Collective Memory: Harambe
The death of Harambe the Gorilla was a big event in 2016 that most heard of and remember. A four year old boy had someone fallen into Harambe’s exhibit in the Cincinnati Zoo and Harambe was shot so they could save the child’s life.
It was very controversial, so many were outraged at the reaction to the situation and said that there was no need to shoot the gorilla. They thought tranquilizers could have been used. Many thought the gorilla was actually protecting the boy and he wasn’t in any danger. Reports from several zookeepers and experts say that Harambe, while not attacking the boy was using him as a display and simultaneously protecting his family. He might not have killed the boy but could’ve easily and would’ve caused severe harm and possible eventual death. They couldn’t use tranquilizers because he would’ve been immobilized in water, causing his death anyway and possibly leading to the boy’s death if the child had been caught underneath the immobilized gorilla.
Despite this reasoning, so many people were angry and disturbed by the event, which was caught on film. Some were genuinely grieving for the gorilla and many, especially high school age students, used the event as a form of humor. Memes, gifs, and jokes were made from the event. A personal example: In my senior year high school graduation video we held a funeral service for the gorilla. Some of the people in my class were smirking and giggles the whole time, while some were actually sad and trying to pay respect.
Harambe’s story was all over the media, whether in newspapers, news television, magazines, social media, articles, and more. It was a tragedy and a comedy and a heroic rescue story of a young boy, and the genre of story all depended on what group you took the view from. The video of the event itself also helped the circulation of the event, people would watch it and re-watch it. It’s still available and circulating in the media now and every once in a while it’ll circle through and pop up in my feed. Thus, a collective memory event that a wide selection of people share.
