Exhibitionism of Violence

Again and again, America experiences such brutal shootings as the current one in Aurora. One will once again debate action films, video games and firearms. The controversy could become more aggressive this time. Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises” offers a brutal reflection: The exhibitionism of violence that the film develops has been taken from society.

Late Thursday night, shortly after midnight, terror returned to Denver, Colorado. In 1999, there was the massacre in Columbine High School in Littleton, a site near the city; now it came as a brutal shooting in Aurora, a suburb of Denver. Twelve people were killed, dozens wounded. America is accustomed to experiencing such extreme acts of violence at regular intervals.

This is the most frightening to date. It occurred in a movie theater during the screening of a movie, “The Dark Knight Rises,” the finale of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. The terror on the screen begins with the capture of an airplane; the terror in front of the screen began shortly after this scene.

“The Dark Knight Rises” is the big event of summer movies; the excitement has been mounting. There were sold-out midnight openings across the country and many fans came in masks. The potential to arouse emotion is enormous.

America will once again dispute the concerns and accusations that are intertwined with violence in films and video games, and the all too easy access to firearms.

The controversy could become more aggressive this time amidst the crisis of a demoralized, polarized America. The film offers a brutal reflection: The exhibitionism of violence developed in the movie is taken from society.