Discussion for article #223174
Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen, methinks you protest too much.
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Ahhh the olâ stand-by â movies and music are the problem.
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Yeah itâs entertainmentâs fault.
If it werenât such a tragic story, that would be funny.
What an idiot.
To me, art represents society and culture, it doesnât create it.
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Man, action movies cause people to go on shooting rampages, comedies make people go on shooting rampages. Before long the only movie allowed to be made will be Jane Eyre, produced every year by the last remaining movie studio, BBC Films.
Oh, and in answer to your question, Mr. Apatow, about why is it never just mental illness? Because if they admitted that it was mental illness than they would have to find a way to deal with mental illness in our country. And that is expensive and hard. Much easier to blame Hollywood.
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âHow many students watch outsized frat-boy fantasies like âNeighborsâ and feel, as Rodger did, unjustly shut out of college life that should be full of âsex and fun and pleasureâ?â
Isnât the inability to separate fantasy from reality indicative of mental illness? Should there be no fantasy because some people are unable to recognize it as such?
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They are, at least in the sense that they are part of the problem. A lot of things are part of the problem though. Let me put it this way; do you agree that entertainment and news media can inspire someone to do something? For TPMers, itâs more likely to inspire us to do something political. If entertainment and news media can inspire us, it can certainly inspire someone to act on their hatreds and fears. Certainly there are other larger contributing factors, but to categorically discount entertainment media as a source that motivates, encourages, and inspires people would seem to be completely ignoring the power of TV, movies, and advertising.
Iâm not calling for any movies, tv, news, advertising, or video games to be banned or censored, only that we acknowledge that these things do have an impact on our behavior.
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The killerâs dad was an assistant director on Hunger Games, which I have not seen, but I believe is filled with killings in a dystopian future world where young people kill to reach the food supply, and a little romance was thrown in too. Sounds twisted to me, and maybe the boy was influenced by it.
I completely agree with Hornadayâs general point. Apatow and Seth Macfarlane and their (admittedly talented) cronies have made careers out of misleading, reactionary and infantile movies and TV shows that celebrate male stupidity and misogyny. As a left-wing parent of young kids who grew up in an era of intelligent and funny movies like Working Girl, Tootsie, Groundhog Day, Trading Places, etc etc, Iâm dismayed at the bullshit that my kids will at some point have to flush out their systems if they are going to mature and get some kind of grasp of reality. As for Apatow accusing Hornaday of trying to cash in on the murdersânow that really is laughable, from the multimillionaire serial exploiter of 13-year-olds.
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Maybe you havenât thought about it enough, then. Try thinking about Leni Riefenstahl, for example, and then tell me films donât have an impact on cultural attitudes. People wouldnât make propaganda if that werenât the case.
The âart imitates lifeâ chestnut doesnât have much explanatory power. There are many aspects to life, and Apatow/Rogen havenât chosen to make films about, say, college kids in the symphony orchestra or bio lab. Their choices about how to portray life are their legitimate ones to make, but the choices have effects: life also imitates art.
Besides, the Apatow/Rogen movies are about as far from âartâ as one can imagine. We might think of them as harmless entertainment, and they might be that for some people; but they also mainstream ideas that can be socially corrosive.
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The only movie would be Jane Eyre??? Then we all would shoot ourselves. (says the english teacher!)
The combination of all those types of media define our culture. There was an Iranian Ayatollah that jumped into the YesAllWomen hashtag to make similar points the other day.
Aside from absurd, distracting media coverage and the me-oriented celebrity counter to the absurdity, the point still is that clearly insane people should not be able to easily acquire weapons and ammunitionâŚ
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Raskolnikov, where are you when we need you?
Methinks you need to pull your head out.
âSocially corrosiveâ to people who cannot separate fantasy from reality. Yes, its sad that this occurs but isnât only something that occurs in modern American society. No doubt it has always occurred throughout history. Mental illness happens.
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How about the violence porn packaged on the PS and XBOX.
Gun violence is cool, and without consequence.
Thatâs what these games say. I see that as at least worth discussing in this context.
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Just wondering what âpart of the problemâ is supposed to mean.
The logic being espoused here is that movies shouldnât depict college students dating, partying, and having fun because if they do so some mentally ill loner might go on a shooting rampage.
Sorry, but Iâm just not buying it.
By that logic, any form of entertainment showing people enjoying their lives could stir up envy and resentment. On the other hand, any form of entertainment showing people having difficulties could exacerbate negative feelings and depression and thereby trigger violence.
Maybe simply having a culture at all implies some kind of risk.
I just donât see any productive line of argument here.
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Heaven forbid the âshlubbyâ guy gets the girlâŚThis tragedy would have never happened if Brad Pitt got the girl in every movie instead.
Hollywood should make sure the"Shlubby" guys never get the girl in the movies. They need to acclimate âshlubbyâ guys to the rejection they will receive later in life. Because destroying any sense of possibilities is probably best for anyone not as attractive as George Clooney.
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I think he was more influenced by mental illness.
Literally millions of people have watched The Hunger Games without feeling impelled to go on a killing spree. Itâs not like the film endorses violence.
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