislike her as a person - because we dont even know who she is. But that is where the dislike comes in. That and her singing is average at best when other people - like Gamu - were denied a place in the live shows. Its not so much the feeling that she stole Gamu's place because that could have been blamed on any of the girls. Its simply that she is not good enough, IMO.

Hey hey, it's X Factor Day!

I know I said that I would post some non X Factor articles soon, but as it is the day of the first live show, it would be silly of me not to write about the X Factor today!

Cheryl Cole Admits Gamu Axe Was Purely Her Decision

Cheryl Cole "Ordered" To Axe Gamu?

It seems that Gamugate is set to keep on running! Sadly, it seems that the more publicity she gets, the less the X Factor people are willing to take her on. :(

With news that even the wild card show may not save Gamu Nhengu, it has ocurred to me that maybe the whole thing really is a big joke. If it were a REAL wild card show, the VIEWERS would get to be the ones to vote, not the judges. Let's face it, it is after all, the viewers who are making them rich by tuning in every week and voting for the contestants. Why shouldn't we get a say?

Anyway, here is today's news: Cheryl Cole "Ordered" to Drop Gamu from X Factor

The morning after the X Factor

Took me a while to go to sleep after last night's X Factor because I couldn't tear my eyes away from Twitter where I was watching peoples opinions for over an hour after the show ended.The only thing I grasped was major anger from people who think Cheryl Cole made huge mistakes.

With her and Danni being missing from most of the auditions and Boot Camp, it seems people are questioning their choices. I think their questions are fair - particularly in regards to Cheryl's choices. I actually thought Danni's choices were spot on. But for Cheryl, her place as the nation's sweetheart has seriously taken some damage.

There were three big problems with her choices. One, and the biggest mistake ever, was letting go of Gamu Nhengu. For Cole to say she didn't see star quality in her could be a direct result of her missing Boot Camp. Gamu is definintely a star and with any luck, the wild card show will save her. Doesn't take away from the fact that Cheryl messed up though.

Secondly, putting through Katie Waissel who forgot her lyrics in her first audition and cried and mumbled her audition at Cheryl's house was very wrong. There are many conspiracy theories circulating the internet about why she was allowed to go further - the main being that she has many contacts with Simon Cowell's record company which may have put her ahead of the game. The bad news for Katie is that the British press know how to spin a story and even if she makes the live shows - she may not get voted in past the first week unless she is incredible.

Third, Cher Lloyd. Personally, while I think she has got something, she may well struggle singing a normal song that is not hip hop. Her voice is strange. More worryingly than that though, are the reports about her delicate state of mind. The more I think about this decision the more ridiculous it seems. Choosing her based on one good audition - her first - seems nuts. At Boot Camp, she wasn't brilliant and at Cheryl's house, she fell to pieces. It has been said that she got a throat infection while she was there but it doesn't take away from how nervous she was. Putting her out there onto the live shows where millions of people will watch her singing live is a dangerous thing.

But the decisions have been made. Now all we can do is wait and see what happens next!

The X Factor is coming.....

Huh, that sounds kinda ominous! :p

Still more bad news on Cheryl Cole today. Although the X Factor will be returning to our screens soon, with Cheryl's condition getting worse, it's looking more and more certain that she won't make any of this series. Even if she starts to get better tomorrow, she has many weeks of recovery to get through. The show will not be the same without her! Latest news on her condition is that Cheryl Cole has fluid on her lungs. That is really not a good sign but I am still sending out constant good thoughts to her that she begins to get better soon.

On a slightly less depressing note - Leona Lewis has been in the news recently for slating reality television shows - you know - like the one she came from. It gives the impression that she is getting a bit big for her boots, and that once shy girl who appeared on the X Factor has suddenly forgotten that reality tv was the thing that made her famous. She made a claim recently that X Factor is no longer about music and more about theatrics and it got me thinking. X Factor was ALWAYS about theatrics. Judges fighting, tactical voting, angry outbursts - it's been there all along! For further proof, take a look at one of my newest articles: X Factor is a Pantomime

That's all for this week's entertainment news (unless anything major happens later!). Hope you all have a great weekend!

Cheryl Cole Update, plus Pretty Little Liars Recap!

I'm gutted to report the news that Cheryl Cole's malaria is not getting any better yet. I was hoping to wake up to hear that the worst was over, but unfortunately the nation's sweetheart is still in intensive care. :( Keep fighting Cheryl, we know you're tough enough to do it!

In other news, Pretty Little Liars was on yesterday! YAY! I am ITCHING to make Pretty Little Liars graphics but I have got a ton of articles to write before I can consider slacking off! Anyways - watched the episode this morning and it was pretty good. Not one of my favourites but every now and again these slower episodes need to happen to prepare us for the bigger events! To read a recap of Pretty Little Liars episode Reality Bites Me, click the link! :D