Mushrooming content

Almost two years after being arrested, Erin Patterson was this week found guilty of murdering three people with a lunch laced with death cap mushrooms.

The verdict not only concluded a trial that has captured the attention of the country and the world, but let forth a wave of content.

Attempting to shift the focus to the victims, their families, and their community is the right thing to do (and worthy of praise for those outlets that have done so) but it’s also a finger in the dam of information and entertainment that’s been unleashed.

First came the unveiling of details revealed during court proceedings but concealed from the public in the interests of a fair trial. This included photos of the meal itself, the revelation that the recipe was based on one found in RecipeTin Eats’ Dinner cookbook, and an allegation from a fellow inmate that Patterson tampered with prison food.

Next, the translation of tragedy to entertainment. ABC, Seven, and Nine all have shows in the works, while Allen & Unwin will publish ‘The Mushroom Murders’. 

It’s tempting to rant about how timing is a bigger factor than taste, but we’ve all read, listened, and watched it all unfold, and will continue to do so. There are no caves on the moral high ground.

Rather, this is a fascinating insight into our cultural response to delayed gratification. With everything now served up in an instance, restrictions around court reporting is a rare example of being denied something we want. 

The reaction - an indiscriminate, gleeful, gluttonous consumption of every morsel of content - tells us a lot about modern society.

But given that’s pretty uncomfortable to sit with, let’s all just be thankful we only have to wait two days for Seven’s Spotlight Special to distract us.