Dear Mr. Hurt:
You recently penned an open
letter addressed to director Christopher Nolan, actor Sean Penn, and Warner
Brothers Pictures. While I am not associated with, nor do I speak for, any of
the intended recipients, I feel compelled to take advantage of the nature of an
open letter and write my own open response.
Saying the shooting was “carried
out almost precisely from the scripts” of Christopher Nolan’s films is wildly
inaccurate and would indicate that you yourself have never seen any of the
movies in question. Having seen all of Nolan’s films, I can confidently state
that not a single one contains a scene that has any parallels whatsoever with
the shooting. As a matter of fact, though I can’t claim to have seen every
movie ever made, I have seen a great deal of them, and I’m drawing a blank when
trying to think of a movie that features a shootout in a theater. The closest
in my mind is the apprehension of Lee Harvey Oswald at a theater in JFK, which was a historical event
(though one does wonder what movies Oswald saw that inspired him to assassinate
John Kennedy).
You attack Nolan for sharing his
thoughts on the Aurora, Colorado shooting, and his belief that “the mere words
of the English language […] are simply not up to the task of describing them,”
which I believe to be a mischaracterization of the intent of his statement. I
imagine his intent was to show support and solidarity for the victims of the
tragedy; to let them know that, while no words can correctly describe or diminish
the depth of their suffering, those associated with the film share their grief
and are keeping them in their thoughts and prayers. While this may seem like a
meaningless gesture to you, I believe some level of comfort is bestowed upon the
victims, knowing that high-profile celebrities – people we often view as
larger-than-life entities – have also been touched by this terrible event.
You also mention statements
issued by “half-rate actors,” presumably referring to members of the Dark Knight Rises cast who released
statements in response to the shooting. While the quality of an actor’s work
can be rather subjective, I think it worth mentioning that the top-billed members
of the Dark Knight Rises cast have 15
Academy Award nominations and 5 wins between them.
Though I’m no fan of Sean Penn, I’m
puzzled by his inclusion in your letter. Yes, the trailer for his film Gangster Squad, which includes a scene
of a shootout in a movie theater, appeared before screenings of The Dark Knight Rises, it’s a stretch to
say it depicts “orgiastic bloodshed,” considering there isn’t a single
on-screen appearance of blood throughout the entire trailer. And while I would
agree there are similarities between the scene in question and the actual
events that occurred in Colorado, I would argue there are just as many differences;
to my knowledge, the suspect is neither a member of the Mafia, nor is he a
gangster living in 1949, and is not alleged to have used a Tommy Gun in the
shooting.
You criticize these individuals
by saying that they are the “inspiration” and the “architects” of the Colorado
massacre. This is patently absurd. Christopher Nolan and Sean Penn’s films can
no more be accused of inspiring the shooting than the Pirates of the Caribbean films can be accused of inciting Somali
pirates. If movies were a common and direct basis for real-life events, Knocked Up, The Terminator, and Ghostbusters
would be responsible for rashes of unplanned pregnancies, shootings at
police stations, and startups of businesses focusing on paranormal
investigations and eliminations, respectively. But you take it a step further,
saying that Nolan and Penn have “inspired mass murder” and that they combine to
form “the Osama bin Laden of this travesty.” It is not only insane but borderline
offensive to compare the acts of a single alleged shooter – James Holmes, whom
you do not mention a single time in your entire letter – to the leader of a
group of international terrorists responsible for the deaths of nearly 3000
Americans.
Four times in your article you
mention that one of the victims was a 6-year-old girl. While tragic, I fail to
see how the ages of any of the victims are the concern of your addressees. The
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) film ratings are designed to
notify potential moviegoers of the content that can be expected when seeing a
particular film. The Dark Knight Rises received
a PG-13 rating, which indicates that parents are “strongly cautioned” that “some
material may be inappropriate for children under 13.” For this film, the MPAA
cited “intense sequences of violence and action, some sensuality and language”
as reasoning for the rating.
It is not my desire to point
fingers or assign blame, but if you’re concerned about why a child of that age
was present at the midnight release of a movie featuring the content mentioned
above, I would first question the girl’s parents.
In closing, you refer to The Dark Knight Rises as a “snuff film,”
indicating that you don’t understand the definition of the snuff film, nor the
fact that the existence of a genuine snuff film has never been confirmed.
Overall, I find it incredibly
ironic that the Dark Knight film
trilogy should be singled out and subjected to blame for a mass murder. After
all, Batman has only one rule: no killing.
Everyone has the right to their
own opinion, Mr. Hurt. I just wish that yours was rooted more in facts than in
broad mischaracterizations, misappropriated blame, and hyperbole.
