Schapelle Corby and related hysteria
Whether you consider Schapelle Corby to be guilty or inoocent you'd have to agree that her plight has generated a huge amount of interest and emotion. I think a lot of this is due to the fact that she's both a chick and quite a spunky one at that. It just reconfirms in my mind the enduring power of the anima.
Have a look at this snap. The photographer -- presumably a Fairfax employee -- has even gone out of the way to whop some vaseline on the lens (or whatever they do nowadays) to accentuate her beauty.
That's certainly an iconic and powerful image, that one. All in white; graceful, soulful pose; behind bars. That presses bloody big buttons deep in the human psyche, it does. No wonder so many people are so het up about what's happened.
The Bali Nine haven't stirred up nearly as much emotion. Of course, that's partly to do with their story being in its comparatively early stages. Also, their case involves the evil heroin rather than the more benign dope. But I'll bet there'll be one tenth the outrage about their fate, even if (as seems likely) all or some of them are shot in the end.
The reason: Eight of them are blokes. And the woman in question is not particularly feminine.
(BTW, this is neither an endorsement of the power of the anima, nor a gripe about it. It's just an observation of it in action.)
