I usually don't like talking about political issues on here. In general, my mission statement for Optigrab is to talk specifically about film, TV, and music along with popular trends that I deem worthwhile. I don't feel that there's any good for me to dissect any of these topics from a political angle as I view most of them objectively. I try not to let bias influence me because great art is sometimes worthy of moral disagreement. However, I do feel a certain dread in not at least addressing issues when they intersect with my focus. I am most specifically talking about the shooting yesterday in Lafayette, Louisiana at The Grand 16 Theater. Much like the case in 2012 with the Aurora, Colorado shootings, it has caused me to feel defensive and vocal once again on public safety.
I have no strong opinions about guns or weaponry. My father is more staunch and has his own small collection. As the shootings have piled up over time, I have heard his stance strongly represented: It isn't the weapon, it's the man behind it. As someone who never had a desire to own one let alone use it for even target practice, the issue has been personally apathetic. Even then, I come away trying to understand why the incident happened. What drove someone to wield a gun on innocent people? Among the many things that I do not understand about this world, I count violence on a grand scale as one of them. I do my best not to look at this from a political angle, but on more of the person. To apply monikers such as affiliations is to get further from the point. It is the sanity of the individual.
For instance, 2012 held a rather sobering one for me. I had friends who insisted on seeing The Dark Knight Rises at an early IMAX screening. I was pumped, as most Christopher Nolan fans were. The experience was incredible and I was riding high for the entire ride home. The one benefit is that I hadn't checked the news prior to noon. When I did, the joy kind of zapped out of me as I read of this man who shot up a theater in Aurora, CO in a Joker mask. Of course, it didn't help that the story developed that weekend to include stories of him lining his apartment with explosives for when the police arrived and that he was in fact a former Southern California resident. That last note bugged me because for a brief moment in time, I felt like I could be seeing another killer on campus, who just so happened to be a nerd. I later learned that a close friend had relatives in the neighboring theater that night.
The case consumed me for the next few months. It tapered off and I eventually went back to living life. Even then, I never forgot the incident, occasionally being tempted to find updates. However, the biggest surprise is that for the first time, I genuinely hated someone and wanted them to die. It was quite triumphant to hear that he was just found guilty this past week and that the punishment is being determined soon. I know that this isn't the first time that films have been associated with assaults. Among the more noteworthy ones was John Hinckley Jr., who attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan after obsessing over Taxi Driver. I think most of all, I just hate that movies are being dragged into this.
It was Wes Craven who claimed in Scream that "Movies don't make psychos. Movies make psychos more creative." Much like my father with his collection of guns, I have friends who have a fancy for violent films. In both cases, I have never heard about them assaulting a single person within a conceivable inch of their life. Sure, Hinckley could pass off blame to Taxi Driver for his crimes, but Martin Scorsese didn't attempt to assassinate Reagan. I personally believe that we shouldn't blame art for these actions unless they are deliberately suggesting that the audience perform heinous acts of assault. Sure, Sandy Hook tried to pass it off on Quentin Tarantino and Columbine on The Matrix, but what part of those films deliberately said to shoot up schools? The Matrix made $463 million, yet 99.9% of ticket buyers didn't assault a school.
It is an issue that I am not entirely comfortable talking about. I am aware that there is a lot that I don't know about the politics. I don't know gun laws because I don't want to own a gun that would require me to learn them. At its basic core, my issue is that they're being used in such asinine ways as murdering people in a theater with no gain. You can run as many tests as you want, but the person was always insane. If you knowingly break protocol and put lives at risk, you are insane. You can't go into a theater, the place where people go to be entertained, and just assault them. Even if you just brandish the gun on your lap while thinking about it without doing action, you are insane. We don't need tests to prove this. There's already some mental disconnect from societal norms.
So, it becomes difficult to really address this because my plea comes from a selfish place, and one that I hope everyone else has. I don't want to fear getting shot at a movie theater, which is easily among my favorite places to go. It is such an inactive moment that any obstruction would be like shooting a coma patient. That is why these stories bother me. Yes, in general violence is a disturbing thought, especially on innocent parties across this great nation. I know that I don't speak up about schools or public gatherings, but that's because this is a pop culture forum and it feels disingenuous to push my political thoughts here. I chose to address this one because it feels like a more personal assault, as if they're daring me to go to a theater without anything happening. That shouldn't be the case. I also don't think that we should even begin to blame the movies playing because after a certain age, your cognition should separate fantasy from reality. As someone who watches plenty of violent films, I am able to separate these two. I know a lot of people who can. It disappoints me that there's people who can't.
I recognize that maybe this reads like a cop-out and that I provide no insight into the issue. I am on the wagon that it needs to stop. I also recognize as someone who has no investment in guns that I have no persuasive case. I just want safety, dammit. I don't want to go somewhere and feel paranoid, which is how I feel following these instances. I know that something needs to change, but I don't know what. I am simply a man who wants to watch his movies in peace. This is where everything becomes grey. Much like how I deny the average movie having a violent impact on society, I can argue that my father and his many guns haven't killed anyone or even come close to injuring. While one is celluloid and thus more controlled, there is a part of me that feels that it is largely the brain that is to blame. But how do you solve the problem if it is impossible to judge billions of people's brains? I have no answer. All I can really say is that this mindless violence needs to stop.
Comments
Post a Comment