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In today’s society, it has become clear that the general public has become obsessed with obtaining every bit of information that becomes available, despite whether or not it is associated with yourself. A good means of obtaining information is through the public media, which in itself has several branches such as celebrity media, sports media and so on. One can argue that media serves an extremely important role by informing the public on a large scale, but in contrast, it is also easily argued that media can act as bacteria, infecting viewers with un-needed information which could be considered dangerous in some cases.
Natural Born Killers is the most effective film at exposing the ironic relationship between media and it’s attentive viewers. Not only does media empower Mickey and Mallory Knox’s destructive behavior, but also the power the media has on the general public with its ability to influence the group’s emotions. It is obvious that the characters of Mickey and Mallory Knox have been created with a sense of evil, dark individuals that are borderline psychotic.
Throughout the movie, their desire to kill becomes more twisted, more cynical as it is obvious that murder has become a hobby to the deadly couple. However, as the film progresses, there is a lack of judicial presence and in fact, the opposite occurs when the show ‘American Maniacs’ begins reporting on the Knox couple and transforms them into nationally recognized superstars. Having seen themselves on television, and most importantly realizing they have begun to acquire a fan base only supports their conquest, terrorizing each town that they pass on their journey that seems to have no destination.
Media successfully transformed an obviously insane and deadly couple into celebrities among the public. In this film, not only did media influence the actions of Mickey and Mallory, but it also instilled a mindset within its viewers that what this couple was doing was completely acceptable. This positive outlook on their crimes creates support within the public, which fuels the Knoxs to inevitably fight for their freedom in the final scenes.
Without the effort of the media to glorify crimes of Mickey and Mallory Knox, the public may have been aware of the insane nature of these two individuals. Considering that this course intends to expose the influence created by media regarding the issues of sex and violence, there is no better film to begin discussion than Natural Born Killers. The relationship between media and its viewers are evident in this film, and in this case, leads to a negative result.