LESLIE LABOWITZ + SUZANNE LACY
IN MOURNING
AND IN RAGE
City Hall, Los Angeles, CA., December 1977
FACT + FICTION = ENTERTAINMENT
The Hillside Strangler case galvanized an entire city, gluing citizens each night to their TV sets. It sold newspaper, locks, guns, and dogs; it became the subject matter of jokes and nightmares. In telling this story, the news media perpetuated the same images and attitudes that created the social climate for the crime itself.
MEDIA ANALYSIS
The intimidation and terrorizing of the female population can be analyzed along the same lines as entertainment and pornographic media. Portrayal of the murdered women was prohibited in local press. Photos of officers bending over the concealed body served the same purpose in a voyeuristic way. The verbal description, "nude, spread-eagled body of a woman was found strangled today on the side of a hill" was repeated constantly. International press like Paris Match revealed the woman's body in its sensationalized spread called "The Monster of Hollywood" which also featured a photo of our performance.
Performance
Los Angeles City Hall Steps
December 1977
“I am here for the 10 women raped and murdered in Los Angeles.” The chorus responded after every woman who came forward: “In Memory of Our Sisters, We Fight Back!”
PRESS CONFERENCE
