LAUAN504 Weekly update for week of 2/4/18

THE INTERVIEW :

For this week , I contacted Richard Jones, head of the Jack the Ripper tours in London, as well as an author of numerous books and documentaries on the case, and is considered on of the premier figure of authority on the matter , just by the amount of knowledge he has gain through out his research.

The fear was that, as his role of tour guide, Richard could potentially dramatize some of the details of the case for the purpose of interest but in contrast, through out our conversation, he was factual, insightful and without any exaggeration at all, giving us information that has logical backing behind it, all the while still keeping it very very interesting (skill of a guide, I'd say). The most valuable information that he gave to us, was his judgement on what were the important events regarding to the Catherine Eddowes, especially from the police perspective like we're aiming for in the documentary. This was helpful as it help us to formulate our event script, choosing the right one to focus on with our limited time. The other interesting bit was his mention of the conflict between the 2 police involved at the time, : the metropolitan and The city of London police force, the former being hated by the press and the latter being praised by them, as well as the controversial decision made by MPD head , Sir Charles Warren. Finally , through providing a larger context of London at the time, it shattered or perception for the press as being obstructionist of the police work, but rather, they're were very disheartening to the police working at the time, who faced numerous challenge from limited manpower and resources, having to deal with other crimes as well as an area that practice crimes like daily routine and is not incline to share information. The press's attitude themselves was influenced the corruption of the police force at the time, such as the Bloody sunday event where sir Charles Warren a clear out of a protest on Trafalgar square. so it give us a much bigger picture of the whole event. However, a major that all of us agree on , was that JTR was a press creation , and that JTR the legend, the murderer of White Chapel in 1888 are very different from one another.

As for Richard himself, he also shared some information his passion on JTR, starting his tour-guiding days on Charles Dickens, which due to Dickens's working focusing alot on the East end, brought him to JTR.

Overall it was an incredibly useful conversation. not just for the information that it gave for the research , but more practical things like an audio for a possible voice over.