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What is it that drives the mob to hunt the social misfit?

In this week’s episode, Professor Michael Drane meets with Cybersecurity Engineer Ryan Lee, and Researcher/Grad Student Ashley Haynes-Gibson to revisit the infamous case of Elisa Lam and her disappearance from the Cecil Hotel in L.A., California.

After watching the new Netflix Docuseries ‘Crime Scene: The Vanishing at Cecil Hotel’, Michael explores Elisa’s symptoms of psychosis, her bizarre behavior in the elevator video, her actions leading up to her disappearance, as well as the power of conspiracy theories and what happens when the internet goes on a public witch hunt.

We also review some of the comments left regarding this case and discuss what happened to Pablo Vergara (aka Morbid), the man whose musical career was ruined by internet sleuths who had no idea what they were talking about.

Stay safe out there friends, and we hope you enjoy the show.

Show Notes

“I can’t tell you how Elisa Lam died, but I’m convinced that I can solve the mystery of the elevator video.”

After reviewing Netflix’s new docuseries ‘Crime Scene: The Vanishing at Cecil Hotel’, I can see why this case has sparked so much controversy. A young woman disappears without a trace only to be mysteriously discovered in a water tank on top of the hotel. Never mind that the staff and tenants were drinking said water, that is disturbing enough, but what is equally if not more chilling is the infamous elevator footage.

In this footage, Elisa Lam appears to be in a psychotic state. Her behavior is disorganized, she is clearly responding to internal stimuli, she’s interacting with unseen objects in a bizarre manner, her thinking is nonsensical (disorganized), and she appears playfully paranoid. These are textbook symptoms of psychosis, but what seems difficult for the public to accept is that her behavior in the video does not indicate that she was being attacked. It means that the public lacks the knowledge to understand complex mental illnesses. Even more, the public’s lack of knowledge regarding psychosis fueled bizarre conspiracy theories regarding her behavior, as well as who was responsible. Contrary to popular belief, I see NO evidence that Elisa Lam was under attack, or that she was afraid for her life.

Bipolar Disorder is a chronic and lifelong mental illness. We know from the Netflix documentary that Elisa Lam was previously diagnosed with Bipolar 1, and we also know that she had a pattern of not taking her medication, as evidenced by her sister’s statement. Her behavior leading up to her disappearance is also interesting because it clues us in to her building paranoia. It was reported that she locked her room mates out of their hotel room and demanded a password. Mind you these are people that she did not know, and she also left passive aggressive sticky notes on their pillows and around the room telling them to go away.

According to Tyla.com, Elisa’s tumblr posts were ‘poignant’ prior to her disappearance, but I see them as grandiose with a slight hint of mania. On her Tumblr ‘Nouvelle/Nouveau’ Elisa wrote "I have arrived in Laland... and there is a monstrosity of a building next to the place I'm staying. When I say monstrosity mind you I'm saying as in gaudy, but then again it was built in 1928 hence the art deco theme so yes it IS classy but then since it's LA it went on crack. Fairly certain this is where Baz Lurhmann needs to film Great Gatsby."

To me this post does not evoke a strong sense of emotion (which is what poignant is supposed to imply), but rather reinforces my opinion that the general public does not know how to properly diagnose mental illnesses. The following posts give a much better indication of her mental status. This post could be indicative of a depressive state, this post could be indicative of something known as flight of ideas, and this post could be indicative of disorganized thought. Even more, if you take the time to carefully read through Elisa Lam’s Tumblr, you can see that there are moments where her grammar is perfectly clear, and others where her writing is disorganized and messy. These are important themes to look for when assessing Bipolar Disorder.

Cancel Culture and the Virtual Witch-Hunt

As if the misinformation surrounding Elisa Lam’s behavior wasn’t enough, the internet needed a scapegoat, so they targeted Pablo Vergara, a multi-award winning filmmaker, actor, musician and artist best known for his Mexican Death Metal music. Pablo, aka Morbid, was the unfortunate victim of an increasingly popular practice these days—cancel culture. Because Morbid checked into the Cecil Hotel a year prior to Elisa’s arrival and posted a video of his time there, the internet took it upon themselves to justify that he was guilty by proxy. This type of internet sleuthing feels akin to the Netflix Documentary ‘Don’t F**k with Cats’, but worse. It’s worse because there was no evidence linking Morbid to Elisa’s disappearance. Yet because he was different, because he was an easy target, he was virtually attacked and ostracized for a crime that he did not commit.

In her Dissertation, Holmon (2020) notes

“Cancel Culture is a new phenomenon of public shaming, facilitated by social media. This type of public shaming is accepted due to the alleged transgression of those who are cancelled. Social understanding of cancel culture does not generally allow for redemption” (p. 3).

In an article published by Loud Wire, Morbid notes that he still receives hate messages for the death of Elisa Lam. It is evident, then, that the public’s understanding of cancel culture does not allow for redemption, which brings us back to this awareness that the public’s lack of understanding is causing more damage than good. How many times does society need to see the repercussions of a witch-hunt play out before we start to recognize a witch-hunt? How many people’s lives must be ruined before there are consequences for what people say on the internet?

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ABOUT UPC

Unpopular Culture Podcast is a psychology podcast hosted by Professor & Psychotherapist Michael Drane. With help from professionals in different fields, he seeks to shine light into the broken underbelly of society.

Listen as he takes on the psychology behind subjects like:

True Crime: serial killers, murders, stalkers, cults, forensic analysis

Psychology: mental illness, social phenomenon, mob mentality, psychoanalysis, etc. 

Culture: Sexuality, Satanic Panic, love, Tv analysis, movie analysis. 

We are an independent psychology podcast. Help us keep UPC free of ads and on the air. Please consider supporting the show and get access to our "Stalkers Only" archive, and help be a part of the creative process.

Support the Show! —> patreon.com/upcpodcast

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