First off, before I say anything at all about how movies were affected by the senseless tragedy in Aurora, Colorado last week, there is nothing more important than giving all the thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families. This was a day felt by all and through these dark times, we hope for the powers of humanity to rise.
I say that last line with a little bit of a pun because this website is a movie website. It's not meant to be the hub of a debate about the controversy of something as tragic and polarizing as a national tragedy. So feeling the anger and sadness that I do, I thought I would take the time here to discuss why movies like The Dark Knight Rises are not to blame, even while the media has spun this event into what they call "The Dark Knight Rises Massacre". The headline is simply a sick excuse for trying to come up with a catchy title.
For the first few days following the event, I was glued to the news for one reason: to see just how much the film industry had changed in such little time. Then I turned away because I realized there's only one thing like myself, a film lover thousands of miles away from it all, can do. And that is to continue going to the movies and prove to the world once again that they are meant for the reason why we fell in love with them in the first place: escapism.
Ten years ago, like any other thirteen year old kid, I was searching for a passion that could stick with me for life. At the time I wasn't aware of just how much I loved the movies until I started writing about them. And it was because of the movie theater itself that allowed me to feel free. It created this neutral place where I could go where no one would judge me. What I loved (and still love) is that your fellow moviegoers are there to share the same experience with you, creating a common interest. Why do you think so many people go on dates to the movies? Because there's something there to be shared and experienced together. You wouldn't get that connection by ordering Tower Heist for $60 On Demand. It's a good thing that deal didn't work out last year, but now I fear after the dust settles and changes start to be made around the industry, this idea of direct-to-your-home entertainment may be sold as the "safe alternative" to the movie theater. I hope I'm dead wrong on this one. Seriously.
In terms of expense, it's not that theaters are any cheaper these days. But money aside, the idea of movie theater escapism needs to be reassured to moviegoers by those in charge of how they operate. Warner Brothers has been tackling this tragedy with grace and understanding, realizing that nobody (including myself, one of the biggest fans of box office figures) cares about how much The Dark Knight Rises would have made if it weren't for what happened. Now they simply have to focus on making sure movies like this (an absolute masterpiece) can continue to be made without the industry giving into the fear that every single movie that has violence in it causes real violence in the real world.
But I fear that may already be happening....
Warner Brothers film Gangster Squad, a surefire Oscar contender until a week ago, has been moved to January 11th due to a climatic scene of gangsters shooting down people in a movie theater. The studio's plan is to reshoot this scene so the shooting takes place somewhere else. At this point, it doesn't even seem to be about the violence, but rather giving into the fear that people may not want to see the movie if it displayed something that really happened. In terms of business (aka making a profit), it's understandable, but in terms of artistry, the studio seems to be taking their worries one step too far.
For example, if the scene they are reshooting turns into a violent scene that happens in a parking lot, would they have to reshoot it again if a parking lot shooting happened in real life? Obviously there's more realism in films than parking lots, but my point is this: where's the line? Sure, the images that are in Gangster Squad may not be appropriate right now, but this film is already positioned to be a hard R-rated gangster flick whose runtime will primarily consist of shootings in the same nature as it would have been in the movie theater shooting scene. Since when did it become about the image we get in our head rather than the act of the actual violence itself? Why not go after every movie then, that has movie theater shootings in it? Would they have changed the ending of Inglourious Basterds if it were coming out now instead of three years ago? Maybe not, because the people being killed in that scene were all Nazi's. My point is that there are inconsistencies here, and just because it took place while The Dark Knight Rises was playing rather than say Savages (a far more violent film) doesn't mean that Christopher Nolan, Batman, Bane or Warner Brothers is to blame. Remember, it wasn't long after 9/11 that planes were crashing in movies again. Two 9/11 movies came out five years after it happened too, along with the countless post 9/11 movies that had been glorified for our entertainment.
So the fault is not on The Dark Knight Rises, and it's even more obvious considering he hadn't even seen the movie yet. It too was a victim of this senseless tragedy, because now people will waste their time trying to blame Batman (it's getting to the point where they are now pulling Batman comic books off the shelf for a month) rather than the guy who did it. The more we blame the movie industry, the more we give that pathetic excuse for a man exactly what he wants.
Note: I apologize for being vague in some spots about the man responsible, but I refuse to say his name or anything about him. He doesn't deserve it.
