Death Pornography: Mass Media, Atrocities, & Burial Politics after Boston

Soon, the very same media now offering updates on every aspect of the Boston bombers’ lives will reopen another frequent discussion: the necessity of refusing to give publicity for their actions.

Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev has been buried in one of two unmarked graves in a Doswell, Virginia, cemetary. (Photo credit: AP/Luis Alvarez)

by Amanda Rogers

In the past few weeks, we have been inundated with information about the Boston bombers’ lives.

We know all about Dzhokhar’s Tweets, the five year-old shoplifting conviction of Tamerlan’s widow, Katherine Russel, and the “damn good facials” given at their mother’s home-run spa.

More recently, the politics of burial has emerged as the most pressing issue for media consumption. From National Public Radio, we learned that “cremation is not an option for Tsarnaev’s Muslim family.” Fox News detailed all the states refusing to bury the corpse, and speculated that Tsarnaev’s body might be sent back to Russia. Indicating how out of control the burial story had spun, the Colorado Muslim Society of Denver felt compelled to deny rumors its community would provide burial options for Tamerlan’s internment.