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Frances Larson: Why public beheadings get millions of views
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1,187,917 views
In a disturbing — but fascinating — walk through history, Frances Larson examines humanity's strange relationship with public executions … and specifically beheadings. As she shows us, they have always drawn a crowd, first in the public square and now on YouTube. What makes them horrific and compelling in equal measure?
Frances Larson - Anthropologist
Frances Larson explores the dark and varied obsessions that our culture has had with decapitated heads and skulls throughout history. Full bio
Frances Larson explores the dark and varied obsessions that our culture has had with decapitated heads and skulls throughout history. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
For the last year,
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everyone's been watching the same show,
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and I'm not talking
about "Game of Thrones,"
about "Game of Thrones,"
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but a horrifying, real-life drama
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that's proved too fascinating to turn off.
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It's a show produced by murderers
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and shared around the world
via the Internet.
via the Internet.
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Their names have become familiar:
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James Foley, Steven Sotloff,
David Haines, Alan Henning, Peter Kassig,
David Haines, Alan Henning, Peter Kassig,
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Haruna Yukawa, Kenji Goto Jogo.
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Their beheadings by the Islamic State
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were barbaric,
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but if we think they were archaic,
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from a remote, obscure age,
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then we're wrong.
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They were uniquely modern,
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because the murderers acted knowing well
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that millions of people
would tune in to watch.
would tune in to watch.
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The headlines called them
savages and barbarians,
savages and barbarians,
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because the image of one man
overpowering another,
overpowering another,
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killing him with a knife to the throat,
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conforms to our idea
of ancient, primitive practices,
of ancient, primitive practices,
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the polar opposite
of our urban, civilized ways.
of our urban, civilized ways.
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We don't do things like that.
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But that's the irony.
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We think a beheading
has nothing to do with us,
has nothing to do with us,
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even as we click on the screen to watch.
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But it is to do with us.
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The Islamic State beheadings
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are not ancient or remote.
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They're a global, 21st century event,
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a 21st century event that takes place
in our living rooms, at our desks,
in our living rooms, at our desks,
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on our computer screens.
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They're entirely dependent
on the power of technology to connect us.
on the power of technology to connect us.
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And whether we like it or not,
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everyone who watches
is a part of the show.
is a part of the show.
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And lots of people watch.
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We don't know exactly how many.
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Obviously, it's difficult to calculate.
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But a poll taken in the UK,
for example, in August 2014,
for example, in August 2014,
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estimated that 1.2 million people
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had watched the beheading of James Foley
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in the few days after it was released.
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And that's just the first few days,
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and just Britain.
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A similar poll taken in the United States
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in November 2014
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found that nine percent of those surveyed
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had watched beheading videos,
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and a further 23 percent
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had watched the videos but had stopped
just before the death was shown.
just before the death was shown.
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Nine percent may be a small minority
of all the people who could watch,
of all the people who could watch,
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but it's still a very large crowd.
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And of course that crowd
is growing all the time,
is growing all the time,
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because every week, every month,
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more people will keep downloading
and keep watching.
and keep watching.
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If we go back 11 years,
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before sites like YouTube
and Facebook were born,
and Facebook were born,
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it was a similar story.
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When innocent civilians like Daniel Pearl,
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Nick Berg, Paul Johnson, were beheaded,
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those videos were shown
during the Iraq War.
during the Iraq War.
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Nick Berg's beheading
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quickly became one of the most
searched for items on the Internet.
searched for items on the Internet.
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Within a day, it was the top search term
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across search engines
like Google, Lycos, Yahoo.
like Google, Lycos, Yahoo.
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In the week after Nick Berg's beheading,
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these were the top 10 search terms
in the United States.
in the United States.
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The Berg beheading video remained
the most popular search term for a week,
the most popular search term for a week,
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and it was the second most popular
search term for the whole month of May,
search term for the whole month of May,
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runner-up only to "American Idol."
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The al-Qaeda-linked website
that first showed Nick Berg's beheading
that first showed Nick Berg's beheading
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had to close down within a couple of days
due to overwhelming traffic to the site.
due to overwhelming traffic to the site.
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One Dutch website owner said
that his daily viewing figures
that his daily viewing figures
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rose from 300,000 to 750,000
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every time a beheading in Iraq was shown.
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He told reporters 18 months later
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that it had been downloaded
many millions of times,
many millions of times,
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and that's just one website.
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A similar pattern was seen again and again
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when videos of beheadings
were released during the Iraq War.
were released during the Iraq War.
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Social media sites have made these images
more accessible than ever before,
more accessible than ever before,
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but if we take
another step back in history,
another step back in history,
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we'll see that it was the camera
that first created a new kind of crowd
that first created a new kind of crowd
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in our history of beheadings
as public spectacle.
as public spectacle.
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As soon as the camera
appeared on the scene,
appeared on the scene,
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a full lifetime ago on June 17, 1939,
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it had an immediate
and unequivocal effect.
and unequivocal effect.
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That day, the first film of a public
beheading was created in France.
beheading was created in France.
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It was the execution, the guillotining,
of a German serial killer, Eugen Weidmann,
of a German serial killer, Eugen Weidmann,
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outside the prison
Saint-Pierre in Versailles.
Saint-Pierre in Versailles.
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Weidmann was due to be executed
at the crack of dawn,
at the crack of dawn,
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as was customary at the time,
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but his executioner was new to the job,
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and he'd underestimated
how long it would take him to prepare.
how long it would take him to prepare.
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So Weidmann was executed
at 4:30 in the morning,
at 4:30 in the morning,
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by which time on a June morning,
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there was enough light
to take photographs,
to take photographs,
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and a spectator in the crowd
filmed the event,
filmed the event,
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unbeknownst to the authorities.
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Several still photographs
were taken as well,
were taken as well,
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and you can still watch
the film online today
the film online today
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and look at the photographs.
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The crowd on the day
of Weidmann's execution
of Weidmann's execution
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was called "unruly"
and "disgusting" by the press,
and "disgusting" by the press,
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but that was nothing compared
to the untold thousands of people
to the untold thousands of people
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who could now study the action
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over and over again,
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freeze-framed in every detail.
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The camera may have made these scenes
more accessible than ever before,
more accessible than ever before,
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but it's not just about the camera.
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If we take a bigger leap back in history,
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we'll see that for as long
as there have been
as there have been
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public judicial executions and beheadings,
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there have been the crowds to see them.
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In London, as late as
the early 19th century,
the early 19th century,
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there might be four or five thousand
people to see a standard hanging.
people to see a standard hanging.
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There could be 40,000 or 50,000
to see a famous criminal killed.
to see a famous criminal killed.
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And a beheading, which was
a rare event in England at the time,
a rare event in England at the time,
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attracted even more.
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In May 1820,
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five men known as
the Cato Street Conspirators
the Cato Street Conspirators
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were executed in London for plotting
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to assassinate members
of the British government.
of the British government.
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They were hung and then decapitated.
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It was a gruesome scene.
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Each man's head was hacked off in turn
and held up to the crowd.
and held up to the crowd.
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And 100,000 people,
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that's 10,000 more than can fit
into Wembley Stadium,
into Wembley Stadium,
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had turned out to watch.
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The streets were packed.
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People had rented out
windows and rooftops.
windows and rooftops.
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People had climbed onto carts
and wagons in the street.
and wagons in the street.
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People climbed lamp posts.
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People had been known to have died
in the crush on popular execution days.
in the crush on popular execution days.
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Evidence suggests
that throughout our history
that throughout our history
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of public beheadings
and public executions,
and public executions,
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the vast majority of the people
who come to see
who come to see
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are either enthusiastic
or, at best, unmoved.
or, at best, unmoved.
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Disgust has been comparatively rare,
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and even when people
are disgusted and are horrified,
are disgusted and are horrified,
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it doesn't always stop them
from coming out all the same to watch.
from coming out all the same to watch.
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Perhaps the most striking example
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of the human ability to watch
a beheading and remain unmoved
a beheading and remain unmoved
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and even be disappointed
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was the introduction in France
in 1792 of the guillotine,
in 1792 of the guillotine,
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that famous decapitation machine.
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To us in the 21st century,
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the guillotine may seem
like a monstrous contraption,
like a monstrous contraption,
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but to the first crowds who saw it,
it was actually a disappointment.
it was actually a disappointment.
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They were used to seeing long, drawn-out,
torturous executions on the scaffold,
torturous executions on the scaffold,
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where people were mutilated
and burned and pulled apart slowly.
and burned and pulled apart slowly.
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To them, watching
the guillotine in action,
the guillotine in action,
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it was so quick, there was nothing to see.
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The blade fell, the head fell
into a basket, out of sight immediately,
into a basket, out of sight immediately,
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and they called out,
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"Give me back my gallows,
give me back my wooden gallows."
give me back my wooden gallows."
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The end of torturous public
judicial executions in Europe and America
judicial executions in Europe and America
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was partly to do with being
more humane towards the criminal,
more humane towards the criminal,
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but it was also partly because the crowd
obstinately refused to behave
obstinately refused to behave
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in the way that they should.
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All too often, execution day
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was more like a carnival
than a solemn ceremony.
than a solemn ceremony.
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Today, a public judicial execution
in Europe or America is unthinkable,
in Europe or America is unthinkable,
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but there are other scenarios
that should make us cautious
that should make us cautious
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about thinking
that things are different now
that things are different now
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and we don't behave like that anymore.
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Take, for example,
the incidents of suicide baiting.
the incidents of suicide baiting.
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This is when a crowd gathers
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to watch a person who has climbed
to the top of a public building
to the top of a public building
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in order to kill themselves,
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and people in the crowd shout and jeer,
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"Get on with it! Go on and jump!"
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This is a well-recognized phenomenon.
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One paper in 1981 found that in 10
out of 21 threatened suicide attempts,
out of 21 threatened suicide attempts,
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there was incidents of suicide baiting
and jeering from a crowd.
and jeering from a crowd.
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And there have been incidents
reported in the press this year.
reported in the press this year.
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This was a very widely reported incident
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in Telford and Shropshire
in March this year.
in March this year.
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And when it happens today,
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people take photographs
and they take videos on their phones
and they take videos on their phones
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and they post those videos online.
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When it comes to brutal murderers
who post their beheading videos,
who post their beheading videos,
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the Internet has created
a new kind of crowd.
a new kind of crowd.
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Today, the action takes place
in a distant time and place,
in a distant time and place,
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which gives the viewer a sense
of detachment from what's happening,
of detachment from what's happening,
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a sense of separation.
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It's nothing to do with me.
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It's already happened.
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We are also offered
an unprecedented sense of intimacy.
an unprecedented sense of intimacy.
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Today, we are all offered front row seats.
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We can all watch in private,
in our own time and space,
in our own time and space,
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and no one need ever know
that we've clicked on the screen to watch.
that we've clicked on the screen to watch.
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This sense of separation --
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from other people,
from the event itself --
from the event itself --
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seems to be key to understanding
our ability to watch,
our ability to watch,
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and there are several ways
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in which the Internet
creates a sense of detachment
creates a sense of detachment
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that seems to erode
individual moral responsibility.
individual moral responsibility.
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Our activities online
are often contrasted with real life,
are often contrasted with real life,
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as though the things we do online
are somehow less real.
are somehow less real.
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We feel less accountable for our actions
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when we interact online.
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There's a sense of anonymity,
a sense of invisibility,
a sense of invisibility,
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so we feel less accountable
for our behavior.
for our behavior.
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The Internet also makes it far easier
to stumble upon things inadvertently,
to stumble upon things inadvertently,
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things that we would usually avoid
in everyday life.
in everyday life.
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Today, a video can start playing
before you even know what you're watching.
before you even know what you're watching.
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Or you may be tempted to look at material
that you wouldn't look at in everyday life
that you wouldn't look at in everyday life
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or you wouldn't look at if you
were with other people at the time.
were with other people at the time.
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And when the action is pre-recorded
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and takes place
in a distant time and space,
in a distant time and space,
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watching seems like a passive activity.
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There's nothing I can do about it now.
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It's already happened.
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All these things make it easier
as an Internet user
as an Internet user
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for us to give in to our sense
of curiosity about death,
of curiosity about death,
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to push our personal boundaries,
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to test our sense of shock,
to explore our sense of shock.
to explore our sense of shock.
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But we're not passive when we watch.
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On the contrary, we're fulfilling
the murderer's desire to be seen.
the murderer's desire to be seen.
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When the victim of a decapitation
is bound and defenseless,
is bound and defenseless,
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he or she essentially becomes
a pawn in their killer's show.
a pawn in their killer's show.
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Unlike a trophy head
that's taken in battle,
that's taken in battle,
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that represents the luck and skill
it takes to win a fight,
it takes to win a fight,
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when a beheading is staged,
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when it's essentially a piece of theater,
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the power comes from the reception
the killer receives as he performs.
the killer receives as he performs.
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In other words, watching
is very much part of the event.
is very much part of the event.
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The event no longer takes place
in a single location
in a single location
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at a certain point in time as it used to
and as it may still appear to.
and as it may still appear to.
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Now the event is stretched out
in time and place,
in time and place,
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and everyone who watches plays their part.
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We should stop watching,
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but we know we won't.
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History tells us we won't,
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and the killers know it too.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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Bruno Giussani: Thank you.
Let me get this back. Thank you.
Let me get this back. Thank you.
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Let's move here. While they install
for the next performance,
for the next performance,
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I want to ask you the question
that probably many here have,
that probably many here have,
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which is how did you
get interested in this topic?
get interested in this topic?
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Frances Larson: I used to work at a museum
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called the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford,
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which was famous for its display
of shrunken heads from South America.
of shrunken heads from South America.
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People used to say, "Oh, the shrunken head
museum, the shrunken head museum!"
museum, the shrunken head museum!"
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And at the time,
I was working on the history
I was working on the history
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of scientific collections of skulls.
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I was working on the cranial collections,
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and it just struck me as ironic
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that here were people coming to see
this gory, primitive, savage culture
this gory, primitive, savage culture
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that they were almost
fantasizing about and creating
fantasizing about and creating
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without really understanding
what they were seeing,
what they were seeing,
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and all the while these vast --
I mean hundreds of thousands
I mean hundreds of thousands
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of skulls in our museums,
all across Europe and the States --
all across Europe and the States --
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were kind of upholding this Enlightenment
pursuit of scientific rationality.
pursuit of scientific rationality.
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So I wanted to kind of twist it round
and say, "Let's look at us."
and say, "Let's look at us."
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We're looking through the glass case
at these shrunken heads.
at these shrunken heads.
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Let's look at our own history and our own
cultural fascination with these things.
cultural fascination with these things.
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BG: Thank you for sharing that.
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FL: Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Frances Larson - AnthropologistFrances Larson explores the dark and varied obsessions that our culture has had with decapitated heads and skulls throughout history.
Why you should listen
Oxford anthropologist Frances Larson wrote Severed: A History of Heads Lost and Heads Found. The book, which she describes as a survey of our “traditions of decapitation,” was published in 2014, just before beheadings sadly started populating the front pages of the news once more. She previously wrote an acclaimed biography of Sir Henry Wellcome.
More profile about the speakerFrances Larson | Speaker | TED.com