Multimedia Piece Critique: ‘They Are Slaughtering Us Like Animals’ by Daniel Berehulak

In this 2016 New York Times multimedia piece by Daniel Berehulak, the murders of 57 victims as a result of President Rodrigo Duterte’s violent anti-drug campaign in the Philippines are documented by a series of photographs, videos, and interspersed text. While I didn’t particularly enjoy the images displayed, I do think it was a good use of multimedia because of its raw depiction of the realities being faced by the victims and families. President Duterte and the police’s aggressive approach to drugs and crime among the country’s poorest people led to about 2000 deaths at the time of the article’s publication. The photos show the lifeless bodies of men and women, either drug users, dealers, or just those accused of one of those things, left bloody on the streets of overcrowded cities. I think the most saddening of the pictures was that of families mourning over their loved ones and bodies being stacked on top of each other at a funeral parlor because other families of those victims could not afford a proper burial. I don’t believe this piece was meant to be liked or enjoyed, but to be exposed. If this same story was told in the form of a purely textual article, I don’t think it would have carried the same emotional depth that this more visual form of storytelling does. One drawback that this multimedia form may bring is that it may be too graphic for some to view the entire piece, but to remove the gore and violence would also take away from its purpose. In addition, I think that the piece does not give its reader a full understanding of why this is happening other than that the President is pushing these violent tactics against crime. What before that point led to the type of public policy that allows for such brutality? How does the rest of the country feel about these killings? Because the article focuses mostly on the violence, it neglects to inform the reader (especially those who are just hearing about this) of its background. The only thing I might improve is to provide additional context in the beginning of the piece so that readers have a better grasp of the situation. Even so, the article was overall effective in its purpose and in gaining my attention.