I figured
I’d speak a little bit about something I came across on the internet a couple
weeks ago. It is a book called Missing
411 by David Paulides, and it concerns strange and seemingly unexplainable
disappearances throughout wilderness areas in North America. According to the
author, he has tried to get information from the national park service about
these disappearances but has been met with stern resistance. He thinks that the
National Park Service is engaging in a cover-up, and that there is some sort of
foul play or secret that they are hiding from the American public. I read
excerpts from a couple stories, and they were frightening enough to give me the
chills.
Going
through this information, this class along with the associated ideas of
manipulation immediately came to mind. I personally spend all the time I can
outdoors, often in remote wilderness areas, and often alone, so I was
especially frightened. I vowed not to read the book, as I do not want to be
scared and worried while venturing out in the wild.
I realized
that there are several layers of manipulation here. The NPS is manipulating the
author by controlling the amount of information that he receives regarding
strange incidents. Paulides has apparently attempted to bypass this by using dogged
research methods and scrounging out all the information that he can get. In
turn, Paulides is manipulating his readers by choosing what information to
include in the book. Is being intentionally sensationalist to get better sales?
Finally, I am manipulating myself by choosing not to read the book. I tell myself
that mysterious incidents of this sort are just as likely to happen in urban
areas. I tell myself that the percentage of people who venture into the
wilderness and do not return due to strange circumstances is miniscule. Both of
these are probably true. However, it is just another example of the complex web
of manipulation with which we engage in our everyday lives.
Here are a
couple links to information regarding the book if anyone is interested. As I
said before, I find them very fascinating but also terrifying:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAh02EB7SNI
No comments:
Post a Comment