How Much are Movies Themselves to Blame for Aurora Massacre?
On Tuesday, Matt Drudge linked to a blistering attack on Hollywood by Charles Hurt of the Washington Times in response to the massacre at the midnight Friday showing of the new Batman movie in Aurora, Colorado:
You are devastated that such an “innocent and hopeful place” — here you are talking about the movie theaters that play your twisted movies — would be violated in such an “unbearably savage” way. I mean, really, who could think up such monstrous hatred and nihilistic violence? Umm, have you watched any of your own movies lately?
And, in the selfless modesty that is the hallmark of an Academy Awards ceremony, you tell us that your “feelings” about the massacre are so deeply profound that the mere words of the English language built up over hundreds of years are simply not up to the task of describing them. Wow. You do have a gift for fantasy.
But the real clue that you remain shrouded in guilt-free delusion is when you mention the “senseless tragedy that has befallen the entire Aurora community.”
Senseless? Really? If by “senseless” you mean carried out almost precisely from the scripts of your own movies, then, sure, it was “senseless.”
The next day, Drudge linked to an interview at the Hollywood Reporter with veteran critic turned director and occasional actor Peter Bogdanovich, which asks in the headline, “What If Movies Are Part of the Problem?”
Hasn’t the left boxed themselves into a corner a bit with their rhetoric in early 2011? If they truly believe that clip art can lead someone to kill — despite using the same imagery themselves, and even if the perpetrator very likely had never seen said clip art — and we must stop using gun and violence-related rhetoric in our language, then surely a nearly three hour visual treatise on ultraviolence projected onto a 30 foot movie screen with Dolby Surround Sound can do so as well. If a university truly believes in its collective soul…
A University of Kentucky student pleaded not guilty Thursday to terroristic threatening, a charge that resulted after he allegedly sent a picture of an archenemy of Batman to a university official.
Steven I. Kennedy, 28, allegedly emailed a photo of the Joker, an anarchist villain in movies and comic books, to associate vice president Terry Allen after Allen didn’t return his messages. Kennedy allegedly was upset about the way officials handled a discrimination complaint, according to a warrant filed in Fayette District Court.
Officials viewed the email as a threat in light of the recent mass killing in Aurora, Colo., at a premiere showing of The Dark Knight Rises, the document said. The man charged in the Colorado shooting, in which 12 were killed and 58 injured, dyed his hair red and reportedly called himself Joker.
…. Then surely the underlying product produced by Hollywood itself must be called into question.
Because otherwise, it would prove that the “new civility” rhetoric we heard endlessly last year from the left was mere political grandstanding designed to score cheap political points against a then-newly-emerged Republican majority in Congress.
Not that the rest of us didn’t know that already of course.
Related: At Newsbusters yesterday, “Matthews, Who Once Claimed Someone Will ‘Jam a CO2 Pellet’ in Rush Limbaugh’s Head, Calls for Civility.”
Start with your own network, Chris and then get back to us.
Update: Linking to a story on Maryland police arresting a possible Aurora copycat, the Professor adds, “maybe Hollywood doesn’t deserve the blame, but that’s not the point. Any other industry would be blamed, but Hollywood has bought itself a pass.”
And at the Weekly Standard, Geoffrey Norman explores Tinseltown’s future, “As the Zeitgeist Turns.” Was the use of the Z-Word purely coincidental?
More: Found via Hugh Hewitt, “The Dark Night Rises,” Peggy Noonan writes. “Everybody knows the culture is poisonous, and nobody expects that to change:”
The president won’t say anything—he too is Hollywood funded—and maybe that’s just as well, since he never seems sincere about anything anymore.
A particularly devilish injustice is that many of the wealthy men and women of the filmmaking industry go to great lengths to protect their own children from the products they make. They’re able to have responsible nannies and tutors and private coaches and private lessons. They keep the kids busy. They don’t want them watching that garbage.
Everyone else’s kids?
One thing about good parents these days is they always look tired. A lot have hard lives—two jobs, different shifts, helping with homework, cleaning the house. But they also have the exhausted look of hypervigilance.
Once parents could take a break at night, park the kids in front of the TV and let the culture baby-sit. Not anymore. Our culture, they know, is their foe. The culture brings sick into the room They have to guard against it, be hypervigilant: “Put that off!” “I don’t care if your friends are going, we’re not.”
It’s a wonder they don’t revolt.
Read the whole thing.
It’s especially interesting that Hollywood denies any possible link between the imaginary violence happening on the screen and the blood-shed occurring in the real world – while refusing to present characters that smoke cigarettes for fear that it will inspire smoking.
Cannot show actors smoking in movies because that will inspire smoking. As per this study by U.S. Researchers, they find that “Sex content in movies linked to teen sex”
http://tinyurl.com/dxg95v7
So is it really a stretch to say that Hollywood with their intense portrayal of violence in most of their mainstream movies inspired the “Batman” premier/massacre in Colorado? If so, they should be sued to provide compensation to the victims for the death and destruction which they are responsible. Maybe a tax or fee on every movie ticket for a violent movie or song to be donated to charities that advocate peace. Every year Hollywood takes hundreds of millions of dollars from hard working people. It is the least they can do. They should think of the children.
Why can’t you people smell schizophrenia? No ones, besides a political terrorist, rationally believes murdering a bunch of people in a movie theater will accomplish anything. No one. This person is mentally ill. The Virginia Tech kid was mentally. Giffords’ shooter was mentally ill. Anders brevity is not mentally I’ll – he is a terrorist. “Violent entertainment” has nothing to do with it. Do you write these things, for the millionth time, because you are a writer in a journal and need to fill column inches? Because I’d wager 99% of people understand this, and so do you.
As I wrote in another comment, hey, I think the the shooters in both Colorado and Arizona were bonkers, and anything could have set them off. But if the left is going to claim that the wrong clip art triggered the latter incident, then their own “logic” must compel them to blame the movies as well.
I totally agree with Ed. As was fit to be portrayed in the … ahem… esteemed media USA Today, they were perfectly fine with an electronic lynching of a fine Christian woman Sarah Palin, “Sarah Palin’s ‘blood libel’ claim stirs controversy”.
http://tinyurl.com/6gpapgu
Of course, what they attempted to smear her with was baseless rhetoric. Once again, the Old Media failed because what they submitted was not based on facts. That is the difference in this case, because there are verifiable scientific studies which link media exposure and promotion of smoking and sex to be related to youth acting out what they see on tv and in the movies. The final link to be established is the wanton violence glorified by Hollywood. They need to pay a steep price if they want to continue their irresponsible agenda in their quest for profits at all costs.
If Hollywood thinks their social conscious raising films can influence people to “do the right thing” why wouldn’t they think their violence filled films could have negative consequences.
Thank you Ed! How long have we heard that people easily distinguish violence in movies from real life, or that endless onscreen portrayals of the most disgusting behavior have no effect on anybody’s actual behavior?
If that were true:
(1) Why does every movie today have a lovable gay couple? Or a kissing gay couple? If movies don’t desensitize people, why repeat that scene over and over?
(2) Why are MLK’s speeches replayed over and over on MLK day? Those speeches are uplifting, but why should people be affected by uplifting repetition, but not be debased by demeaning repetition?
(3) If people aren’t deeply affected by what they hear and see, will someone please tell me what basis there could possible be for campus “Speech Codes” or hate speech laws in other countries that liberals want to bring here.
(4) As Ed points out, it is utterly bizarre to believe that political jargon used in passing (eg. targeting the opposition) is likely to drive someone to mass murder, while endless carnage in endless sequels has no effect whatsoever.
Hey, I think the the shooters in both Colorado and Arizona were bonkers, and anything could have set them off. But if the left is going to claim that the wrong clip art triggered the latter incident, then their own “logic” must compel them to blame the movies as well.
If you think single moms are “heros”, and you think a time-out replaces a good whoopin’, the result is entirely predictable.
When you worship each child as the Second Coming, and “safety” and “nurturing” are your whole purpose in life, not actually teaching them how to survive in a rough and tumble world, where Mommy ain’t always going to be there,that child will be spoiled, unstable and unreliable, at best; murderous and callous at worst.
Funny. The entire word once understood this. Then came Dr. Spock, who should rank with Pol Pot and Stalin for sheer distructive influence.
As always it comes down to Personal Responsibility. That said, I’d blame Culture and Hollywood before I’d blame Guns. Guns by themselves are just tools. Hollywood has glamorized and fetishized Gun Violence and Violence in general. Columbine kids looking like Neo, being in the “matrix” etc.
I think the media making these clowns 24/7 popular doesn’t help either, I refuse to watch this circus.
But…Peggy Frikkin’ Noonan?
When she was knee deep in love with Ronnie…fine.
She and her ilk are all that is wrong with faux Ivy-League Conservatism. They are so isolated from reality that they still don’t get why we can’t all get along, somehow. It must be nice. Buckley wanted to punch Vidal in the nose. Does anyone doubt he would have? George Will? Don’t make me laugh.
She writes. That’s all she does. Quite well, but she has no observable convictions. She and Will need Washington way more than Washington needs them.
I’m sick of them both. You can certainly throw in Brooks, if you care to.
With friends like them…
Who needs Barack Obama (who they all could theoretically support, at one time. Just how stupid are they, really)?
Pretty stupid, I guess.
(I came across this snippet on the net. Does Obama influence young persons?)
We Are In Obama’s Dark Night !
A night of spiritual, social, mental, and economic darkness that he has created for us!
Are you aware that Barack Hussein Obama can be found in the Bible?
Proverbs 19:10 (NIV): “It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury – how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!”
Also Proverbs 30:22 (NIV) which says that the earth cannot bear up under “a servant who becomes king.”
And Ecclesiastes 5:2-3 (KJV) advises: “let thy words be few…a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.”
Although Obama is not descended from slaves, he may feel that he’s destined to become a black-slavery avenger.
Or maybe an enslaver of all free citizens!
For some stunning info on Obama and his fellow subversives, Google or MSN the newest versions of “Obama Promotes Public Sex,” “Michelle Obama’s Allah-day,” “David Letterman’s Hate Etc.,” “Un-Americans Fight Franklin Graham” and also “Sandra Bernhard, Larry David, Kathy Griffin, Bill Maher, Joan Rivers, Sarah Silverman.” Also Google “The Background Obama Can’t Cover Up” and “Prof. F. N. Lee’s ISLAM IN THE BIBLE [PDF].”
PS – Since Christians are commanded to ask God to send severe judgment on persons who commit and support the worst forms of evil (see I Cor. 5 and note “taken away”), Christians everywhere should constantly pray that the Lord will soon “take away” or at least overthrow all US leaders who continue to sear their conscience and arrogantly trample the God-given rights of the majority including the rights of the unborn. Do we need a second American Revolution?
PPS – For a rare look at the 182-year-old endtime belief which has long neutralized many American patriots by promising them an “imminent rapture” off earth – which has diverted them away from being prepared to stand against all enemies, domestic as well as foreign – Google or MSN “Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty,” “Pretrib Rapture Diehards,” “Edward Irving is Unnerving,” “Pretrib Rapture Secrets,” “Christ’s Return is NOT Imminent,” “Roots of Warlike Christian Zionism” and “Pretrib Rapture Politics” – all by the author of the bestselling nonfiction book “The Rapture Plot” (the most accurate and highly endorsed documentation on the pretrib rapture’s long-covered-up-but-now-revealed beginnings in Britain in 1830 – see Armageddon Books).
A Kansas Patriot (who won FIRST PLACE over 2200 entrants in a nationwide Americanism essay contest)