Luka Magnotta: Classic Case of The Looking-glass Self

Dont F**K with cats: The internet killer, is a new documentary that is catching the attention of many Netflix users. I will admit it took me a few weeks to gain the courage to click on the film, but it was worth it. The documentary follows the mind of Luka Magnotta during his last years of freedom. Arguable you could say that his last two years weren't as free as he might want. Members of a Facebook group followed Magnotta's journey and mind for years prior to his arrest, and Luka was aware of the publicity he was gaining on the social media platforms, the publicity was possibly factor in his actions.

Countless amounts of civilians turned into Facebook FBI detectives communicating through a private group. The documentary focuses on specifically two individuals in the group, John Green and Deanna Thompson who used the alias "Baudi Moovan". The documentary uses the new FBI agents as a well the tell the story of Luka Magnotta.

The Facebook group embarked on a man hunt that ended with results they were hoping for but, the group was still left feeling unsatisfied and wondering if they were the reason his narcissism grew to the hight it did and if the attention that gave allowed for the actions Luka Eventually took on another human being, Jun Lin.

Luka achieved fame by creating "movies" that displayed his twisted actions, people from all over watched the killing videos and reacted, just as Luka wanted. Even the individuals in the comment section leaving messages filled with hate gave Luka the attention he craved. He was displaying who he was for everyone to see.

Who are we? We can change our appearance, something Luka did a lot, we can also change our inner personality, only in minor attempts. These changes come from feedback, they come from the socialization and the people you interact with on a daily basis.

Who we are is actually a product of our socialization, the groups we hang around with and the individuals we chose to have conversations with, while all this can be simple life interactions it also creates who you are as a person. Even the interactions we have online help create our personalities. Our environment creates our character weather that be over social media or person to person communication. We don't know much about the interaction Luka had with individuals during his daily life. But we do know that Luka was aware of the conversation surrounding who the internet thought he was. Thousands of comments flooded the private Facebook group as well as the videos he posted. The comments on the post throughout labels like, monster, killer, maniac and more. If Meads ideas on the self and how our personality is built is correct than the comments and feedback Luka received from his videos could have prompted his decision to kill Jun Lin. Lets Discuss.

George Hubert Mead teaches the concept of the "looking-glass self" that is further developed by Charles Cooley. Which is the idea that who we are is created from the interactions we have with other individuals and society. The reaction of individuals surrounding you don't necessarily build characteristics like narcissism among other things (in Lukas case) but I believe it can fuel it, sometimes people are fueling others without even realizing. One major discussion in the documentary covers the idea that the Facebook page which helped put an end to Luka Magnotta also created reason for his actions.

Cooley explains the looking glass self as a way to manipulate the responses of others. Luka was aware of the responses from the individuals hunting him, he loved the fame, he loved the game. He crafting others option of him to create the image he desired, the image of being known whether it was for good or bad. Similar to Meads ideas Lukas actions and narcism was and is a never-ending cycle.

The "self", the "I", and the "me" (Another adaptation of Meads ideas by Cooley) dive a bit deeper into the ideas above by explaining what creates these phenomenons. The "self" is a social process, created by interaction through social occasions and even social media. Through development of our selves we gain the ability to process our own thoughts and actions and well as others actions. This comes after the understanding of the "Me" and the "I".

The "me" is the part of you that has been created by others, there opinion or just what you have adapted from others actions. (This could even be as simple as adapting a mannerism from someone like your significant other) The characteristics you adapt even your beliefs come from what you see, read, and are persuaded towards when talking to peers or reading different post on social media. The "I" is the part of you that is is authentically you. The part that allows you to make your own decisions on what is happening and who you are. Mead Argues that we barley have an "I".

What exactly does this mean for Luka Magnotta's case? We can conclude that the comments on his videos didn't start the killing of animals because he was posting videos before he started to gain fame. But the comments on the videos where he is killing cats could have contributed to the killing of Jun Lin. When it comes to a case as serious and extreme as Lukas is hard to think that the "I" part of him would be scarce. Unless of course the internet makes Serial killers? I don't think that is the case.

The case is something closer to Luka Magnotta crafting a new meaning to symbolic interaction through the use of society.

I think that the internet and the publicity around Luka and his actions gave attention to Lukas overall sense of self. Luka has a issue with narcism, he was constantly posting videos of himself that were just a collage of pictures from his vacations around the world, hidden as his attempt to say on the move and to stay our of sight. Aside from he videos of picture collages he was on multiple porn sights that allowed for him to get feedback that was praising his looks. Comments talked about how "sexy" and "hot" Luka is. The comments helped create the "me" part, created by society and then built onto hi "I". Aka the narcism.

Mead also discusses the 3 stage rule. The 3 stages are: The preparatory stage, the play stage and the game stage. For a quick summary, the preparatory stage is when you are a young child in the beginning development stages of your life, you act as a sponge, taking in loads of information.. good or bad I might add. The play stage is where you take on the roles of others, like a kid playing fire fighter. Finally, the game stage is where you are aware of rules and actions, its like the final development.

Picture from YouTube video by Brooke Miller

I think that Luka is stuck in the play stage, where he is talking on roles of others. The documentary was focused on the hidden messages in the movies Luka created, like the songs he used and what he used as a murder weapon.

In the killing of Jun Lin and onwards Luka took on an entire role from a movie he loved as a kid, Basic Instinct. The set up of Jun Lins murder was built to look just like the murder in the film. The murder weapon resembled the one in the film. Luka so was into the details that he painted a screwdriver to look like an ice pick Even when Luka was arrested and question he's acted the same as the murderer in the film, doing so by crossing his legs and asking for a cigaret. I have yet to figure out what this means for Luka and the rest of society, the potential that Luka could have been stuck in the play stage makes him vulnerable to society's reaction. It leaves me wonder if the hate he received and the attention he got actually did contribute to the murder of Jun Lin. Would that make all of us murders? 

If that is the case I am still contributing to the issue as I write this blog, all the views from the documentary are contributing. The people who commented on his post and created Facebook groups are helping contribute. Every single view he received on his videos every like and dislike, every whisper helped create an actual monster. Even you the reader are now contributing to this issue. So, what do we do now?