Thursday, March 10, 2016

Klosterman "Villains who are not Villains" Response

            In the chapter on Villains who are not Villains, human perception was put on blast. Klosterman brought up a hijacker named DB Cooper. He hijacked a plane with the threat of blowing up the entire plane along with the passengers if the airline would not meet his demands. The fact that we see him has some sort of urban legend or hero speaks volumes on human perception. We perceived this man as being cool and calm while he threatened the lives of civilians and airline workers. We perceive confidence as an ultra-shield which blocks a negative image. If Cooper was an everyday criminal then this story wouldn’t be told. Without the confidence and suaveness we would judge him based off his actions and not just his persona.

            Another thing that I think attributed to the praising of DB Cooper was because he got away scot-free. He disappeared without a trace completing his objective while boosting himself to the status of folk lore. People are attracted to mystery. The thought of a cool gentlemanlike mysterious man fulfilling the perfect hijacking is seen as a good thing. Even though the reality of the situation was much direr. People’s lives were in danger and Cooper threatened an entire plane to get money. Even though this is the case, we all perceive his actions as awe inspiring because of his disposition and the fact that he disappeared without a trace like a ghost. 

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