*This post originally appeared in Patheos.com on Oct 29, 2014
Last week a professor of new media, Pete Rorabaugh, contacted me with some interesting questions and a proposal. He wanted to discuss metanarratives. I smiled and nodded, pretending I knew what he was getting at. Metanarrative? About the case? The show? Couldn’t he see I was waist-deep in itty bitty details? Smothered in cell phone tower signals and call lengths, choking on manipulated or lost memories?
But I listened with an open mind. And I realized that while I and others close to Adnan were mired in the minutiae of both the case and show, we were part of that case and show for the public. Our interactions online were being discussed, we were being judged and assessed, we were adding both entertainment and substantive value to the discourse. We were also characters in the larger story. Continue reading
