What’s pretty is not always perfect
This week, K&K ask you to think about the exact opposite of implicit bias. The ‘Halo Effect’ is still a bias, but a positive projection. This psychological concept is explained with some recent news as illustrations.
Ted Bundy IS NOT innocent. Seriously.
Netflix has a series, Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes and we’ve recently seen the trailer for the new movie on Bundy starring Zac Efron Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (this cumbersome title is a quote from one of the judges that he encountered through the years).
Bundy was attractive, Efron is obvs beautiful, it doesn’t mean that Bundy is innocent. Keep his many victims and countless secondary victims in mind.
A survivor states why it’s okay that he’s portrayed as hot and charming: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2019/01/29/ted-bundy-survivor-doesnt-have-problem-zac-efrons-portrayal/2714317002/?fbclid=IwAR1yD8cpuRMTqsT1R58fqeTdeSMDofFTBf1L2q2xCYRvzjQtLwEuDL_D0ng
Kim offers a free thesis or dissertation idea: Study of the “digital” halo effect–What does it look like when our best foot is constantly forward on social media? If there are missteps, are they taken as seriously online? Moreso? When a story breaks, people flock to a victim or offender’s deigital footprint to draw their own conclusions. This wasn’t possible in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, they relied on the media’s casting of that “character”.
Marketers take advantage of the halo effect to sell products and services. When a celebrity spokesperson endorses a particular item, our positive evaluations of that individual can spread to our perceptions of the product itself.
Kirsta talks about her fav fiction that highlights The Halo Effect: ‘Bear Town’ and it’s follow up ‘Us Against You’ by Fredrik Backman.
Is this paradigm shifting as we become more knowledgeable about gender bias and workplace discrimination? We should ask our guests later on this season, the co-founders of “Define the Line” an HR company aimed at bringing harassment training up to date instead of the boring Mad-men-era trainings most organizations still use today. Keep an eye–or ear–out for them later this season.
In ‘This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things’-Justin Fairfax, VA’s lt. Gov-Believe survivors, “Fuck that B” reported to Washington Post before inauguration, they sat on it. Dumpster fire of a comms disaster that is the gov, fairfax is next in line. Suddenly, they need “corroboration”. The still-alleged victim hired same attorney as Dr. Ford.
And a good thing: The “pinch” emoji included in the upcoming emoji update has the unsolicited dick pic community in panic mode. No one wants to see that knob. No one.