1926: A Fabricated Eulogy Photograph

On August 23, 1926, the New York Evening Graphic published a photograph of Rudolph Valentino's corpse on its front page. It showed the 31-year-old silent film star lying in the 'Gold Room' of the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel. Other tabloid outlets rushed their photographers to Campbell's funeral home.

However, when photographers arrived, the Gold Room was empty. Valentino's body was still at the hospital. The photograph published by the Graphic was a composite image created using an early photocollage technique called 'cosmograph.'

The Frenzy Created by Death

Valentino's sudden death triggered an unprecedented public response.

• Several fans attempted suicide, and one British actress took her own life by ingesting poison
• Approximately 100,000 people flooded the streets on the day of the funeral
• One newspaper reported on the crowd outside Campbell's funeral home with the headline "Valentino Riot, Violent Rampage"

Valentino, Hollywood's sex symbol, became a public martyr through his death. The tabloids quickly seized upon this fact.

A News Outlet That Hired a Medium

The Graphic went further. It hired a medium to create photographs of "Valentino in Heaven," winning its competition against the New York Post and Daily Mail. Daily circulation surged to 100,000 copies.

According to New York Public Library archives, the Graphic's reporting methods ushered in "an era of fanatical fan clubs and media breathlessly covering every aspect of their lives." Valentino was likely the first celebrity whose death was used as an advertising tool.

The Partnership Between Death and Media

Through composite photographs and medium testimonies, tabloids democratized access to dead heroes. Within hours of death, for very little cost, the public could 'meet' a martyr.

This marked the beginning of the partnership between death and tabloids. Tabloids falsely reconstruct the inner lives of the deceased, simulating the experience of actual loss. Readers consume grief, and news outlets earn profits.

1997: Diana's Death

On August 31, 1997, Princess Diana died in a car accident in Paris. She was fleeing from six paparazzi on motorcycles. The driver was intoxicated.

The media released photographs of the accident scene after all bodies had been recovered. The images showed a black Mercedes-Benz with shattered windows and windshield, and an engine pushed into the front seats.

Edward White, author of "Dianaworld: An Obsession," called Diana the "princess of consumerism." In an interview with Forbes, he stated:

"During the week between her death in Paris and her funeral in London, her myth reached unprecedented levels. It was remarkable. She transcended herself in that moment."

A Pattern Repeated for 100 Years

From Valentino (1926) to Diana (1997): 71 years. The media's method of commodifying death has remained essentially unchanged.

1. Sudden death
2. Collective public grief
3. Media overreporting
4. Mythologization of the deceased
5. Consumer consumption of grief

The problem isn't media alone. The original essay poses this question: "Readers themselves must reflect. Why are tabloid death simulations so attractive? Why do we keep returning?"

Future Prospects [AI Analysis]

This pattern will likely repeat in the social media era. If anything, it will spread faster, more directly, and more extensively.

However, one change exists. In 1926, only the Graphic could create composite photographs, but now anyone can reproduce images of the dead using AI tools. The democratization of death leads to the democratization of consumption, and simultaneously to the democratization of manipulation.

The problem won't be solved through media criticism alone. Understanding the psychological mechanisms behind why each of us seeks to consume others' deaths must come first.