L’affaire Matthew Shepard aux États-Unis

mémoires plurielles et performativité dans la sphère publique

Abstract

The homophobic assassination of Matthew Shepard in 1998 spread a vast debate in the United States about LGBT civil rights. Because this hate crime echoes the practice of lynching, the national newspapers and television networks are keen to screen and investigate it, seeking to understand the roots of violence. Within the public sphere, several interpretations of this event are available; also they are antagonistic to each other, they also complete each other. Through the textual analysis of two television movies and a theater play, I will show how these diverse narratives of Shepards's death are tied to a political agenda. Finally, I will discuss the political potential of empathy, when this affect is made available by the mass media. In conclusion, I will discuss how the sociological use of the notion of "memory" can be combined to a scientific recognition of the situated experience of individuals.