Let’s Talk: Schapelle Corby being treated ‘like a celebrity’

There’s no denying convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby has been the subject of great interest over the years.

Admit it, at some point you’ve watched, read or listened to some coverage of her trial in Bali or life out of interest.

But as she prepares to return home today, the media circus is building up and it’s driving many Aussies to question why she’s getting so much attention.

With TV cameras outside her home in Bali, photographers snapping her every move and round-the-clock coverage from the media, many are comparing Schapelle’s treatment to that of a “celebrity”.

Most major Australian media outlets have been running a continuous stream of stories all week about Schapelle’s return home this weekend, covering everything from how she’s coping mentally to a revelation that prosecutors considered calling for her to receive the death penalty.

There have been flashbacks of her 13 years in the spotlight, stories of old friends, feuds and lovers, media focus on her family and plenty of talk about what will happen when she gets home.

Even here at Starts at 60 interest in Schapelle Corby is high, with two stories in the past week ranking among the Top 20 most read stories of the week.

So, what is driving the media interest in Schapelle?

Well, as the Australian’s south-east Asia correspondent wrote in an editorial this week, many have questioned “why an otherwise unremarkable young woman from the Gold Coast suburbs should have sparked such interest and emotion in Australia.”

She cites a 2007 essay by Macquarie University academic Anthony Lambert to answer that question:

“Schapelle occupies the place of the mythical Australian beach girl (the daughter who is Australia) now trapped in a ‘strange’ land, in non-white hands, and at the mercy of foreign systems and institutions.”

Lambert questions whether Schapelle will actually ever be free.

“Her three-year parole has been spent in a cat-and-mouse game to deprive an Australian media — if not the public — with an appetite for the most mundane updates of Corby’s civilian life,” she writes in her article.

“On the eve of her long-awaited homecoming the questions she raised then about her future, relayed in a consolation package of Corby footage and interview with sister Mercedes, have never been more pressing. “I’m not free,” she reportedly said on her release from prison. “Do you think I will ever be normal and be able to walk down the street like other people?””

While we may never know the answer for what makes Schapelle so interesting to the media and so many other Aussies, there’s one thing you can be sure of, there will be plenty of media coverage in the coming days.

Many even believe that when she returns home, she’ll be offered everything from another book deal to movie deals, TV interviews, and even opportunities to appear on reality TV shows such as I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.

What do you think? Is Schapelle Corby being treated like a celebrity? Does she warrant so much media attention?