It just seemed wrong somehow. Let me explain. Those who read my blog regularly will notice that I routinely update my title page header. Each week, I post a picture from a movie. To satisfy my Christmas spirit and perverted sense of humor, I had planned on including a still of Bruce Willis’s bloody backside with a concealed gun held together by tape which reads “seasons greetings”. Yes, in light of the season, Die Hard regularly comes to mind. But then Friday happened. A gunman claimed the lives of 26 people; 20 of which were just children. After two-seconds thought, I opted for a different picture.
Whenever a tragedy like this occurs, it seems that everyone pays some tribute to the victims. The world stops–or at least slows down to collectively mourn. Hollywood reacted by delaying its newest Tom Cruise action-adventure Jack Reacher. It’s respectable considering the film’s heavy use of guns. Yet, the film will see the light of day–very soon, I imagine. On my own accord, I stopped playing my friend’s early Christmas gift: a first-person shooter for the Playstation 3 game. I couldn’t find the urge to play it. It felt wrong somehow. I also avoid watching Die Hard 2–and not just because it sucks.
Yet, life will go on. Hollywood will continue to make films in which guns are used feverishly by our heroes and villains and I will be there to watch–at least the good ones. It is bizarre that we temporarily distill our entertainment out of respect for these tragedies, which should never occur, but to happen as often as they have is outrageous.
It’s time that this short-term mourning period makes ways for some long-term change. My hope is this tragedy will propel new rules that regulate guns, which will at least create the illusion that we’re safe. Obviously, we cannot expect to thwart such heinous actions without going further, which we can’t or won’t, because we still don’t fully understand the problem.
It seems that blame is not being placed on the media this time–at least not to the same degree as Columbine. So guns will continue to permeate our multiplexes. We will see violent actions occur on screen–delivered at a greater magnitude and ferocity than ever before–and will be completely numb to it.
For one, movie gun battles have become very dull. There is always an exchange of bullets in which they bounce, rattle, and ricochet inches around the hero. It’s a never-ending cliche; a reminder that heavily-trained professionals can’t aim worth a shit.
Although movies have progressed to the point of making gun wounds look purely awful, I still see way too many flesh wounds (How often do people get scratched?), too many dodged bullets, too many quick deaths without repercussions. The deceased always disappear instantly from our view before we can ingest the horrors. Indiana Jones, James Bond and, of course, John McLaine are all guilty of shooting first, asking questions later, and not stopping to take in the horrors of the dozens they’ve killed. Instead, it all looks quite fun, doesn’t it? That’s because the films are an escape. But there continues to be a lingering questions as to whether these movies have desensitized us to the horrors of real violence. Perhaps that is true.
If Hollywood has any act to play in the new-found desire to dispel violence, then it should start by reigniting a sense of gravity to it. Despite our love of new mediums like the Internet and electronic games, I truly believe cinema has the power to change hearts and minds. I honestly believe we can still tell a story that has the power to sway our obsession with violence and guns.
Almost 100 years ago, one of the most significant films was made, 1903’s The Great Train Robbery. The most iconic moment is when the gang leader, Justus D. Barnes, takes aim and fires his pistol directly at the camera–as if he were shooting at the audience. When spectators first saw this footage, they flinched; some even ducked for cover.
Modern films rarely have this level of impact. Perhaps one of the most effective recent movies remains Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan. But even that film has its share of people (myself included) who look upon that Normandy sequence purely as an ideal demo for our theatrical systems rather than ingesting in the horrors that occur within in the confines of our plasma screens. Even during such unspeakable horrors, we’ve developed a thick skin.
So, guns have become ingrained into our conscious as items of fun and adventure. I wonder how many folks truly believe they can tow a minigun as easily as Jesse Ventura in Predator.
This, of course, is under the presumption that this murderer was influenced at all by our media. Even so, there is only so much we can do, but delaying Jack Preacher seems like a feeble knee-jerk reaction. The sad fact is: guns continue to be promoted in every conceivable medium. Bullets used to kill merit PG and PG-13 ratings, whereas the use of the word “fuck” or the physical action of the word receive a R rating.
During the Aurora shootings, I posted a response in which I asked Warner Bros. to donate 1% of their Dark Knight grosses to the victims’ families. Eventually, they did provide some financial aid, for which they deserve full credit. But Hollywood–and Congress AND the media–can do more. What television and cinema (and newer methods like the internet) possess is a surreal power of influence.
But, inevitably, the real level of control resides in our parents.
Without reaching drastic conclusions, the trend appears to be killings by young adult men who are mentally unstable or simply feel lost. They take refuge through unhealthy measures. I’ve witnessed too many ignorant matriarchs in Best Buy and Gamestop ignoring the warning signs and purchasing media with heavy doses of violence for their children. They seem absent, willing to place their kids in front of the TV to serve as a distraction rather than a learning tool.
This absence can be danger for troubles youths. During my youth, I was prey to heavy harassment by my peers. After much abuse, there were hateful, even violent thoughts that entered my mind. But I never acted upon them because, for lack of better words, I was of sound mind. I also had a safety net–namely my parents–who nurtured me through the hard times and violent influences inherit in my entertainment.
This leaves the parents as the sole deciders. Despite all of the frantic parents who argue that they have no control over their children after they reach a certain age, I, who have no children of my own but was once a 14-year-old boy, that these excuses are bullshit!
At this stage, we’re taking about the lives of 20 children lost. President Obama promises that change is on the way. I hope this will be the final straw. Hollywood will remain just as it always has and that’s a shame. But now might be the time for parents to rethink about how they want their children to spend their time in the multiplex–and what they want to talk about on their return trip home.
On a positive note, I did notice that one of my earlier posts has received a boost in readership over the past week, although I wish it was under better circumstances. It may also be a complete coincidence in which I have no case to boast. But during the Aurora tragedy, I decided to list Elephant as my “Great Movie” for the month. It represents the kind of film-making that has the power to dissuade folks from violence. I can only hope someone out there that heeds my suggestion, sits down and learns from it. It’s time for all of us to take action. Whatever it takes…
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