Reflection on Podcast "Serial" About Murder of Hae Min Lee

In 1999 Hae Min Lee, a popular high school girl in her senior year, vanished after school one day. Six weeks after the incident, detectives arrest her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, for her murder. Adnan testifies and says that he's innocent. Although he cannot remember what he was doing on the day of her murder, a classmate at the time says she knows where Adnan was. The problem is that she is nowhere to be found.

I liked the podcast. I think that the narrator did a superb job keeping the story interesting and leaving the listener at the edge of their chair throughout the whole podcast. As well there was the use of different character's voices throughout the podcast which was very effective as it kept the story going rather than having only one person speak for the entire podcast. The narrator also did an excellent job at giving the audience with as much available information as possible which can allow the listener to make their own ideas or opinions on the case.

I think it is more effective to present investigative journalism in this format because it allows a variety of people to get involved and may even help with cases. The use of communication made the podcast seem very similar to a television show because the voices allowed the audience to relate more closely with the characters however, the podcast did have more narration than a movie or television program would. The narration aspect of the podcast was similar to that of a book, the podcast was very similar to an audiobook with the narrator reading the story to you. The main difference between a book and the podcast is that it was in the first person, and it was almost as though the narrator was speaking directly to the listener in some parts, which is uncommon in books. I thought the podcast was a very effective medium to share stories because it allows for a mixture of narration and communication as well as some more personal comments from the speaker.

If I were a member of the victim's family, I would be very offended because the podcast is going through a very sensitive past. The family would probably want to forget about the incident and assume that the killer of their daughter is in prison serving time. However, bringing attention to the case can bring support that could be valuable to help get Adnan out of jail if he is truly found to be innocent. I think that the attention brought to this case could help listeners consider present cases with more caution, which could help get innocent people out of prison.

I liked listening to the text, but I would prefer to read it. I find it interesting to hear the voices of the characters because you can better understand the emotions they are going through. I believe reading allows me to pay more attention to what is happening in the story and be able to observe the details of the plot and have a better grasp on the case. When I read the story as opposed to hearing it, I can easily go back and reread anything from the text if I forget or need clarification on anything.

I do not think that I would be able to recall any events on a given day very well. I could probably recall most of my memories from a couple days back, but years or even weeks later it would become very difficult, I would not trust my memories. I think that my viewpoint on memory would be similar for most other people, and in a time without social media, recalling information would become even more difficult. Memories are not dependable and are can easily be manipulated, the prosecution did not have strong support from the key witnesses. It is concerning that there was no proof that Adnan had committed the murder. The whole cases evidence was based on what others had said during the case. It is very difficult to come to a judgment about what happened the day of the murder especially when all the evidence is just one person's word against another.