Before Kim Kardashian, Angelina Jolie, Taylor Swift, and other celebrities whose image frequently glosses over the cover of tabloids, there was Joyce McKinney. Who is Joyce McKinney? Well, that depends on who you ask. Filmmaker Errol Morris tells us the story of a woman whose tumultuous relationship with the media changed her life forever in his documentary titled Tabloid. When Joyce McKinney, a young, beautiful model (and your typical Southern belle) met a handsome Mormon named Kirk Anderson, their love for one another was instant. After he mysteriously disappeared during their engagement, Joyce hired private investigators to track him down and bring him back to her. When he was eventually discovered in England, working as a missionary, Joyce and her co-conspirator Keith May traveled across the Atlantic to meet him. Convinced that he had been
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Rather, it highlights a key issue regarding trust and credibility that exists in the public’s relationship with the media that still exists today. The film accounts for the story of two different Joyce McKinney’s: the one she herself retells, and the one the tabloids illustrate her as. While Joyce clenches tightly to her true identity, the media’s negative portrayal of her triumphs over her own account, and she emerges as a shameful figure in the public eye.
One could say that there are two social dramas that are described in Tabloid. The first occurs when Joyce McKinney kidnaps her lover, Kirk Anderson, and the second when the media exploits Joyce McKinney’s story for the purpose of sensationalism. The former, while most certainly dramatic, only affected the parties involved and was eventually resolved in a court of law. The latter, however, is far more complex and relates closer to Turner’s concept of a social drama that affects an entire society. This is the social drama that I have chosen to focus
Rather, it highlights a key issue regarding trust and credibility that exists in the public’s relationship with the media that still exists today. The film accounts for the story of two different Joyce McKinney’s: the one she herself retells, and the one the tabloids illustrate her as. While Joyce clenches tightly to her true identity, the media’s negative portrayal of her triumphs over her own account, and she emerges as a shameful figure in the public eye.
One could say that there are two social dramas that are described in Tabloid. The first occurs when Joyce McKinney kidnaps her lover, Kirk Anderson, and the second when the media exploits Joyce McKinney’s story for the purpose of sensationalism. The former, while most certainly dramatic, only affected the parties involved and was eventually resolved in a court of law. The latter, however, is far more complex and relates closer to Turner’s concept of a social drama that affects an entire society. This is the social drama that I have chosen to focus