When the events of fanciful popular culture make ugly inroads into our lives, the problem lies with us, and within us
Christopher Nolan couldn’t have dreamed up a better title for his new Batman movie. “The Dark Knight Rises.” With the merest of alterations, it transforms into a newspaper headline for the day after the shooting that occurred during the film’s first screenings: “A dark night rises.” These murders, of course, are a unique American problem, arising as much from the easy availability of weapons as men with the unfortunate predilection for wielding them. For some grim fun, look up the Wikipedia entry titled “List of serial killers by country.” Argentina has two, Belarus one, Germany 17. The United States, on the other hand, has a link to a page of its own: so numerous are its citizens who are driven to snuff out other lives. James Eagen Holmes, the shooter who donned a mask and opened fire in a Colorado theatre, may not be a serial killer in the Hannibal Lecter sense. He may not have savoured his killings in quite the same way. But his compulsions aren’t all that different — chief among them the desire to make a statement in a flamboyant fashion.
Whenever a student stabs his teacher after watching “Agneepath” or despairing lovers hurl themselves off cliffs after a screening of “Ek Duuje Ke Liye,” a section of society likes to point a finger at cinema. They ignore the millions who saw these films and went back home and woke up the next morning and sent children to school and packed their lunches and went to work.
They focus, instead, on the few who viewed these films as a how-to manual to fix their problematic existence. The reason is easy to guess. It’s simpler to blame a movie than try to address the complex calculations that result in an individual’s descent into momentary madness. No detective will hold the trigger responsible for the corpse in the living room, and yet, we routinely write about films as a cause — if not the cause — for social rot, as if cinema were an assiduous weevil gnawing away at the roots of our modern-day lives.
Positive and a hit
But have you noticed that it’s never the other way around? Shankar’s “Mudhalvan,” for instance, exhorted decency in public behaviour. The film was a massive hit — there wasn’t a single news report about how we’d changed as a result. In other words, we all went and saw the movie and went back to our lives. The most damning case is possibly that of Amitabh Bachchan gunning down a corrupt cabinet at the end of “Inquilaab,” a scenario that doubtless many of us have imagined in our most frustrated moments. Yet, in the following days, no lone ranger was seen ducking into Parliament with an AK-47. Films like “Taare Zameen Par” and “Black” foster topical op-ed pieces and television debates about the disabilities in question, but when was the last time you heard of someone who took five minutes off his early-morning dash to work to help a blind man across the street?
If cinema cannot be found to encourage positive behaviours, then why should we blame films for depicting (and presumably engendering) negative attitudes? The most laughable attempt at saving us from cinema, in recent times, has to be the admonitory scrolls that pop up during scenes of smoking and drinking. And why is it always cinema? In our age, it is certainly because movies are our mass medium, consumed by millions. But what about earlier eras, whose pop culture assumed different forms? Does anyone believe that in 19th-century London, hordes of fans of Dickens threw themselves into rehabilitating orphans and rediscovering the spirit of Christmas? If they could separate truth from fiction, shouldn’t we be able to do the same? It’s always art that mirrors life. And if we are to worry about life imitating art, we should be discussing not just these occasional examples of deranged gunmen but also those numerous women who wrote Rajesh Khanna letters with their blood.
The latter occurrence, strangely, is seen as a charming footnote in a saga of monumental star power, but not one person questioned (or expressed concern about) the alarming inability of these women to emerge from a fevered and fanciful existence where a stranger on screen, however entrancing, was worth inflicting physical harm over. It is one thing to style yourself after a creator of popular culture — a movie star, say, or a musician — and follow their work and worship them from afar, but when things get out of hand, the problem is always with the individual who has lost touch with reality. As much as the shooting in Colorado invites reflection and analysis, it would be too easy to blame a movie about a joyless superhero with pointy ears as the reason so many families have been irretrievably broken. “The Dark Knight Rises” may be the summer’s grandest entertainment. It may be the year’s biggest blockbuster. It’s also just a movie.
Keywords: The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan, A dark night rises, new Batman movie, Hollywood movies
Why did the movie not inspire people to fight crime?
Why did the movie not inspire people to inven Bat mobiles and stuff? It is time that people stopped blaming the movies for their debaucheries.
There is a reason why movies (and video games) celebrate the dark, foreboding nature of violence genre:
At some level, all of us take fondness in mindless violence and bloodshed even if we hate to admit it to ourselves.
Video games especially are a means to act out our deepest, darkest desires, and some of these desires involve violence.
It's shuddering that this is only a few steps away from the gun-trotting, blood thirsty rebel in Syria or wherever who not so long ago was a civil person like us.
Movies only show what sells.
It's probably not a very good idea to romanticize evil in any form of art. Evil itself shall be portrayed, but romanticizing it (like how the Joker character is romanticized in the Dark Knight movie), in my opinion, is something to think about.
I agree with Karthik.It is the negative things in the cinema which are corrupting our society.Shooting incessantly,rediculous fights and carefree smoking and children defying parents and double meaning words and songs and ofcourse the scant dresses are all not desirable.
Call ''cinema affects the society'' a cliched thinking but it's a
reality.Though it depends upon the volatility of thinking level of an individual.If a picture tells thousand words than the movie can capture
thousands of emotions and calls the attention of masses.Now negative
messages and actions in moving image can evoke the negative thoughts so
we have to get rid of these thoughts and not curse the movies for it
remembering that how much of void it has filled in our lonesome life
with its joys.
Excellent article. I am in agree with you. This is really a big problem in todays world that we all are shy of taking the responsibility. We tend to blame others not ourselves. Movies are just a source of entertainment , so take it that way. Why always follow the bad villain? Why not the good hero? Its fully depends on our self thought what we want to acquire, it is not geneticaly inherited. We become what we want. We do what we want to do. We take what we want to take, its fully up to you. So please don't blame others. Millions see a movie but why only a very small section of it acquire the bad stuff, just think about it you can easily find the answer. It is because they want to. So stop blaming movies.
movie or no movie..
if a person wants to do something he/she will definitely do it.
A movie is not only a reflection of society, it also shapes the understanding and thoughts of young minds. I disagree with the point that a movie has nothing to do with incidents happening in society, certainly our subconscious takes the triggers of good or bad things to be done, and it depends on the glamorization of good or bad deeds.It is correct that the person in shooting spree would have taken another route for killings, if not inspired by the movie, and certainly it is a flaw of cultural isolation and loneliness, inherent in American culture. But the point that a positive or negative triggers are not present in a movie is not a valid point. A movie with a positive message certainly impacts the minds, at least the subconscious.
This article made an interesting read. However, I would like to dis
agree that movies do not play a pivotal role in our behavior. I also
agree with one of the comments made, which states that thanks to
stricter gun control norms in India we don't have mass murder. This is
completely true, can you imagine a fragile country such as India with so
much religious intolerance, cast division, language barriers and
inherent hatred Indians harbor for each other. On the plus side, it will
definitely reduce the population to a certain extent.
An intersting read... may be it is the undue importance we attach to the movies that has brought out this article. Brings back the good old question.. does cinema reflect the society or society takes off after cinema? as many have posted here, the article could have been done with a little more research and better wording!
Ah, at the end of it, this too is just an article. Ain't it?
Kudos! to the author for writing a nice article which clearly conveys
the reality. Its always easy to find flaws or to point fingers at
someone. It's time for a change in the mind-set of the people so that we
can also accept the positives out of cinema.
Loved the article. We tend to shirk away from what we ought to do.
And rather than analyzing the problem thoroughly we find it convenient
to put the blame on someone else, in this case, cinema.
The myriad times when cinema with its varied forms has provided us a
respite from our busy days, or something to look forward in the
weekends or even inspired us to do something for others , we never put
a question or even stopped a while and appreciated these movie makers.
Unfortunate as this incident is, Equally perturbing is the fact that
this blame-game is hitherto continuing
What the author says is absolutely correct.
But he failed to understand that Negative things are absorbed very fast
rather than positive feelings.
The documentary bowling for columbine explains this syndrome of usa in
detail. Easy availability of guns contribute to the carnage. Its a good
thing we have stricter laws in India. Imagine our cyclical riots with
both sides wielding automatics.
Movie makers always say that they just reflect the realities in the society. It is difficult to fathom which came first - the influence of cinema or the actual behavior of the people. But, the fact is that currently (unlike before) every alternative movie shows a drinking scene. A couple of decades back, only the villains were shown to be drinking. Now, the heroes, comedians and of course, villains are being depicted as normal drinkers. Thanks to lifting of prohibition, one full generation of people have been spoiled by drinking habit - on top of that, there are government authorized shops selling liquor in every nook and corner.
The article is right in that the movie was not the cause of the shooting. And neither
is the shooter. Students, especially people who tend to spend more time with the
studies also tend to be shy and are the least understood. However, the movies
portraying the 'hero'/'cool' image to the children of the schools and colleges usually
make these type of students void of friends, girl-friends or any other social-
company that is essential for emotional stability of an individual. Parents, too are in
many cases insensitive to the feelings and turmoil these people undergo. This is not
a case just in US. In India, I know of an incident in which a software engineer of NIC
threw himself from a 4th floor... Personally, I think the world is selfish in that it
wants us to do its dirty-work but doesn't want to give anything in return... So, one
time or another some would obviously go over board to kill himself or others...
So, Parents and Society are the main cause... Movies are just a catalyst.......
there are few good points, and few bad as well, probably author has not made too many efforts before writing. you are right that good should also be pointed out. but saying that movie was blamed for this one incident is so wrong claim. i have not met anyone claiming this though the subject came up pretty much everywhere. regarding smoking and drinking, there are clear studies showing how they affected societies at large, and not just a person or 2. i would urge it to be banned in movies. but why would movie makes care.
please do little more study before writing, and please consider it as humble suggestion. do continue writing and putting your views forward, but please study before making big claims. thank you.
movies are in a manner a reflection of our society.HEY but is it the fault of a movie that a sociopath forges terror in aid of a movie.Good things must be inculcated leaving bad things behind.
What the author says is acceptable provided the medium of cinema, is just viewed as a medium of entertainment. For that purpose, movies should not border on any realism in a bid to reflect the society or its mindset or the direness for change. If at all, it is to be potrayed, let it be done, without bringing in teh radical element, as done through "Taare Zameen par" and others of the like. Sadly though, the commercial aspect of movies, prey on the monster hidden in all of us, who seeks revenge and wants a change; by projecting HEROES who wield the power of the universe to "set things right". And, we too feed on that fodder, attempting to satiate our appetite with the violence, which settles the inner conflicts. If cinema mirrors hard-core reality, and can influence the mass, then let it take shape through a perspective, which will reform, refine, and revive those instincts, which define a human and, not A COMBATANT !
"It’s also just a movie." And the Mao Little Red Book, Mein Kampf, The Communist Manifesto, Atlas Shrugged, the Bible, the Koran, that have moved hundreds if not millions to thought and action are "just books"!
Fantastic....I appreciate the author for the straight forward
thinking....
"For some grim fun, look up the Wikipedia entry titled “List of serial killers by country.” Argentina has two, Belarus one, Germany 17. The United States, on the other hand, has a link to a page of its own: so numerous are its citizens who are driven to snuff out other lives." The author makes it seem like USA has abnormally high number of serial killers but if you look at the Wikipedia page quoted, there are 18 for Australia and <200 for USA. Now since the population of USA is > 15x that of Australia, it is nonsense to suggest the problem is somehow more acute in USA. Please do some research before cutting your keystrokes Loose. Reflexive anti-americanism might be fun at a cocktail party but not in a newspaper that takes itself seriously
Sir....I agree to disagree.It indeed is just a movie however movies are nothing but reflection of our society.They 'DO' make a huge impact on people who see them,one way or the other,it may be good/bad depending on the person concerned,his transformation from a child to man and etc etc.We simply just can't say its only a movie...have not we felt good when we saw rang de basanti and wanted to make a change.?...movie and life are intermingled sir,irrespective of our saying its just entertainment....the bigger question what really matters is that what lesson we learn from the movies and vice versa..whether fiction/non-fiction...are we really up to it.?
Regarding the argument on why we do not hold cinema responsible for the good in society, and how only the bad can be said to influence the human mind, my humble answer is: the human mind is easily attracted to the bad, not the good. For example, it is almost a self-evident fact that teenagers get their first love inputs from films, books, TV, from conversations they heard, etc. Why do not all children and teenagers pick up the good and serious from the same sources or from the conversations of elders? Simple, the human mind is inherently wired to be attracted to indriya gratification, not the mind's elevation. Why did Adam bite the forbidden apple? Regarding your argument that why a film like Inquilaab did not spawn real-life shootings, the simple answer would be: not every portrayal necessarily leads to a real-life enactment. The reasons are many, such as the feasibility of undertaking such an act, the real worth of it for the individual, the cost-benefit analysis etc.
I agreee with your views. I really do. Its always beat around the bush without finding the root cause. Its been happening for a long time and it will continue to happen.
Very well written. The problem is indeed within us. Its good to read an article by a person who has not lost touch with reality.
What an insightful comment at the end..."It’s also just a movie.". Exactly!
The authour of this article has made quite a few valid points. However, from a far more social point of view, the concern of influence of cinema is not the shocking few instances of a few individual acts. The slow but sure change of people's mindset. For example, in films from classic era, eve-teasing was almost non-existent. However, in current genre of movies it is downright hostile which I have seen happen in front of my own eyes. One could argue whether the cinema copied reality or vice versa.
You're absolutely right. Its not the movie that provoked the guy in Colorado to kill all those people. He just wanted to do something like that and make a statement. If the movie was not there, he would've found out another way to do it.
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