Twilight's Receivers: The Violence of Images Behind the Deception (Late 2000s)

Twilight's Receivers: The Violence of Images Behind the Deception (Late 2000s)

In the late 2000s, behind the rapidly increasing number of "oleore" scams and fictitious billing frauds, young people called "receivers" at the end of the line were exploited and caught up in a cycle of violence. Those who collected the money were the ones most at risk of detection, and when they were suspected of betrayal or embezzlement, they were lynched by their peers or assaulted to make an example of them. In some cases, the assaults developed into murders, which were filmed and shared on video. The videos became a means of intimidation and threats to fellow members, and underworld violence became a "new form of violence" that was visualized and circulated on the Internet. Control by the old gangs weakened, and crimes spread anonymously via black market bytes and social networking sites. A structure was created in which young people could easily become involved in crime. This group of incidents, set against the backdrop of Kabukicho, symbolizes a new era of violence in
which money and images are linked, and illuminates the cold reality that lurks in modern society.