A 5’11, dark and mysterious New Yorker has emerged from the fog and into the headlines.
For what, you ask?
Murder (with a jawline, of course).
The name Luigi Mangione could (and can) be found in every BBC, ABC, and 123 news articles at the start of this year.
As of March 4th, the alleged felon now stands trial at both the state and federal level, on serious charges of the first-degree murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, last December in Manhattan. Also charged with an enhancement for terrorism, the privileged Ivy League graduate now faces a maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment.
There isn’t a fact—or myth—about Mangione’s case that can’t be found with a quick web search or voice note (I highly recommend going down the rabbit hole of ‘‘the eyebrow’ conspiracy—much more interesting than the Berenstain Mandela).
That is why my goal with this series, juxtaposingly titled Venerated Vigilante (for several imbricated allusions), isn’t to rehash the obvious.
Instead, what began as research for a single article (which I perpetually missed the deadline for), rapidly progressed into the mini-series it is destined to be. After finding myself entangled in countless perspectives— most memorably heated X debates against some eyebrow-raising sources (pun intended) — I found that the scope and magnitude of this case, and (even moreso) this phenomenon, simply could not be contained in one casual writeup.
V.V. is more than just a feature on Mangione; it is a multi-medium, interdisciplinary collection that takes a look on society today, under the scrutinizingly naked eye of the public. It explores the bigger questions Mangione’s case raises—topics like:
- The growing detachment among humans in the digital age
- The romanticization of criminals and hybristophilia
- Exploitation within the healthcare system
- Cults of personality and media frenzy
- Classism at the widening social divide
- …and much more.
The dystopian spectacle surrounding Mangione’s case provides an ideal stage to dissect some of the most pressing social battles in American society today– in real time.
If you like to laugh, cry, scream, spit (or some odd, unhinged combination of them all)—stay tuned.
From Lineup to Limelight: Glamourization of the Sick & Twisted (VV Episode 1)
