# Has anyone watched the Daniel Pearl video yet? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 12, 2002, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-watched-the-daniel-pearl-video-yet/113643 "2002-06-12T14:04:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![scott\_evil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@scott\_evil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scott_evil)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-watched-the-daniel-pearl-video-yet/113643/21 "2002-06-12T18:33:12Z")
I can handle the stuff on [rotten.com](http://rotten.com), but this video was disturbing, because you actually _see_ the guy talking, then he’s decapitated. And I went to the site displayed in the video. You want snuff clips? There are a ton of them there. I won’t link to it, obviously. I didn’t watch any of them except for a couple of WTC jumpers. Some fuckwit not only thought it appropriate to put them on the web, but also to use thrash metal as background music. That is some serious fucked-up shit. :mad: - s.e. ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-watched-the-daniel-pearl-video-yet/113643/22 "2002-06-12T18:35:58Z")
**Diane** : Do you mean snuff film as in a murder committed for the sake of recording it, in contrast to the Zapruder film or the footage of the newscaster committing suicide on the air? The definition of snuff offered on [snopes](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/snuff.htm) seems to emphasize the “entertainment value” of snuff film for viewers. I don’t know. I’m not watching it. My brain’s full of enough stuff already. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-watched-the-daniel-pearl-video-yet/113643/23 "2002-06-12T18:41:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diane \* > **This may be a dumb question, but is this the first verified snuff film?** Nah. This is from [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com): > [@](#): > > **snuff film** - n. Slang > > A movie in a purported genre of explicit pornography culminating in the actual violent death of a participant in a sex act. ---
**Author:** ![Diane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2acd7d/32.png) [@Diane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diane)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-watched-the-daniel-pearl-video-yet/113643/24 "2002-06-12T18:56:46Z")
I realize that Pearl’s murder was for propaganda purposes instead of porn and therefore doesn’t fall completely under the snuff film definition, but it is still a filmed murder. Is this the first verified murder that has been recorded? See Cecil’s comments on the subject. [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5\_258.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_258.html) ---
**Author:** ![NutWrench](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nutwrench/32/20193_2.png) [@NutWrench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NutWrench)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-watched-the-daniel-pearl-video-yet/113643/25 "2002-06-12T19:42:56Z")
I’ve seen the video. Don’t ask me for the link, though. It’s a color video that runs for a little over 3 1/2 minutes. The video frame is completely black except for a small portion of the screen that has an oval iris hole in it, so the only thing we can see is a close-up of Pearls face, reading his long list of “crimes” from a prepared statement. He may or may not have a gun to his head: we can’t tell. The rest of the screen is overlaid with changing scenes of death and destruction, presumably caused by Israeli/US/CIA/Illuminati/whatever bombing. There are also Arabic subtitles at the bottom of the screen, translating Pearls words. It’s obvious to me that this an attempt to rationalize and justify Pearls upcoming execution. About 3 minutes into the video, the scene abruptly changes. Pearl is lying on his back and judging from the amount of blood and his total lack of movement, he appears to be already dead. An unknown man is removing Pearls head with a machete. The scene reverts back to the black background with the oval iris, the severed head is held up before the camera and a list of demands scrolls across the black portion of the screen in both English and Arabic. I should warn you that there is another video on the Internet that is being deliberately promoted as the Daniel Pearl video, but it has nothing whatsoever to do with him. It is a black and white video with sound, perhaps shot in Afghanistan, perhaps in Chechnya: there’s no lead-in or explanation. A living soldier (Russian, perhaps) is tied up on the ground and he is beheaded with a combat knife. It takes quite a long time for him to die and it is an appallingly brutal and bloody clip. This is not some a make-up job or Hollywood special effect and it will definitely give your nightmares. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-watched-the-daniel-pearl-video-yet/113643/26 "2002-06-12T19:56:32Z")
Mr. Pearl does not die on this tape. He is shown speaking, and then there is a quick screen segment showing his head being removed from his corpse. The way it’s filmed it leads you to believe he’s alive and being beheaded, but he’s clearly dead at that point. I don’t think you can tell the cause of death from the film. Again, I think that Ron was worth more alive then dead, and if they did decide to kill him, it would have been more in their style to show the actual execution. Beheading a corpse is gruesome, but not as gruesome and disturbing as watching someone actually be killed. From this I wonder if they meant to kill him. Maybe somebody got overzealous, or maybe he had internal injuries, or died of general maltreatment. But, I think if they had the intent to kill him they would have preferred to show it live. The fact that they make an attempt to make it look like he’s beheaded live seems to support this scenario. I think it’s possible that his death was inadvertent and they mangled the corpse for PR value. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-watched-the-daniel-pearl-video-yet/113643/27 "2002-06-12T20:22:27Z")
Till the day I die I’ll still be so fucking pissed about September 11 and the simple fact that Daniel was murdered that I really don’t need to view an additional video clip to cement my disgust at these people’s methods. Not having seen the clip, I can’t imagine there being anything “newsworthy” in watching a beheading. I can imagine how horrific it would be and remain unconvinced that there’d be anything in it’s viewing that would educate me more as to the reality of the situation in a useable sense. I’m so sorry for his family that this god damn thing got out. ---
**Author:** ![Diane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2acd7d/32.png) [@Diane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diane)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-watched-the-daniel-pearl-video-yet/113643/28 "2002-06-12T20:40:55Z")
> [@](#): > > he is beheaded with a combat knife. It takes quite a long time for him to die Is that possible? Wouldn’t he have died immediately? > [@](#): > > Mr. Pearl does not die on this tape. I couldn’t bring myself to get that far. > [@](#): > > Beheading a corpse is gruesome, but not as gruesome and disturbing as watching someone actually be killed. I agree with you. Either way though, it sounds too disturbing for me to want to see it. ---
**Author:** ![Slainte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Slainte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slainte)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-watched-the-daniel-pearl-video-yet/113643/29 "2002-06-12T21:10:08Z")
I saw the video and, as several others have stated, it appears he was dead _before_ the beheading. I agree with the theory that he probably died of an unrelated circumstance & this video was made so his captors could look “serious” about their cause. How tough would they seem if they kidnapped a guy & he died of dehydration… but if you make a propaganda video with the _appearance_ of taking a life, then you seem more credible when you make threats. And, IMHO, this video is as newsworthy as seeing the plane fly into the tower over and over again (the way every news channel in America played it for days on end) or seeing the Space Shuttle Challenger video. We all know what happened, we can read about it or hear about it from a reporter. Watching the video is a personal choice but it’s no more or less “newsworthy” than any other tragedy. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-watched-the-daniel-pearl-video-yet/113643/30 "2002-06-12T23:59:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Coldfire \* > \*\*This link does have a photo, but it’s not _too_ gruesome - if you haven’t seen the video yet. If you have seen it, then you immediately know what you’re looking at, unfortunately. > \*\* I haven’t seen the video, but from the context, I can be damn sure what I’m looking at. I’m very glad that I chose not to see this video. ---
**Author:** ![milroyj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@milroyj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milroyj)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-watched-the-daniel-pearl-video-yet/113643/31 "2002-06-13T03:36:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Milossarian \* > \*\*At least the video may keep people from going too far over into the “but we’ve got to try to _understaaaaaaaand_” crowd. Yes, we need to understand. We also have to remember the animalistic ruthlessness and lack of compassion of those who seek to do us harm. If you doubt or dispute my characterization of them, feel free to watch the video. \*\* Hello, paging **Efrem** ---
**Author:** ![Phlip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Phlip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlip)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-watched-the-daniel-pearl-video-yet/113643/32 "2002-06-13T05:45:45Z")
These motherfuckers are savages that should be executed one by one on camera for the all of America to tune in to see. It doesn’t matter if he was dead or alive the fact that they cut his head off and taped it is savage enough. I cant imagine what his family is going thru now that they have seen this tape. This would be a good tape to show American troops 10 minutes before they head into battle in Afaghanistan or Iraq or whatever other similiar country full of animals that we wipe out next. Send them into battle in a murderous rage and see who wins. They act like dogs and should be put down as such. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-watched-the-daniel-pearl-video-yet/113643/33 "2002-06-13T07:55:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Phlip \* > \*\*These motherfuckers are savages that should be executed one by one on camera for the all of America to tune in to see. It doesn’t matter if he was dead or alive the fact that they cut his head off and taped it is savage enough. I cant imagine what his family is going thru now that they have seen this tape. > > This would be a good tape to show American troops 10 minutes before they head into battle in Afaghanistan or Iraq or whatever other similiar country full of animals that we wipe out next. Send them into battle in a murderous rage and see who wins. > > They act like dogs and should be put down as such. \*\* Umm, can I get a :rolleyes: here? ---
**Author:** ![Space\_Vampire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Space\_Vampire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Space_Vampire)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-watched-the-daniel-pearl-video-yet/113643/34 "2002-06-13T08:00:42Z")
My reaction was pretty different from most people’s, I guess. I had to screw up my courage to watch it, but found that, gore-wise, it was really nothing. The overall effect is chilling, though. Personally, I recommend watching the video just to get a sense of what the perpetrators were after. I wouldn’t say it makes me sympathetic to their cause to see Pearl decapitated- not by a long shot- but it does help to hear extreme viewpoints sometimes. Obviously I don’t think what they did was a logical reaction, but I think it’s important to really know what grievances people have against your country if you’re going to have a real opinion about foreign policy. ---
**Author:** ![Phlip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Phlip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlip)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-watched-the-daniel-pearl-video-yet/113643/35 "2002-06-13T08:04:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Michael Ellis \* > \*\* > > Umm, can I get a :rolleyes: here? \*\* Ill bet if that was your father/husband/brother/son you wouldnt roll your eyes dipshit. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-watched-the-daniel-pearl-video-yet/113643/36 "2002-06-13T08:12:39Z")
Although, to be frank, I do think the goat-fucking assholes that murdered Pearl should be killed in some kind of horrible way. I hope they die horribly for making me wish they die horribly, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-watched-the-daniel-pearl-video-yet/113643/37 "2002-06-13T12:55:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Phlip \* > \*\* > > Ill bet if that was your father/husband/brother/son you wouldnt roll your eyes dipshit. \*\* I would. What you suggest is the **exact** same thinking that created this video. Dope. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-watched-the-daniel-pearl-video-yet/113643/38 "2002-06-13T12:56:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NutWrench \* > \*\*I should warn you that there is another video on the Internet that is being deliberately promoted as the Daniel Pearl video, but it has nothing whatsoever to do with him. It is a black and white video with sound, perhaps shot in Afghanistan, perhaps in Chechnya: there’s no lead-in or explanation. A living soldier (Russian, perhaps) is tied up on the ground and he is beheaded with a combat knife. It takes quite a long time for him to die and it is an appallingly brutal and bloody clip. This is not some a make-up job or Hollywood special effect and it will definitely give your nightmares. \*\* Ugh, someone at work showed me the clip of the Russian soldier. It is by far the worst thing I have ever seen in my life. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-watched-the-daniel-pearl-video-yet/113643/39 "2002-06-13T13:06:36Z")
I saw the Chechnya thing too. That was really, really bad. The sounds the soldier makes as he is killed is truly the most horrifying thing I have ever experienced. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-watched-the-daniel-pearl-video-yet/113643/40 "2002-06-13T13:10:28Z")
I saw the video, adn surprisingly, I wasn’t all that horrified. It’s gruesome, yes, but I’ve seen worse in real life. What I thought was, “Are these people so stupid as to think this will scare Americans?” All it will do is solidify our determination to hunt them down and exterminate them. And, oddly, I feel no bloodlust, no hot desire to kill in revenge. Oh, I think the killers of Daniel Pearl should die, but I feel no hot anger, but more of a dispassionate coldness. And **Milroyj** , don’t even bring in **Efrem**. He’ll have some excuse why we should understaaaaaand them, and it was really wasn’t their fault because they were products of a bad upbringing and the victims of American oppression yada yada yada… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-watched-the-daniel-pearl-video-yet/113643.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-watched-the-daniel-pearl-video-yet/113643.md?page=3)