I realised that in order to give myself the best possible chance of answering my chosen question (‘What Are The Effects Of On-Screen Violence Upon Audiences? In Relation Reference To The 2007 Virginia Tech Massacre'). I should first research into the background of the perpetrator of the crime, I was not surprised to discover a long running history of mental illness beginning from an early age. A Korean immigrant, Seung-Hui Cho was bullied from an early age because of his speech. Even as a very young child, Cho was thought by family to be ‘mute or possibly mentally ill’ he was described by them as ‘Cold’ and from the age of eight considered a cause of family concern. On December 13th, 2005, Cho was found ‘mentally ill and in need of hospitalisation’ (by New River Valley Community Services Board) he was suspected of being ‘an imminent danger to himself and others’. Although Cho ‘presented an imminent danger to himself and others as a result of mental illness’, he was instead treated as an out patient and for this reason (and due to his minimal amount of psychiatric treatment) the true diagnosis for his actually mental health status to this day remains unknown. It should also be noted that while studying at Virginia Tech, some of Cho’s work had strong references to violence which caused concern among teachers and classmates.
Thursday, 27 November 2008
Seung-Hui Cho
I realised that in order to give myself the best possible chance of answering my chosen question (‘What Are The Effects Of On-Screen Violence Upon Audiences? In Relation Reference To The 2007 Virginia Tech Massacre'). I should first research into the background of the perpetrator of the crime, I was not surprised to discover a long running history of mental illness beginning from an early age. A Korean immigrant, Seung-Hui Cho was bullied from an early age because of his speech. Even as a very young child, Cho was thought by family to be ‘mute or possibly mentally ill’ he was described by them as ‘Cold’ and from the age of eight considered a cause of family concern. On December 13th, 2005, Cho was found ‘mentally ill and in need of hospitalisation’ (by New River Valley Community Services Board) he was suspected of being ‘an imminent danger to himself and others’. Although Cho ‘presented an imminent danger to himself and others as a result of mental illness’, he was instead treated as an out patient and for this reason (and due to his minimal amount of psychiatric treatment) the true diagnosis for his actually mental health status to this day remains unknown. It should also be noted that while studying at Virginia Tech, some of Cho’s work had strong references to violence which caused concern among teachers and classmates.
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So why is it all we heard in the media was links to Old Boy then? Same old scapegoats being used for high school massacres? Is it easier to blame film, music and video games than to look at the mulitple facets that make up someones' mental state?
I heard nothing of his previous mental health problems in the news but saw plenty of full screen images of Cho in his combat gear. Surely we give him what he wants when we publish the drivel (the 'media pack') he sent in...
Have you found much about the bullying he went through?
What about his access to weapons?
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