What are the consequences with the type of media used in the Madeleine McCann Case?
It has been over a decade since Madeleine McCann disappeared, and there have been a lot of theories as to who has kidnapped her if she is alive or dead. The Netflix documentary, 'The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann', has had a bit of backlash and has brought out the inner detective in some public citizens. The Netflix documentary has claimed that Madeleine was kidnapped for sex-trafficking because of her race, age, socio-economic background and her nationality.
The parents of Madeleine believe that she was kidnapped through the open window, which had a 50-centimetre gap. One of the police who visited the site of the "abduction" has discredited this theory, explaining in a podcast titled "Red Flags", that "the window is only absolute maximum 50cm wide, in reality about 46cm wide, and it's already a metre off the ground ... I had an [inaudible] at that, and my shoulders are wider than that little window. So although you could climb in sideways, you certainly can't jump in if you are a normal-sized person... But of course, the shutters are the problem, because the shutters are going to be bashing down on your head. Either that or you've got to put a piece of wood in or something. And there's no suggestion of any of that... Then you've got to pick up a child without waking it up, without waking the other two children. I do not think it can be done, or let me put it another way, I do not see how anyone could do it... I frankly do not think it's possible." ("Red Flags", 2019)
One of the consequences with the type of media used in the Madeleine McCann case is that because her disappearance happened in the twenty-first century, and the development of media and technology, her case is available everywhere. Information (that is open to the public) is everywhere. Madeleine's case was posted everywhere. If her case were to have happened in the '80s, then there would be no way that the police would still be looking for. The media may have been the reason why the government spent around 11 million pounds. In September 2018, the UK Government released details on Operation Grange (the search for Madeleine McCann), revealing that the Government spent over 11 million pounds on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann ("Funding for Operation Grange", 2018). Many people speculate that the only reason that much money was spent on her case is because of her race, age, nationality and especially her socio-economic background.
Because this case is known internationally, many people have been critiquing Kate and Gerry McCann's actions. Some blame the parents for Madeleine's disappearance, as they did not have a babysitter, but others do not criticise their actions, as some have left their children alone in a hotel room before. On a forum from Lonely Planet (started in 2007), one user stated, "I'd have to say that honestly, no, I would never have done that, especially for children that young (3 years old, and 2-year-old Twins). I admit my first reaction when I read the story was surprised that the parents would do such a thing with children so young... Personally, my main concern would not be kidnapping but rather that the toddlers (which is what they are) might wake up and get into trouble, or be frightened when I wasn't there." Another user stated, "This is so sad, I do not want to be judgemental of these parents no matter what you would have done have some compassion for them." People have their own opinions on this case, there is no right or wrong answer, as we do not yet know the truth about what happened to Madeleine McCann that night.
It has been over a decade since Madeleine McCann disappeared, and there have been a lot of theories as to who has kidnapped her if she is alive or dead. The Netflix documentary, 'The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann', has had a bit of backlash and has brought out the inner detective in some public citizens. The Netflix documentary has claimed that Madeleine was kidnapped for sex-trafficking because of her race, age, socio-economic background and her nationality.
The parents of Madeleine believe that she was kidnapped through the open window, which had a 50-centimetre gap. One of the police who visited the site of the "abduction" has discredited this theory, explaining in a podcast titled "Red Flags", that "the window is only absolute maximum 50cm wide, in reality about 46cm wide, and it's already a metre off the ground ... I had an [inaudible] at that, and my shoulders are wider than that little window. So although you could climb in sideways, you certainly can't jump in if you are a normal-sized person... But of course, the shutters are the problem, because the shutters are going to be bashing down on your head. Either that or you've got to put a piece of wood in or something. And there's no suggestion of any of that... Then you've got to pick up a child without waking it up, without waking the other two children. I do not think it can be done, or let me put it another way, I do not see how anyone could do it... I frankly do not think it's possible." ("Red Flags", 2019)One of the consequences with the type of media used in the Madeleine McCann case is that because her disappearance happened in the twenty-first century, and the development of media and technology, her case is available everywhere. Information (that is open to the public) is everywhere. Madeleine's case was posted everywhere. If her case were to have happened in the '80s, then there would be no way that the police would still be looking for. The media may have been the reason why the government spent around 11 million pounds. In September 2018, the UK Government released details on Operation Grange (the search for Madeleine McCann), revealing that the Government spent over 11 million pounds on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann ("Funding for Operation Grange", 2018). Many people speculate that the only reason that much money was spent on her case is because of her race, age, nationality and especially her socio-economic background.
Because this case is known internationally, many people have been critiquing Kate and Gerry McCann's actions. Some blame the parents for Madeleine's disappearance, as they did not have a babysitter, but others do not criticise their actions, as some have left their children alone in a hotel room before. On a forum from Lonely Planet (started in 2007), one user stated, "I'd have to say that honestly, no, I would never have done that, especially for children that young (3 years old, and 2-year-old Twins). I admit my first reaction when I read the story was surprised that the parents would do such a thing with children so young... Personally, my main concern would not be kidnapping but rather that the toddlers (which is what they are) might wake up and get into trouble, or be frightened when I wasn't there." Another user stated, "This is so sad, I do not want to be judgemental of these parents no matter what you would have done have some compassion for them." People have their own opinions on this case, there is no right or wrong answer, as we do not yet know the truth about what happened to Madeleine McCann that night.
The next topic that will be discussed in the next blog post is how useful and relevant the moral panic thesis. It will also be the last blog post about the moral panic of Madeleine McCann.
Comments
Post a Comment