Years ago, I made the prediction that in my lifetime a major broadcast network would air on live television the execution of a condemned criminal. I joked that to make it fit in with any other of today’s televised events there would be color commentary provided by a glamorous host, slick graphics and theme music, slow-motion replays, different camera angles edited together for drama, etc.
(Sidebar: I stumbled across a mockup of what the original moon landing would look like if broadcast today. Check it out!)
Anyway, I still feel that we will all gather around the video screen one day, with our family and friends, to watch the death penalty take a victim. Like in the days of yesteryear when public hangings were all the rage, we will soon watch such an event from the (… bravery of being out of range?) comfort of our own homes.
I was reminded of this dire prediction when I read this article in the NY Times. I may have been wrong only assuming the “we” is the American viewing public, but it will happen.
On a related note, for those who must (for I cannot link to it here) check out an early Thomas Edison’s film called “Electrocuting an Elephant.”
