A Study In Media Manipulation.
There is some fairly well known film of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse.
The news reel, predictably, is all about the drama.
A man can be seen leaving the undulating bridge.
The news frames this as happening with only seconds to spare,
before the bridge crashes and he falls to his demise.
The wind on the water that day is accentuated by the intensity of the music.
A theme to fit the last moments of “Galloping Gertie”.
video: www.youtube.com
In truth the man leaving the bridge was a professor of engineering
who went to see what was the problem.
While this may not have been the safest course of action,
he was not in imminent danger. This was much less exciting.
video: www.youtube.com
There was only 1 fatality, a dog, left behind by the motorist,
when abandoning the lone car on the bridge.