Although I am over half a country away with no personal connection to the horrific events so recently surrounding Aurora, Colorado I feel deeply connected to this atrocity. No, I cannot imagine that my grief surmounts to anything compared to those of the victim's families but I could not let this go by with out adding my voice to the many now reaching out in support, and also sharing my perspective to the dialogue of the aftermath.
When one goes to the theater you look to engage in an hour or two of escapism. Slipping into an alternative world, you entrust your perceptions to the vision of the filmmakers and your safety to those around you. There is an unspoken pact that is enacted when engaging in this shared experience and that pact was unforgivably violated by a man who did not have the aptitude to decipher reality from fiction. My heart goes out to those movie goers, the tragedy of their death lies in their innocence and vulnerability and it is an event I will not soon forget.
As a result of any act of tremendous loss we have seen that many begin to look for a motivation for the killers actions. In this case it has brought to light a certain discussion that I find particularly enraging. Some have stated that violence in the film industry has gotten out of hand and is corrupting the minds of the masses. This idea is not only absurd but also directly insulting to the memory of the victims. We, as consumers of this medium, are not the mindless individuals this theory insinuates. We are critical, analytical beings capable of finding a film enthralling without it pervading our every notion thereafter. Yes there are those who are incapable of separating their world from the one on the screen, but they are few in number. So people who are criticizing the content of The Dark Knight Rises I ask you this: Would you have us sacrifice expression out of fear? Should we live in paranoia that caters to the whims of the insane? I say no. Every film is a conversation that gives us another shot at a greater public truth and that should not be lost to the will of people like James Holmes. The victims were there to see it, they supported the film, and they were not so impressionable that they came armed. Let us not insult their memory by saying the film was the source. A person was the source, and although nothing can pay for the lives he took, he will be brought to justice. Let us not give him anymore influence over us and our ability to live, he does not deserve that right.
Remembering 6/20/12 Aurora, CO
Pam G
Very well said!
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