ABSTRACT
While the arrival of the rumour regarding Satanism into Todos Santos via Mam language radio broadcast is a stark part of the make-up of that particular lynching, the relationship between vigilantism and broadcast media is an old one. D.W. Griffith’s 1915 film Birth of a Nation (alongside the media coverage of the death of Mary Phagan) is widely credited with the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan. In writings on vigilantism (Starn 1999; Pratten 2007), it is often noted that specific groups of vigilantes got the idea through seeing or hearing reports of others in the news. Yet the role played by the media in spreading the notion of, and specific blueprints for, vigilantism has gone almost entirely unexplored. This chapter addresses this by exploring the role played by the media in the imperfect mimesis of specific forms of violence. In the 21st century, the relationship between vigilantism and the media is becoming increasingly intertwined through the promulgation of new social medias. Exploring diverse groups spanning Anonymous, the “Real Life Superhero” movement, and cyber vigilantes such as Letzgo Hunting, this chapter unwraps the wider relationship between vigilantism and the media and explores the role of media in the spread of Guatemalan vigilantism.
