When I was a kid, I loved the Godzilla movies. At one point, someone suggested to me that perhaps Godzilla was a metaphor for the United States, and particularly for the nuclear attacks during World War II, and it opened my eyes to a whole new way of thinking about media.

Now, years later, I’m a participant in a discussion list of the Action Coalition for Media Education (ACME). Recently, there has been a discussion about the “Crime Shoot” episode of America’s Next Model. (For very graphic, not work safe images, check here) As one blogger succinctly sums it up, You would be prettier if you were dead.

When I got beyond my immediate revulsion, I started thinking in terms of Godzilla and other monsters. What does this say about our country? The lyrics of Steppenwolf’s Monster come to mind:

America where are you now?
Don't you care about your sons and daughters?
Don't you know we need you now
We can't fight alone against the monster

The Japanese had Godzilla movies to help them process their feelings about Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Perhaps we have CSI, Law and Order, Crossing Jordan, 24 and other shows to help us process our feelings about 9/11 and the subsequent wars. As one person noted on the discussion list, there is a large market for women that can look pretty as victims of crimes in these shows.

I am not a psychologist, but somehow, it seems like there must be better ways of processing these feelings than to look at pictures of ‘pretty dead women’ on TV, even if the shows have a satisfying resolution of finding the killer at the end. Perhaps we need a new type of American top model. Perhaps instead of becoming numbed to images of death and destruction, we need to learn to own our fears, respond to them positively and become more empathetic.

(Cross posted at Greater Democracy)