Catharsis and Geraldo Rivera: Difference between pages

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{{Infobox_Celebrity

| name = Geraldo Rivera

| image = GeraldoRiveraEX.jpg‎ ‎

| imagesize = 200px

| caption =

| birth_date = [[July 4]], [[1943]] (age 63)

| birth_place =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| occupation = Host of ''[[Geraldo at Large]]'' (Fox News Channel)

| salary =

| networth =

| website = [http://www.geraldo.com Official website]

}}

'''Gerald Michael Rivera''' (born [[July 4]], [[1943]]), known to TV audiences as '''Geraldo Rivera''', or simply '''Geraldo''', is an [[United States|American]] television [[journalism|journalist]] and former [[talk show]] host. He is known to have an affinity for dramatic, high-profile stories, and a style that is often described as [[sensationalism|sensationalistic]]. He is also known for his extreme enthusiasm and excitement.

Rivera hosts the [[newsmagazine]] program ''[[Geraldo at Large]]'', and appears regularly on [[Fox News Channel]].

'''Catharsis''', Latin from the [[Greek language|Greek]] ''{{polytonic|Κάθαρσις}}'' ''Katharsis'' meaning "purification" or "cleansing" (also literally from the [[ancient Greek]] [[gerund]] καθαίρειν transliterated as ''kathairein'' "to purify, purge," and adjective ''katharos'' "pure or clean" ancient and modern Greek: καθαρός), is a sudden [[emotion]]al breakdown or climax that constitutes overwhelming feelings of great pity, sorrow, laughter or any extreme change in emotion that results in the renewal, restoration and revitalization for living.

==Early life==

Catharsis is a form of [[emotional]] cleansing first defined by the [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] philosopher [[Aristotle]]. It refers to the sensation, or literary effect, that would ideally overcome an audience upon finishing watching a [[tragedy]]. Neither the existing [[text]] of Aristotle's ''[[Politics]]'' nor the semi-existing text of his ''[[Poetics (Aristotle)|Poetics]]'' give a clear definition of what he meant in this context. The transition as 'purging' infers that these emotions are removed from the viewer at the end of a tragedy. If this is true, then the pleasure The fact that there existed those who could suffer a worse fate than them was to them a relief. Catharsis is also translated as 'purification' which would infer that these emotions would, instead of being removed, brought into healthy or proper levels from having experienced a piece of tragedy. This definition would be supported by Aristotle separating himself from Plato's belief that emotions are bad things in themselves, but are healthy in levels appropriate to the situation.

Rivera was born in [[New York City, New York]] to Cruz Rivera Rivera (later "Allen Cruz Rivera"), a [[Puerto Rican]], and Lilly Friedman, a [[Jewish American]].<ref>http://www.wargs.com/other/rivera.html</ref> He grew up on [[Long Island, New York]]. He is an alumnus of the [[University of Arizona]], where he played [[lacrosse]] at midfield. From September 1961 to May 1963 he attended the [[State University of New York Maritime College]], where he was a member of the rowing team. [http://www.geraldo.com/v5/Biographical/Sailing-Book-continues.gr] [http://www.fsmaa.org/NFFS/1998/nf980924.cfm] He received his [[J.D.]] from [[Brooklyn Law School]] in 1969 and later attended [[Columbia University]]. He was a [[Attorney at law|lawyer]] for a New York Puerto Rican group, the [[Young Lords]], and attracted the attention of a news producer when he was interviewed about the group's occupation of a [[Harlem]] church in 1970.

==Career and controversy==

In literary aesthetics, catharsis is developed by the conjunction of stereotyped characters and unique or surprising actions. Throughout a play we do not expect the nature of a character to change significantly, rather pre-existing elements are revealed in a relatively straight-forward way as the character is confronted with unique actions in time. This can be clearly seen in [[Oedipus Rex]] where King Oedipus is confronted with ever more outrageous actions until emptying generated by the death of his mother-wife and his act of self-blinding. As a literary effect, catharsis should be compared with the equivalent effects for epic and poetic forms of [[kairosis]] and [[kenosis]].

===Early stages===

Rivera was hired by [[WABC-TV]] in New York City as a reporter for ''[[Eyewitness News]]''. In [[1972]], he garnered national attention and won an [[Emmy Award]] for his report on the neglect and abuse of mentally retarded patients at [[Staten Island]]'s [[Willowbrook State School]] and began to appear on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] national programs such as ''[[20/20]]'' and ''[[Nightline]]''. After [[John Lennon]] watched Rivera's report on the patients at Willowbrook, he and Rivera formed a benefit concert called [[Live in New York City|"One to One"]] (released in 1986 as ''[[Live in New York City]]''.) Ironically, Rivera would be one of the correspondents reporting Lennon's murder on ''[[Nightline]]'' on [[December 8]], [[1980]]. Rivera also appeared in ''[[The US vs. John Lennon]]'', a movie about Lennon and [[Yoko Ono]]'s lives in New York City. It was released in 2007.

In contemporary [[aesthetics]] catharsis may also refer to any emptying of emotion experienced by an audience in relation to drama. This exstasis can be perceived in comedy, melodrama and most other dramatic forms. Deliberate attempts, on political or aesthetic bases, to subvert the structure of catharsis in theatre have occurred. For example, [[Bertold Brecht]] viewed catharsis as a pap for the bourgeois theatre audience, and designed dramas which left significant emotions unresolved, as a way to force social action upon the audience. In Brecht's theory, the absence of a cathartic resolving action would require the audience to take political action in the real world in order to fill the emotional gap they experience. This technique can be seen as early as his agit-prop play ''The Measures Taken''.

Around this time, Rivera also began hosting ABC's answer to [[NBC]]'s ''Midnight Special'', the Saturday night musical program, ''Goodnight America'', which featured rock acts of the day. The show featured the famous refrain from [[Arlo Guthrie]]'s song, "City Of New Orleans," as the theme ("Goodnight America, I love you"). The song served as the later inspiration for the network's hugely successful morning show, ''[[Good Morning America]]''.

==Medical uses==

The term ''catharsis'' has been used for centuries as a medical term meaning a "purging." Most commonly in a medical context, it [[euphemism|euphemistically]] refers to a purging of the [[bowel]]s. A drug, herb, or other agent administered as a strong [[laxative]] is termed a ''cathartic''.

In [[October]] [[1985]], ABC's [[Roone Arledge]] refused to air a report done by Sylvia Chase, for ''20/20'' on the relationship between [[Marilyn Monroe]] and [[John F. Kennedy]] and [[Robert Kennedy]]. Rivera publicly criticized Arledge's journalistic integrity, claiming that Arledge's friendship with the [[Kennedy family]] (for example, [[Pierre Salinger]], a former Kennedy aide, worked for ABC News at the time) had caused him to spike the story; as a result, Rivera was fired. Sylvia Chase quit ''20/20'', although she later returned to ABC News many years later. It has never aired.

Rivera's longtime friend{{Fact|date=February 2007}} [[Cheech Marin]] parodied him as '''Horrendo Revolver''' on ''[[Cheech & Chong's Wedding Album]]''.

The term ''catharsis'' has also been adopted by modern [[psychotherapy]] to describe the act of expressing deep emotions often associated with events in the individual's past which have never before been adequately expressed.

Catharsis is also an emotional release associated with talking about the underlying causes of a problem (it was first mentioned by Aristotle: catharsis associated with audience watching tragic plays)

[[Image:GeraldoRiveraFNC2004.jpg|thumb|right|Geraldo Rivera on the [[Fox News Channel]] in [[2004]]]]

==Religion==

Another meaning under the heading of 'purging' can concern body and soul— in religion, it concerns efforts made to come to terms with guilt and sin, as by [[penance]] such as by [[chastisement]] (in modern use of that word, the meaning of punishment has taken over from the original sense of purification), such as practiced by [[flagellant]]s; a testimony to the age of this use is the very name of the [[Cathars]] (a medieval sect).

===Talk show and Satanism special===

In [[Mysticism]], the end of human life and of philosophy is to realize the mystical return of the soul to God. Freeing itself from the sensuous world by katharsis, the purified human soul ascends by successive steps through the various degrees of the metaphysical order, until it unites itself in a confused and unconscious contemplation to the One, and sinks into it in the state of ecstasis.

In 1987, Rivera began producing and hosting the daytime talk show ''Geraldo'', which ran for 11 years. The show featured controversial guests and theatricality, which led to ''[[Newsweek]]'''s characterization of his show as "[[Trash TV]]". One of the early shows was titled "Men in Lace Panties and the Women Who Love Them". His nose was broken in a well-publicized brawl during a 1988 show, involving [[Nazi-Skinheads|neo-Nazi skinheads]], [[Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice|anti-racist skinheads]], [[black people|black]] activists, and [[Jew]]ish activists.

In 1987, he hosted the first of a series of [[prime time]] special reports dealing with an alleged epidemic of [[Satanic ritual abuse]]. He stated:

Thus in the [[neo-Platonism]] of [[Plotinus]], the first step in the return of the soul to God is the act by which the soul, withdrawing from the world of sense by a process of purification (katharsis), frees itself from the trammels of matter.

:Estimates are that there are over 1 million [[Satanism|Satanists]] in this country ... The majority of them are linked in a highly organized, very secretive network. From small towns to large cities, they have attracted police and [[FBI]] attention to their Satanic [[child sexual abuse|sexual child abuse]], [[child pornography]] and grisly Satanic murders. The odds are that this is happening in your town.{{citequote}}

===Cathartic SacrificeLater career ===

In 1994, he began hosting nightly discussion of the news on [[CNBC]] called ''[[Rivera Live]]'' while continuing to host ''Geraldo''. The show was portrayed in the final episode of ''[[Seinfeld]]'', with Rivera as himself reporting on the lengthy [[trial]] of the show's four main characters.

In early cults, the distinction between sacred and unclean is far from complete or well defined (see [[Taboo]]); consequently we find two types of cathartic sacrifice: one to cleanse of impurity and make fit for common use, another to rid of sanctity and in like manner render suitable for human use or intercourse.

Later, he would take his talk show in a different direction, moving it from "Trash TV" to a more subdued, serious show, and changed its name from ''Geraldo'' to ''The Geraldo Rivera Show''. By this time, the show had run its course, and after being on the air for almost two years with its new title was cancelled in 1998.

* The most conspicuous example of the first class is the [[scapegoat]]. Two goats were provided by the ancient Hebrews on the [[Day of Atonement]]; the high priest sent one into the desert, after confessing on it the sins of Israel; it was not permitted to run free but was probably cast over a precipice; the other was sacrificed as a sin-offering. In like manner in the purification of lepers two birds were used; the throat of one was cut, the living bird dipped in the blood mingled with water and the leper sprinkled; then the bird was set free to carry away the [[leprosy]]. In both these rites we seem to have a duplication of ritual, and the parallelism of sacrifice and liberation is clear.

In 1997, Rivera contracted with [[NBC]] to work as a reporter for six years for $30 million. During 1998 and 1999, he extensively covered the [[Clinton impeachment|impeachment]] of President [[Bill Clinton]]. Following the terrorist attacks of [[September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack|September 11, 2001]], he accepted a pay cut and went to work for the [[FOX News|Fox News Channel]] as a war correspondent in November 2001. Rivera's brother Craig accompanied him as a cameraman on assignments in [[Afghanistan]].

* As an example of the second class may be taken the sacrifice of the bull to the Rigvedic god [[Rudra]]. MM. Hubert and Mauss interpret this to mean that the sanctity of the remainder of the herd was concentrated on a single animal; the god, incarnate in the herd, was eliminated by the sacrifice, and the cattle saved from the dangers to which their association with the god exposed them. [[The Feast of First fruits]] is another example of the same sort; comparable with this concentration of holiness is the respect or veneration shown to a single animal as representative of its species (see [[animal worship]]). In both these cases the object of the rite is the elimination of impurity or of a source of danger. But the Nazarite was equally bound to lay aside his holiness before mixing with common folk and returning to ordinary life; this he did by a sacrifice, which, with the offering of his hair upon the altar, freed him from his vow and reduced him to the same level of sanctity as ordinary men.

===War coverage controversies===

==See also==

During the [[U.S.]] war in [[Afghanistan]] in 2001, Rivera was derided for a report in which he claimed to be at the scene of a [[friendly fire]] incident; it was later revealed he was actually 300 miles away. Rivera faulted a minor misunderstanding for the discrepancy.

[[Closure (psychology)]]

Another controversy arose in early 2003, while Rivera was [[embedded]] with U.S. military personnel in [[Iraq]]. During a Fox News broadcast, Rivera began to disclose an upcoming operation, even going so far as to draw a [[map]] in the sand for his audience. The military immediately issued a firm denouncement of his actions, saying it put the operation at risk, and nearly expelled Rivera from Iraq. Two days later, he announced that he would be reporting on the Iraq conflict from [[Kuwait]].<ref name=cnn-irq>[http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/31/sprj.irq.rivera/ "Confusion surrounds Rivera's expulsion from Iraq"], [[CNN]], April 1, 2003</ref>

==Sources & External links==

*[http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/cgi-local/DHI/dhi.cgi?id=dv1-36 ''Dictionary of the history of ideas'':] Catharsis

*{{1911}}

*{{Catholic}} [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10663b.htm Mysticism] & [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10742b.htm Neo-Platonism]

The "map in the sand" incident inspired a [[List of Law & Order episodes (season 14)|14th season]] episode of [[NBC]]'s legal drama ''[[Law & Order]]'', entitled "[[Embedded (L&O episode)|Embedded]]".<ref name=cnn-irq /> It was also spoofed on ''[[The Daily Show]]'', in which correspondent [[Stephen Colbert]] drew a map in the sand of where Rivera's head had gone, finally concluding that his objective was "sticking his head up his own ass."

[[Category:Psychotherapy]]

[[Category:Psychological adjustment]]

A third controversy arose when he announced he was carrying a weapon while reporting in Afganistan. He said, "If they're going to get us, it's going to be in a gun fight. It's not going to be a murder. It's not going to be a crime. It's going to be a gun fight." Many were offended by the very fact that as a reporter he was carrying a weapon. The other aspect of the controversy, however, was due to the fact that he had often promoted civilian [[gun control]] prior to his time reporting in Afganistan, such as when (after the [[Columbine High School massacre]] in [[Littleton, Colorado]]) Rivera asked, "How much longer are we gonna take it? How much longer are we gonna be wrapping in the flag of patriotism to justify 250 million guns out there? How much longer?" As an [[NRA]] magazine article pointed out, "Rivera, who has made plenty of noise in the past by promoting various anti-gun proposals, revealed recently that while covering the war in Afghanistan, where he doesn't feel quite so safe, he's conveniently jumped to the other side of the fence."<ref name=aim>[http://www.aim.org/media_monitor/A770_0_2_0_C/ "NRA Targets Geraldo Rivera"], ''AIM'', March 5, 2002</ref>

[[bg:Катарзис]]

[[de:Katharsis (Literatur)]]

===Michael Jackson trial===

[[eo:Katarso]]

During the [[2005 trial of Michael Jackson]], Rivera held an interview with the [[pop star]] from the famed [[Neverland Ranch]]. Following this, he went on Fox News' ''[[The O'Reilly Factor]]'', telling the audience he was convinced that Jackson was innocent and would be found not guilty. He even vowed to promptly shave his distinctive trademark [[moustache]] in the event of a guilty verdict.

[[fr:Catharsis]]

[[gl:Catarse]]

After Jackson was [[acquittal|acquitted]], Rivera rejoiced on ''[[Access Hollywood]]'', boasting that his acquittal prediction had come true and his moustache had been accordingly spared. The reaction became a subject of ridicule for many late-night talk-show hosts.

[[id:Katarsis]]

[[it:Catarsi]]

===Recent activity===

[[he:קתרזיס]]

Rivera's last regular series on Fox News Channel was ''At Large with Geraldo Rivera'', shown on Saturday and Sunday nights. He ended the program on [[October 9]], [[2005]], in order to begin a new weekday syndicated show, ''[[Geraldo at Large]].'' The new series features many Fox News Channel correspondents, including [[Laurie Dhue]] and [[Phil Keating]], and Rivera frequently appears on Fox News to promote his latest stories. On January 4, 2007, Fox cancelled ''At Large'' because of low ratings.

[[ja:カタルシス]]

[[no:Katarsis]]

On an [[August 4]], [[2006]] appearance on ''[[The O'Reilly Factor]]'', Rivera criticized [[Comedy Central]] program hosts [[Jon Stewart]] (of ''The Daily Show'') and Stephen Colbert (of ''[[The Colbert Report]]''), saying that despite their current success they ultimately "count for nothing." In addition, Rivera said that the two shows "basically play clips of old ladies slipping on ice and people laughing".

[[pl:Katharsis (literatura)]]

[[ru:Катарсис]]

Rivera was promptly satirized on several episodes of the two programs thereafter. Colbert, [[Stephen Colbert (character)|in-character as a parody of O'Reilly]], sided with Rivera, and demanded Stewart "apologize to Geraldo" multiple times. He asked Stewart, "What are you implying Jon? That Geraldo and O'Reilly are [[narcissism|narcissists]] enthralled with their own overblown [[ego]]s? Projecting their own petty insecurities onto the world around them? Inventing false enemies for the sole purpose of boosting their own sense of self-importance? Itty-bitty [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]]s minus the relevance or a hint of vision? How dare you!"

[[fi:Katharsis]]

[[sv:Katarsis]]

Eventually, Stewart was forgiven when Colbert made him wear a duplicate of Rivera's trademark moustache.

In an October 2006 episode of ''The O'Reilly Factor'', the host accused Rivera of being a "[[secular]] [[progressivism|progressive]]". Rivera laughed, and replied, "What? Secular progressive? I'm a [[Far left|radical]]!"

On January 4, 2007, it was announced that Rivera would return to Fox News Channel and ''At Large with Geraldo Rivera''. As such, his syndicated program would be cancelled. [http://tv.com/story/7870.html?tag=news_headlines;title;7] Although the program received some media attention in cities like New York for defeating ''The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric'' in the 25-54 demographic, overall, ratings for the Rivera program were suffering.

On April 5, 2007, Rivera got in a on-air shouting match with O'Reilly regarding a [[drunk driving]] death perpetrated by an [[illegal alien]] with multiple previous arrests. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM7hoauFLDU]

==Marriages==

*[[Erica Levy]] (10 August 2003— ) one child, a daughter born in August [[2005]]

*[[C.C. Dyer]] (11 July 1987 – 2000) (divorced) two children

*[[Sherryl Raymond]] (31 December 1976 – 1984) (divorced) one child

*[[Edith Vonnegut]] (14 December 1971 – 1975) (divorced)

*[[Linda Coblentz]] (1965 – 1969) (divorced)

==Footnotes==

{{reflist}}

==External links==

* [http://www.geraldo.com Official website]

*[http://web.archive.org/web/20061120091015/http://www.geraldo.com/v1/iraq.php "Geraldo Rivera Official Statement Regarding Embedment Controversy", 4 April 2003] - Rivera tells the story of his Iraq "Map in the Sand" (archive)

*[http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/01/international/worldspecial/01MEDI.html "Pentagon Says Geraldo Rivera Will Be Removed From Iraq"] - ''The New York Times'', April 1, 2003

*[http://www.religioustolerance.org/geraldo.htm Geraldo Rivera's Influence on the Satanic Ritual Abuse and Recovered Memory Hoaxes] - from religioustolerance.org

*[http://www.snopes.com/media/celebrity/geraldo.asp Urban Legend about Geraldo Rivera's name being changed from Jerry Rivers] - from snopes.com

*{{imdb name|id=0729273|name=Geraldo Rivera}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivera, Geraldo}}

[[Category:1943 births]]

[[Category:American journalists]]

[[Category:American television personalities]]

[[Category:Columbia University alumni]]

[[Category:Jewish American journalists]]

[[Category:Living people]]

[[Category:People from Long Island]]

[[Category:People from New York City]]

[[Category:Puerto Rican-Americans]]

[[Category:Reporters and correspondents]]

[[Category:American television talk show hosts]]

[[Category:University of Arizona alumni]]

[[Category:Perry Mason cast members]]

[[Category:American libertarians]]

[[Category:American lawyers]]

[[fr:Geraldo Rivera]]

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