Page 64 - Dark Shades of Istria
P. 64
Media Perspective on Dark Tourism and Memory
with some authors – claims that rewriting, revisiting old events, com-
memorative or anniversary journalism, and even investigations of seem-
ingly historical events and happenings are regular practices in the news-
making process. On the other hand, if the story tries to be neutral or sim-
plistic, it will not get people’s attention (Winter, 2006, p. 220). Conse-
quently, national stories use binary symbols (and images) (Winter, 2006,
pp. 220–221) to show a contrast and a distinction between good and bad.
This approach is prone to the simplified perception of the past in order to
promote concrete present-day views. The above-mentioned binarity ex-
hibits two major patterns in stories about wars – glorification (of heroes)
and victimisation – usually used to ‘avoid historical responsibilities and
muffle the discussion of the more problematic parts of national history’
(Lehti et al., 2008, pp. 411–412). Similarly, Wertsch (2002, p. 95) also iden-
tified these binary interpretations of the past marked by ‘heroes’ (self)
and ‘enemies’ (other side, aliens), which is not compatible with neutral-
ity; broadcasted events use aesthetic and dramatic methods intended to
guarantee the audience’s attention (Ebbrecht, 2007, p. 225). In addition,
Wertsch (2002, p. 95) also claims that stories cannot necessarily be objec-
tive, neutral and truthful. All these characteristics can be ascribed to the
‘prosthetic memory’ as well. According to Landsberg (2003, p. 149), this
is not authentic or natural, but rather derived from an engagement with
mediated representations, i.e. seeing a film, visiting a museum, watching
a television show, using a c d-ro m. Furthermore, the author (2003, p.
158) mentioned cyberspace/the Internet, where prosthetic memory is co-
created and can be also misused. However, prosthetic memory is not the
focus of this study.
The natural role of the media is to prevent people from being robbed
of their memories⁷ – past events are thus not so much subject to social or
historical amnesia (Lury, 2004, p. 184), unless it is intentional (damnatio
memoriae).⁸ In addition, the media determines which special occasions
for remembrance and elaborations deserve to be addressed/presented. It
is also important to consider which media have a chance of being socially
accepted when reporting on memory/remembrance: ‘which media from
the wide spectrum of available technologies are used for socially rele-
vant occasions for remembrance, which forms of elaborations of remem-
⁷ Especially collective memory.
⁸ It is difficult to preserve the memory of historical events that were not also promoted by
the media; media can even silence and erase past events (Širok, 2009, p. 31).
64
with some authors – claims that rewriting, revisiting old events, com-
memorative or anniversary journalism, and even investigations of seem-
ingly historical events and happenings are regular practices in the news-
making process. On the other hand, if the story tries to be neutral or sim-
plistic, it will not get people’s attention (Winter, 2006, p. 220). Conse-
quently, national stories use binary symbols (and images) (Winter, 2006,
pp. 220–221) to show a contrast and a distinction between good and bad.
This approach is prone to the simplified perception of the past in order to
promote concrete present-day views. The above-mentioned binarity ex-
hibits two major patterns in stories about wars – glorification (of heroes)
and victimisation – usually used to ‘avoid historical responsibilities and
muffle the discussion of the more problematic parts of national history’
(Lehti et al., 2008, pp. 411–412). Similarly, Wertsch (2002, p. 95) also iden-
tified these binary interpretations of the past marked by ‘heroes’ (self)
and ‘enemies’ (other side, aliens), which is not compatible with neutral-
ity; broadcasted events use aesthetic and dramatic methods intended to
guarantee the audience’s attention (Ebbrecht, 2007, p. 225). In addition,
Wertsch (2002, p. 95) also claims that stories cannot necessarily be objec-
tive, neutral and truthful. All these characteristics can be ascribed to the
‘prosthetic memory’ as well. According to Landsberg (2003, p. 149), this
is not authentic or natural, but rather derived from an engagement with
mediated representations, i.e. seeing a film, visiting a museum, watching
a television show, using a c d-ro m. Furthermore, the author (2003, p.
158) mentioned cyberspace/the Internet, where prosthetic memory is co-
created and can be also misused. However, prosthetic memory is not the
focus of this study.
The natural role of the media is to prevent people from being robbed
of their memories⁷ – past events are thus not so much subject to social or
historical amnesia (Lury, 2004, p. 184), unless it is intentional (damnatio
memoriae).⁸ In addition, the media determines which special occasions
for remembrance and elaborations deserve to be addressed/presented. It
is also important to consider which media have a chance of being socially
accepted when reporting on memory/remembrance: ‘which media from
the wide spectrum of available technologies are used for socially rele-
vant occasions for remembrance, which forms of elaborations of remem-
⁷ Especially collective memory.
⁸ It is difficult to preserve the memory of historical events that were not also promoted by
the media; media can even silence and erase past events (Širok, 2009, p. 31).
64
