Batman shooting

[Undertaker]

There is no connection. It's just another nutjob weirdo who probably spends his nights sleeping alone and playing online war games 18 hours a day.

[Pet Shop Girl]

Like I said, this movie has nothing to do with a psycho going on a rampage of killing. I love these Christopher Nolan Batman movies and this movie in particular should not be ruined by this killer.

THere are way more violent movies out there than this.

[Deschanel]

I'm not surprised about the Batman connection really. Not the violence itself, but the pshychological profile of Heath Ledgers charecter in Dark Knight was so extremely authentic, the evil in him so realistic you could almost touch it. Someone who's losing all hope and empathy for mankind watching that it must be like pouring gasolin on fire...validating those emotions and putting ideas in mind.

I'll agree with a lot of this. Ledger was truly chilling in the role. And I'm not blaming Nolan's Batman movies, or any entertainment, for this sicko's murder spree. I will say that I haaated the last Batman movie, its "dark, gritty realism". Like a hostage video or a snuff film, sadism and terrorism and sadistic terrorism (sic).
I realize people dig it, but it sort of nauseated me. I'm sort of sick of my childhood superheroes going "dark", gritty, murderous, nihilistic. I don't read comics anymore, but i do observe, and that's been the trend for the past twenty years and more, and gawd-damn is it tired and ugly and unoriginal and stupid.

Are the movies to blame? Broadly, I'll say no. But you have to wonder.

(As for gun control, which I support: at this point we're too far gone, "forget it Jake, it's Chinatown". I will say that in more civilized parts of this vast country, the laws and rules work. His Lordship Mayor Bloomberg of NYC is a lot of things, but he's absolutely right in his calls for gun control, and stanching and disrupting the flow of guns from loosely or non-regulated states like Virginia up to New York. It's taken seriously here, I can't speak for how the NRA has tattered and destroyed gun-control laws in places like Colorado. Which might as well be a foreign country to me, I know it not at all. Lamentable and depressing, I f*** hate guns. )

[markus]

I'm not surprised about the Batman connection really. Not the violence itself, but the pshychological profile of Heath Ledgers charecter in Dark Knight was so extremely authentic, the evil in him so realistic you could almost touch it. Someone who's losing all hope and empathy for mankind watching that it must be like pouring gasolin on fire...validating those emotions and putting ideas in mind.

I'll agree with a lot of this. Ledger was truly chilling in the role. And I'm not blaming Nolan's Batman movies, or any entertainment, for this sicko's murder spree. I will say that I haaated the last Batman movie, its "dark, gritty realism". Like a hostage video or a snuff film, sadism and terrorism and sadistic terrorism (sic).
I realize people dig it, but it sort of nauseated me. I'm sort of sick of my childhood superheroes going "dark", gritty, murderous, nihilistic. I don't read comics anymore, but i do observe, and that's been the trend for the past twenty years and more, and gawd-damn is it tired and ugly and unoriginal and stupid.

Are the movies to blame? Broadly, I'll say no. But you have to wonder.

Just to make my point a bit clearer: I don't believe it's ever one single factor like movies or violent computer games creating monsters like Breivik, or the Denver Killer, there's ususally a tragic childhood, abuse, dysfunctional families etc. in the picture too. ADHD and autism and mental illness is also an area where there's a lot to be learned still...However you can't dismiss the effect the things we fill our minds with by what we see and hear daily. Companies wouldn't spend billions on advertising if there was no increase on sales of a product. Every movie at the cinema is always selling something, question is only what? Heath Ledgers charecter got more praise thanks to his performance than Christian Bale's, in the last Batman film, who was really the superhero of those too? I don't think you can ignore how it glamorized being the villain: the joker was the one with all the power and control, he seemed to have justified ideas and was on a righteous mission, just like todays terrorists if you start looking at things form their perspective...and so on.

Saying there's "no connection" is a bit strong IMO, he did after all present himself to the police as "the joker" telling loud and clear who his role model and inspiration was.

[Drico One]

You have nuts everywhere - what you don't have everywhere is easy access to guns.

Drico.

[Undertaker]

There should be a ban on all guns. They aren't necessary at all. It just gives power to loners who see a pistol as some sort of control over everyone else. It also allows cops to think they are god.

[glennjridge]

here in america we are too far gone in that respect. realistically we will have to wait for technology to catch up and make some kind of a difference rather than a ban on guns outright. either that or open a new line of clothing that is all made from bullet proof kevlar.

I have a couple rifles. they were really east to get. some states have a "cooling off" period where they make you wait like 3 days while they do a background check on you. now the actual check can be done in under a half hour,but they have this ridculous notion that if an angry person wants to buy a gun.....he will have to wait...and thus will cool down and by the time he is legit to buy, he wont want to shoot anyone lol

me I walked out of the store with a rifle some years back in about an hour. handguns however are kinda of difficult.I dont even want to go thru the trouble.

[Patrick Bateman]

You have nuts everywhere - what you don't have everywhere is easy access to guns.

Just as well this forum doesn't have access to firearms.

[Ouelad]

I was shocked about it..

[JoanneB]

There should be a ban on all guns. They aren't necessary at all. It just gives power to loners who see a pistol as some sort of control over everyone else. It also allows cops to think they are god.

I have to agree with you. Far too many people with guns who shouldn't have them.

[Flaffer]

I realize people dig it, but it sort of nauseated me. I'm sort of sick of my childhood superheroes going "dark", gritty, murderous, nihilistic. I don't read comics anymore, but i do observe, and that's been the trend for the past twenty years and more, and gawd-damn is it tired and ugly and unoriginal and stupid.

Batman is his early incarnation was written as a very dark and gritty character. It was only post scare mongering and the establishment of the Comics Code Authority that he became far more family friendly, culminating in the sixties t.v. show. Batman started getting grittier even in the late sixties, but particularly in the seventies with Denny O'Neill writing and moving on to the Dark Knight Rises in mid eighties. Why are comics reflecting the harshness around the times they are produced unoriginal and stupid. The DKR provided a strong critique of Reagan and forecasted the crass tv coverage we have surrounded. Although given your views on Bin Laden and terrorism Millers crass Holy Terror may be a good read for you, given its black and white approach

[Patrick Bateman]

Holy crap, how out of it did he look in court?

[glennjridge]

can you imagine the adrenalin that must have been pumping thru his veins....the power....the feeling of being a God he must have felt all during the massacre...the feeling of being so alive....and then.....he's caught...in handcuffs in the bowels of drab buildings and tiny cells..all that solitary alone time..thats when they come down..and reallize what theyve done and all they have to look forward to is life in some prison shithole.

I hear he was spitting at the guards when they first put him in a cell. maybe they gave him a sedative to make sure he doesnt cause any problems at the hearing. the police dont want to made a fool of by this weirdo.

[York Minster]

It did look like he was on something.

[Eldritch]

It's all so predictable. Cue the Americans rushing in to defend their right to carry firearms: it's not the guns that kill people, it's guns. Yeah, right. Finland has the laxest gun laws in Europe and we have the worst track record in that respect during the last years.