Photo: Getty Images
I just love a good, creepy, thoughtful piece of investigative reporting into a mysterious murder, and this month's Out features a seriously amazing example.
The Case of the Cobra Killer, by Michael Joseph Gross, tracks the life and death of a notorious online porn producer who, police say, was killed by rival porn makers who wanted to steal his top star. Michael -- who happens to have just won the top two awards NLGJA offers for features in Out -- dug deep into all the sordid details, from how to pick which guys stripping on MySpace are the porn kings of tomorrow to the series of co-dependent relationships that fueled the mess from start to finish.
What I really love about the piece, though, is how Michael weaves in these more intense questions about the identities we make for ourselves online and how maybe, with just slightly different luck, we could end up in the same kind of insane situation:
At first glance, this may look like just a lurid saga on the margins of a far-flung subculture. But the tabloid headline of the tale may conceal a larger truth. Kocis, Lockhart, Cuadra, and Kerekes all met in a virtual world where they hoped to realize their most outrageous sexual fantasies, where screen names and avatars enable endless reconstruction of selves: a fluid, identity-less existence that many millions of people have chosen as their primary mode for seeking sex and love. In the midst of those searches, it is worth pausing to consider: Is the world of the Cobra Killer merely a darker reflection of our own?
I don't have any shiny prizes to offer you in exchange, but if you're feeling introspective and philosophical, Michael and I would both love to know what you think.
Have you ever done anything online that you know you wouldn't have been as likely to do out in the "real world"? How would you feel if somebody you only knew offline recognized you based on a profile photo? Is how you represent yourself online, whether it's on Manhunt or MySpace, actually an accurate reflection of what kind of person you are deep down?
I'll post the responses next week.
Previously > Goin' on a Manhunt > Nope, still gay!
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