A few blocks from me there is a building that until recently was home to Fuel Sports Eats & Beats, where Mary K Letourneau and Vili Fualaau held court in a "Hot for Teachers" night in 2009. Their bar tour was all the rage at the time. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna30877229.
I didn't go; it felt yuck to me, how they were exploiting their infamy. But they were free to to do that and probably could have used the money I assume.
I loved your essay. It touches on so many issues that any artist or collector of images or stories must face. When is my publication of this particular image, or story, exploitative? Do I have an ethical responsibility for the "real people" behind the story? Or does my or journalism art take on a life of its own apart from the original source of truth.
I mention the 2009 bar tour only because I think that once a subject of news, like Letourneau and Fualaau, begin to exploit their own infamy for personal gain, most bets are off. If they had returned to private life and asked to be left alone, and Haynes et al decided to intrude anyway, well, the ethical questions would be of a different magnitude.
Alice, I really like the way you think and 'read' this situation. Thank you so much for writing it. Will provide food for thought for a very long time. Will definitely be passing this on to others.
A few blocks from me there is a building that until recently was home to Fuel Sports Eats & Beats, where Mary K Letourneau and Vili Fualaau held court in a "Hot for Teachers" night in 2009. Their bar tour was all the rage at the time. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna30877229.
I didn't go; it felt yuck to me, how they were exploiting their infamy. But they were free to to do that and probably could have used the money I assume.
I loved your essay. It touches on so many issues that any artist or collector of images or stories must face. When is my publication of this particular image, or story, exploitative? Do I have an ethical responsibility for the "real people" behind the story? Or does my or journalism art take on a life of its own apart from the original source of truth.
I mention the 2009 bar tour only because I think that once a subject of news, like Letourneau and Fualaau, begin to exploit their own infamy for personal gain, most bets are off. If they had returned to private life and asked to be left alone, and Haynes et al decided to intrude anyway, well, the ethical questions would be of a different magnitude.
Alice, I really like the way you think and 'read' this situation. Thank you so much for writing it. Will provide food for thought for a very long time. Will definitely be passing this on to others.
Such an intelligent read.