In the aftermath of watching a great trilogy come to a close,
my thoughts have been spiraling back to the victims of the Batman Movie
Massacre. I was one of many who walked into a theater teeming with excitement,
ready to catch a glimpse at all the awesome costumes and see a thrilling
action/adventure movie unfold on the screen. I was not disappointed. I sat
riveted to my seat throughout the movie, elated to see Anne Hathaway give a
great performance as Catwoman, thrilled to see Liam Neeson’s cameo, and grateful
to experience both the melancholy and the delight of the series’ conclusion. There
really is nothing like seeing the end of a movie with dozens
of other people screaming and cheering at all the right parts.
I left the theater at 3am completely oblivious to the
tragedy that had occurred just a couple states away. It wasn’t until much later
that morning that I found out.
At first, I was confused. Too little sleep and too many
thoughts spinning through my head made me slow on the uptake. An idle remark by
one close friend was responded to much more seriously than usual by another and
it was then that we found out about the shooting. We were all half-asleep and I
know that at least for me, the gravity of the situation didn’t sink in until I
got home an hour later and saw the news.
Even now, a part of me is still confused, but this is a
different kind of confusion. This is the kind where I find myself asking, “Why?”
No matter how hard I try, I can’t figure out what would cause a person to walk
into a movie theater and choose to maim and kill dozens of people. I’ve tried
to see his side of the story like I so often do with the villains in the
stories I write and the characters in the movies I see, but I just can’t
comprehend it. No matter how many scenarios I go through trying to find some
reason for a man to go that mad, I just can’t. No amount of grief or
frustration or sorrow should lead a sane person to causing so much harm to
people they don’t even know.
Ironically, as I write this I find myself thinking about a quote
from Alfred in The Dark Knight, “Some men just want to
watch the world burn.” And maybe that’s exactly what this tragedy is. Maybe that
is the only explanation that I will ever be able to understand. Sometimes, things just
cannot be explained away with logic and the simple truth is that human emotion
is illogical.
On another level, I’m frustrated, knowing that so many
people will try to blame the violence in the film for the tragedy. However, I
feel like the people who are staking these claims are missing a key point from
not only this trilogy, but many other movies as well.
Batman is one of those characters who avoids killing,
refuses to even use a gun—as he mentioned so many times to Catwoman throughout
this movie. The killing was always a direct result of the villains’ actions and
Batman only let characters die when there was no other choice—and even then he
wasn’t usually the one who killed them.
Yes, there is violence in this series and yes, characters
die, but seeing a film that contains violence is not in direct correlation to
violence in real life—if that were the case, the millions of people who have viewed
this series would be wreaking a lot more havoc on the world. There just have to
be more contributing factors to provoke a person to violence—and especially to
senseless violence of the caliber demonstrated by the man who caused this
massacre.
Another part of me is just angry. Angry that he caused so
much harm and people are suffering for no good reason. Angry that he ruined the
movie for so many people. On a far more superficial level, I’m angry that the
memory of such a great trilogy will be forever scathed by this awful tragedy. And
I am especially angry that people had to die to fulfill some twisted fantasy or
another that this man had to have had.
The last and most prominent emotion I’m feeling right now is
sorrow. I will not pretend to comprehend the grief and terror that the victims
and their families are feeling right now. No words can truly describe just how
terrible this situation is, nor can any words I have to say assuage away the
pain. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. And my heart
also goes out to all involved in the production of this film, for many are
doubtlessly dealing with their own demons in light of this catastrophe. I hope
that those still seeking family and friends find them soon and that those in
mourning find peace.
This is a disaster that no one should have had to suffer
through and no one’s fault but the man who thoughtlessly chose to commit such a
horrifying transgression. The best that I can hope for is that justice is
rightfully served and that the man one day understands just how much harm his
actions have caused.
