Monday, April 06, 2009

Tragedy in Oregon During Watchmen Screening

I'm not really sure what to make of this news story, but it strikes me and feels like something to ponder, especially here on StrangeCulture.

Late last night, early this morning, a 24 year shot himself in the head and died at a late Sunday night showing of Watchmen. The shooting happened at the Regal Cinema theater at Valley River Center in Eugene, Oregon.

The theater apparently had about 10 people in it, and the closest patrons were a couple rows ahead. About halfway through the movie they heard a noise, and got the theater manager and discovered the man dead.

I haven't seen Watchmen, mainly because I don't have a desire to subject myself to the dark, violent, and sexually charged content of this genre film. Obviously, the Watchmen comic is a meaningful story to a number of people, although as discussed earlier many people have gone to see this film, especially opening weekend, and have walked out as the film was different then they expected.

Obviously there was probably some degree of pre-meditation in this incident, especially since the patron entered the theater with a hand gun, and I would imagine that in some weird way the suicide during the film had some personal twisted poeticism.
I'm not a naysayer who wants to criticize every film for it's violence, sex, language, and adult content, but I think that we have to step back everyone and awhile and ask tough honest questions about what the effects of the media has on society, and the rise and popularity of ubber-violent films certainly effects society (or perhaps says something about the current state of society...maybe both.)

Images of Regal 15 in Eugene Oregon and Still of Jackie Earle Haley from the movie Watchmen. News story about shooting from Eugene's Registry-Guard and KMTR.

No comments: