The Exploitative Nature of Marriage and Media in “Gone Girl” Dennis Odhiambo College

Marriage is an institution build on trust and commitment between two parties; in the same vein, media is an establishment that is ethically meant to convey truth hence consumed with trust. Henceforth these two institutions are susceptible to being manipulative if one or all parties involved choose to exploit the trust or truth. In David Fincher’s Gone Girl both these constructs are handled in a dark context in that how they can rapidly oscillate between being trustworthy to exploitative. The psychological thriller follows Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike) and Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) following the sudden disappearance of Amy and the events surrounding Nick who becomes the prime suspect. Through Amy and Nick’s marriage, Fincher explores how either party in a marital relationship can exploit each other emotionally and even financially.

As the disappearance becomes a public issue to the point of media involvement, the film handles the theme of manipulation in both these spheres. The concept of media, specifically news bulletins, being conspiratorial through sensationalism and fake news is not a new revelation. However, despite this, the general public continually gets drawn in and their opinions swayed, as the concept of media being...