Amy Poehler dropped her funny-woman persona for a Thursday video published on her “Smart Girls Channel” YouTube profile. Sounding off on media coverage of the Boston bombing, the Parks and Recreation star wondered “if we could give our eyes a break.”
Poehler conceded that it’s important to stay informed in the event of an ongoing national tragedy like the Boston Marathon bombings, but posed an interesting dichotomy: How do we keep our finger on the pulse of a developing story without being subjected to the graphic images arbitrarily and liberally shared everywhere from social media to to cable news?
As we’re all well aware, the Boston Marathon bombing story has seen a huge amount of incredibly graphic and gory imagery , even on the front pages of major publications. These images may seem better suited to an R-rated film, but there’s an argument there that the public needs to see the consequences of terrorism and extreme violence.
Filmmaker Michael Moore even argues that we should see the shocking images of the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. Only by seeing images of 20 dead children lining the hallways of an elementary school will we be galvanized into action.
However, an opposing and equally persuasive argument exists: That seeing such images will only desensitize the public, making them ultimately complacent to graphic violence.
Poehler, for her part, seems to be in the latter camp. In her somber and serious video, she admits to being exhausted with the constant deluge of violent imagery in the media:
“Doesn’t it just feel like we’re just bombarded with stuff now? Everywhere we go there’s just one picture that’s worse than the one before.” she said. “I wonder if we could soften our hearts and minds and our eyes. I wonder if we could give our eyes a break.”
She suggested a thoughtful way to stay engaged:
“Maybe try to see things in a different way –- try to see things by reading about them or talking about them or listening. I kind of feel like my eyes need a break,” she admits. “It’s OK to not be looking at what everyone else is looking at all of the time.
“Be OK with letting some things rest in peace,” she concluded.
What do you think? Are we over-exposed to violent and graphic imagery? You can watch Amy Poehler’s video below:
[iframe src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/GCrGKy9-7Ss” width=”560? height=”315?]
[Image via: Jaguar PS / Shutterstock.com ]