The film Dog Day Afternoon captured the impact that the media can have on society. In light of this film, I began to think of another famous film, based on the true-life rise and fall of the notorious club kids of New York in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Made into a book entitled Disco Bloodbath, a documentary called Party Monster: a Mockumentary, and film also entitled Party Monster, the real life case, and following films, are great example of the media “interfering” in the ideological normalcy of society, introducing counter-hegemonic actions. When drug dealer Angel Melendez was brutally murdered by heroin hopped up party promoter Michael Alig in 1996, the subsequent arrest was all due to media interest. Though Alig attempted to confess to the murder on multiple occasions, it was not until Village Voice reporter Michael Musto made gross (though true) accusations of the murder of Melendez that the police even began to take some hint of interests – though very little. While the family of Melendez urged police to take action, it was not until Alig confessed to the murder on national television during a filming of a day time talk show that the police made their arrest (this being after the body of Angel Melendez was found, and identified).
The aforementioned events, as well as the film, portray a depiction of the media interfering with societal woos. If it was not for the media, in the form of Michael Mutos’s piece in The Village Voice, and Alig’s confession on national television, who knows if the criminal would have ever been tried for his wrong doings.
Furthermore, just as Dog Day Afternoon made us lose our ideologies for authority and obedience to the law, Party Monster abolishes ideologies of contempt towards criminals, as Alig received notoriety for his actions, in the form of endorsements, and a constant stream of fan mail after the production of the books and films.
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