Today's post about Serial

mrsconn23

Because it's a daily thing around here.  

http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2014/12/11/369639060/a-prediction-for-how-serial-is-going-to-end?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=2037

mrsconn23

Oh Best Buy...

http://time.com/3631058/best-buy-insensitive-joke-serial/

Heffalump

I actually didn't have a problem with Best Buy's tweet.  I thought it was funny. 

mrsconn23

It's totally low on the outrage-o-meter.  I think it's funny too.  

VarunaTT

Honestly, I haven't listened because I'm uncomfortable with the burrowing into a real person's life and sensationalism.  So, any outrage over Best Buy basically behaving the exact same way everything else surrounding the podcast seems a bit disingenous.

ETA:  I don't care that people listen to it or that's it's popular.  It's just something I'm not comfortable with.

Heffalump

But V, to quote from the article mrs.conn linked,

"The way Sarah Koenig tells it, Serial is a story about our system of justice working pretty much as it should, and failing miserably at providing anything that looks like justice. I think in the last episode, she's going to point out that Adnan Syed was convicted in a few hours — beyond a reasonable doubt — for the murder of Hae-Min Lee. I think she's going to say that if the concept of "beyond a reasonable doubt" meant anything, this podcast wouldn't exist, there wouldn't be a subreddit devoted to analyzing every shred of available evidence, and Adnan Syed wouldn't be in jail right now.

"I think it's a real conclusion, and I think it's very hard to argue against."

So, given that conclusion--whether or not the final episode goes on to state it that explicitly--shouldn't people be listening and realizing that maybe the criminal justice system isn't all it's cracked up to be?  Because you're right, it is a real person's life:  a person who is most likely going to spend the rest of his life in prison, for a crime that millions of people now agree the state didn't prove he committed.

I think the fact that there are real people involved makes it critically important to make sure that justice was served.  If someone doesn't like the way The Sopranos or Breaking Bad ended, whatever.  But in this case, if the wrong guy is in jail, then he's lost his freedom, his family has been torn apart, Hae Min Lee's killer was never brought to justice, and somewhere out there, a murderer is walking free.  So I think if anything deserves attention, it's that question of justice.  

VarunaTT

I think you can examine the justice system and it's flaws in all sorts of ways; there are literally dozens if not hundreds of papers, articles, twitter accounts, blogs, etc. on the justice system and it's problems.  The Innocence Project and Human Rights Watch have pages dedicated to it.  This is not new, original, or hidden information.  People have jobs that are dedicated to this field.

If she were just doing a podcast on "Justice System: Modern Day Issues of Abuse and Misuse of Evidence", it wouldn't get as many hits.  It's the drama that is getting people interested.  And that's what makes me uncomfortable. 

VarunaTT

I'll also add that if Serial is what it takes to get the majority of people woken up the fact that our justice system is terrible, I'll take it.  Your inciting event doesn't have to be the "correct" one.  It just needs to happen.