Movies do not cause violence. There have been mass killings long before pop culture. The makers of BATMAN have no culpability in this shooting. The only one responsible is the murderer (who will not be named).

The caveats have been placed on the table.

But, we film fans must not just hide behind those caveats. We must look deeper – and, at ourselves.

Last week's shootings did not occur in a vacuum. The atmosphere in fanboy world was one of a frenzy:

-People had been pointing to the release of THE DARK KNIGHT RISES for weeks, months and, for the most devoted, years (practically from the second the end credits wrapped up on THE DARK KNIGHT back in 2008).

-The release came a week after the world's largest annual geek gathering - Comic Con, and all its attendant media hype.

-The mania was so high that fans posted taunts, highly graphic sexual insults and even vague death threats to the few critics who dared say that this BATMAN movie had no cape. It got so bad that Rotten Tomatoes has had to suspend the comments section on their site for the first time ever. Even today, if one goes to imdB and checks under "User Reviews" you will still find that any user who posts a negative review no matter how well thought out and reasoned will find his review tagged as not "useful" by the majority of respondents (even before many had even seen the movie). And, duck if you dare post anything negative on the imdB messageboard (there are a lot of deleted posts which indicates even more foul posts).

-THE DARK KNIGHT RISES' midnight openings were so popular and pre-sold out that there were theaters actually advertising shows at 3:45am. Parents were so gripped in a fever pitch that they were holding their kids out of school and skipping work themselves in order to stay up until dawn to see it.

-The killer did color his hair and referred to himself as the Joker and he did have Batman paraphernalia in his booby-trapped apartment.

NONE of this is an excuse or an explanation for what the murderer did, but, it should give us film fans pause to reflect on how we contributed to such a state of mass cinematic delirium. To wit:

  -No matter how much one loves a particular film (or series), don't fixate on it above all others. Don't obsess and watch the same film over and over, watch every special feature on the DVD incessantly, and read every internet posting for "clues", "secrets" and "hidden meanings". Have a steady balanced approach to cinema. Sample genres, filmmakers, and eras outside of your main interests. Same goes with events like Comic Con - expand your mind.

  -If you are on social media, don't pile on when you see folks ganging up on somebody who expresses a different view. If you are an administrator of a Website or Forum, don't let the comments section become a fulcrum of hate speech, racial taunts and violent threats. There will always be disagreements and trolls, and you don't want to become a censor, but be careful what lines are crossed.

-Movies are not fresh produce. They don't have a set expiration date. It wasn't too long ago that it was socially acceptable to wait a week or two to see a film. Now, with social media at such a hysterical pitch it is no longer good enough to see a movie opening weekend, you must see it at that first Midnight show....or else! Several articles have recently been written about the new Midnight movie phenomenon where the most popular films are measured by how much they gross (as opposed to the old Midnight movies which were all about films that were outside the mainstream). Relax, the movie will still be there waiting for you to enjoy a few days from now.

-It was no coincidence that the killer selected a midnight show for this particular film. He knew the place would be packed, and he knew the attention he would garner would be at its max that night. Midnight shows should not be banned, but, again, relax everybody: The movie will playing at matinees a few hours later (as well as every 1/2 hour all afternoon and evening).

-Most importantly, if you see that somebody in your orbit is displaying obsessive tendencies, ask them about it. If they start stockpiling weapons and ammo get concerned. If it gets worse or they refuse to see it in themselves, get professional help.

Finally, movies are supposed to be an escape. They can be thoughtful as well as entertaining. We shouldn't let last week's shooting hamper our enjoyment of the cinema. We should keep it in perspective, however.

Peace to the victims.

Meet me at the Box Office, soon.

2.  Instead of the FBI/CIA/NYPD/Homeland Security/NSA snooping around the Occupy Movement, they should pay close attention to these right-wing fanatics.  Keeping arms away from right-wingers will make us all a lot safer.

dave, i wouldn't give you a loaded gun if it was world war 3.

if yet another tyrant takes over in europe and precipitates another global conflict which kills hundreds of millions will you then entertain the finite probability that an armed citizenry prevents that kind of thing? you can file this in your "not a perfect world" folder.

kirok wrote on Jul 26^th, 2012 at 10:59am:




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Alright, guys. If you aren't going to actually talk about the shooting --