“The Media Made Them Superstars” was the tagline used for this film (Natural Born Killers, 1994). The media is very well known for exploiting violence through extensive coverage of stories. This point is displayed best in the end of the film, where there is a montage of actual media events that were very publicized, including the Tonya Harding scandal, the Menendez brothers’ trial, O.J. Simpson’s trial, and the Rodney King beating. These clips are very symbolic in that they represent the media’s over-reaction to these brutal crimes. The people involved immediately became national celebrities. This film is a similar representation of the media’s portrayal of violence. Mickey and Mallory were cold-blooded murderers. They spared mercy on no one. The only reason they left anyone alive was only for that person to share

This film also displays signs of teleconditioned behavior, which suggests that if a person is watching a lot of television, it will affect their behavior. In the televised episode of “American Maniacs,” which focused on Mickey and Mallory, there were several interviews of young people who were modeling themselves after the deadly duo. They wore similar clothing, hairstyles, and spoke of how “super cool” Mickey and Mallory were, comparing them to celebrities like Elvis and James Dean (Stone, Oliver). These people have apparently been closely following the media’s coverage of Mickey and Mallory and have reached the point where instead of being disgusted by what they are seeing, they have become fascinated. With the help of the media and through the affliction of teleconditioned behavior, Mickey and Mallory developed an international cult-like following. These people do not seem to understand the true nature of the situation. Innocent people were being ruthlessly murdered for absolutely no reason, yet to a section of the public eye, this was really seen as a rebellious and bold move. It was almost as though they felt Mickey and Mallory were taking a stand against something, but what? They were not murdering for politica

Some topics in this essay:
Mickey Mallory, Mallory Knox, Rodney King, Born Killers, Oliver Stone, mickey mallory, Stone Oliver, Tonya Harding, Media Superstars”, OJ Simpson’s, Natural Born, natural born killers, facial expressions, scene mickey, teleconditioned behavior, cold-blooded murderers, audience seeing, seeing mediated, natural born, audience seeing mediated, scene mickey mallory, born killers,