Following Elliot Rodger's recent shooting rampage in Santa Barbara, California, Washington Post film critic Ann Hornaday wrote an article, entitled, "In a final videotaped message, a sad reflection of the sexist stories we so often see on screen," which has gone on to prompt anger in some and fist pumps for others. I'll focus on three paragraphs from her article and comments about it from two people with differing viewpoints.
In her article, Ms. Hornaday wrote this:
"Indeed, as important as it is to understand Rodger's actions within the context of the mental illness he clearly suffered, it's just as clear that his delusions were inflated, if not created, by the entertainment industry he grew up in. With his florid rhetoric of self-pity, aggression and awkwardly forced "evil laugh," Rodger resembled a noxious cross between Christian Bale's slick sociopath in "American Psycho," the thwarted womanizer in James Toback's "The Pick-Up Artist" and every Bond villain in the canon."
She also wrote this:
"How many students watch outsized frat-boy fantasies like "Neighbors" and feel, as Rodger did, unjustly shut out of college life that should be full of 'sex and fun and pleasure'? How many men, raised on a steady diet of Judd Apatow comedies in which the shlubby arrested adolescent always gets the girl, find that those happy endings constantly elude them and conclude, 'It's not fair'?"
Lastly, film critic Hornaday wrote the following:
"Movies may not reflect reality, but they powerfully condition what we desire, expect and feel we deserve from it. The myths that movie have been selling us become even more palpable at a time when spectators become their own auteurs and stars on YouTube, Instagram and Vine. If our cinematic grammar is one of violence, sexual conquest and macho swagger - thanks to male studio executives who green-light projects according to their own pathetic predilections - no one should be surprised when those impulses take luridly literal form in the culture at large."
After hearing about this article, star of the film Neighbors - Seth Rogen - sent the following tweet to Ms. Hornaday:
"@AnnHornaday how dare you imply that me getting girls in movies caused a lunatic to go on a rampage."
Jessica Goldstein, of ThinkProgress, then responded to Rogen's tweet(s) with an article, entitled, "Seth Rogen Is Not A Victim Of The Santa Barbara Killings."
In her article, Goldstein writes:
"People in movies can't have it both ways: either pop culture is totally irrelevant, and therefore the work they do is totally irrelevant, or pop culture does matter, which means they will sometimes have to reckon with the fact that their work can be a force for evil as well as good. If you want people to see Dallas Buyer's Club and leave with greater empathy for the challenges the LGBT community faces, you have to be prepared that people will see darker movies and leave with darker thoughts, and that even - especially - seemingly innocuous movies can and do have a powerful influence over the way we think, feel, communicate and behave."
While I think Seth Rogen, in hindsight, may wish to have handled the matter slightly differently, I can understand his anger and response to the article. Also, while I can understand the frustration Ann Hornaday, Jessica Goldstein, and others may feel with regard to women not possessing more power in Hollywood and often times being typecast in a certain sexual light in film, I think they're reaching so far into left field, they've officially exited the stadium.
Cinema, like any form of art, can be powerful beyond words. Often times, there's that one film, book, painting, or song which impacts a person unlike any other. At the same time, however, there's a stark difference between reality and fantasy, and while the fantasy element in film can often times provide a sense of hope for people, it becomes clear at a rather young age that what's depicted on the big screen is far different than what is showcased in real life. This is often the reason why people go out and see a movie in the first place - to temporarily exit reality, to temporarily forget about some problems they're having, to temporarily void themselves of the everyday stresses in their lives. Yet, once those final credits roll, the lights come on, and they venture to the restroom and then their cars, the two hours of fantasy they just experienced becomes a thing of the distant past, as they're forced to stare reality in the face yet again.
Well over 99% of people whom listen to hard rock music or rap don't go on shooting rampages. Well over 99% of people whom watch Judd Apatow comedies don't go on to harm women in some manner. Well over 99% of people whom play violent video games don't go out and commit violent crimes. For the very few people whom do resort to such heinous actions, it appears as if something was seriously wrong with them in the first place.
Even though many films are devoid of an ounce of reality, perhaps they provide a delusion of hope for some. If that's the case, though, no genre is more guilty of that than romance/romantic comedy. While I've never heard a guy tell me, "Guys get laid all the time in movies! That should be happening to us too!," I have, on occasion, heard women say, "I wish I could find a guy like (X - perhaps Ryan Gosling from The Notebook). I'm not going to settle until I do so," and while it may not be technically wrong to fantasize about such a happening, once that fantasy gets mistaken for reality, then that's when problems can arise.
What I find to be highly ironic about Ms. Hornaday's article and her rationale is that it seems as if she believes that Hollywood's treatment of women in film is more to blame for the shooter's actions than the media's treatment of such individuals. As she pointed out herself, this man's mental illness should receive the brunt of the blame in this tragedy. However, if she wants to point a finger elsewhere, why is it she chooses to point it toward actors and directors for allegedly giving the shooter false hopes about women and sex, and not toward people such as herself whom turn these lunatics into celebrities and martyrs? When Columbine occurred, music and video games may have been the initial scapegoats, but why did so many disgruntled teenagers attempt to copy the two shooters in the days, weeks, months, and years to follow? Was it loud music and violent video games, or the fact they knew they'd die with their faces on the front page of newspapers, and be talked about on cable news for days on end?
Seth Rogen is not to blame for this crazed shooter. Judd Apatow is not to blame. Christian Bale is not to blame. The perpetrator of this horrendous act is Elliot Rodger. While I think it's very important for us to continually work toward full equality for women in this country and the rest of the world, I think that's an entirely different conversation than the one surrounding this deranged individual. Where the central focus should be is how to better prevent such tragedies from taking place. The talk should be about: Increasing spending on mental health, tighter gun regulations, attentive parenting, improving education, and perhaps finding ways to alter the mindset of the "selfie" culture to one that's more about community and generosity.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/in-a-final-videotaped-message-a-sad-reflection-of-the-sexist-stories-we-so-often-see-on-screen/2014/05/25/dec7e7ea-e40d-11e3-afc6-a1dd9407abcf_story.html
http://thinkprogress.org/culture/2014/05/27/3441705/seth-rogen-neighbors-yes-all-women/
In her article, Ms. Hornaday wrote this:
"Indeed, as important as it is to understand Rodger's actions within the context of the mental illness he clearly suffered, it's just as clear that his delusions were inflated, if not created, by the entertainment industry he grew up in. With his florid rhetoric of self-pity, aggression and awkwardly forced "evil laugh," Rodger resembled a noxious cross between Christian Bale's slick sociopath in "American Psycho," the thwarted womanizer in James Toback's "The Pick-Up Artist" and every Bond villain in the canon."
She also wrote this:
"How many students watch outsized frat-boy fantasies like "Neighbors" and feel, as Rodger did, unjustly shut out of college life that should be full of 'sex and fun and pleasure'? How many men, raised on a steady diet of Judd Apatow comedies in which the shlubby arrested adolescent always gets the girl, find that those happy endings constantly elude them and conclude, 'It's not fair'?"
Lastly, film critic Hornaday wrote the following:
"Movies may not reflect reality, but they powerfully condition what we desire, expect and feel we deserve from it. The myths that movie have been selling us become even more palpable at a time when spectators become their own auteurs and stars on YouTube, Instagram and Vine. If our cinematic grammar is one of violence, sexual conquest and macho swagger - thanks to male studio executives who green-light projects according to their own pathetic predilections - no one should be surprised when those impulses take luridly literal form in the culture at large."
After hearing about this article, star of the film Neighbors - Seth Rogen - sent the following tweet to Ms. Hornaday:
"@AnnHornaday how dare you imply that me getting girls in movies caused a lunatic to go on a rampage."
Jessica Goldstein, of ThinkProgress, then responded to Rogen's tweet(s) with an article, entitled, "Seth Rogen Is Not A Victim Of The Santa Barbara Killings."
In her article, Goldstein writes:
"People in movies can't have it both ways: either pop culture is totally irrelevant, and therefore the work they do is totally irrelevant, or pop culture does matter, which means they will sometimes have to reckon with the fact that their work can be a force for evil as well as good. If you want people to see Dallas Buyer's Club and leave with greater empathy for the challenges the LGBT community faces, you have to be prepared that people will see darker movies and leave with darker thoughts, and that even - especially - seemingly innocuous movies can and do have a powerful influence over the way we think, feel, communicate and behave."
While I think Seth Rogen, in hindsight, may wish to have handled the matter slightly differently, I can understand his anger and response to the article. Also, while I can understand the frustration Ann Hornaday, Jessica Goldstein, and others may feel with regard to women not possessing more power in Hollywood and often times being typecast in a certain sexual light in film, I think they're reaching so far into left field, they've officially exited the stadium.
Cinema, like any form of art, can be powerful beyond words. Often times, there's that one film, book, painting, or song which impacts a person unlike any other. At the same time, however, there's a stark difference between reality and fantasy, and while the fantasy element in film can often times provide a sense of hope for people, it becomes clear at a rather young age that what's depicted on the big screen is far different than what is showcased in real life. This is often the reason why people go out and see a movie in the first place - to temporarily exit reality, to temporarily forget about some problems they're having, to temporarily void themselves of the everyday stresses in their lives. Yet, once those final credits roll, the lights come on, and they venture to the restroom and then their cars, the two hours of fantasy they just experienced becomes a thing of the distant past, as they're forced to stare reality in the face yet again.
Well over 99% of people whom listen to hard rock music or rap don't go on shooting rampages. Well over 99% of people whom watch Judd Apatow comedies don't go on to harm women in some manner. Well over 99% of people whom play violent video games don't go out and commit violent crimes. For the very few people whom do resort to such heinous actions, it appears as if something was seriously wrong with them in the first place.
Even though many films are devoid of an ounce of reality, perhaps they provide a delusion of hope for some. If that's the case, though, no genre is more guilty of that than romance/romantic comedy. While I've never heard a guy tell me, "Guys get laid all the time in movies! That should be happening to us too!," I have, on occasion, heard women say, "I wish I could find a guy like (X - perhaps Ryan Gosling from The Notebook). I'm not going to settle until I do so," and while it may not be technically wrong to fantasize about such a happening, once that fantasy gets mistaken for reality, then that's when problems can arise.
What I find to be highly ironic about Ms. Hornaday's article and her rationale is that it seems as if she believes that Hollywood's treatment of women in film is more to blame for the shooter's actions than the media's treatment of such individuals. As she pointed out herself, this man's mental illness should receive the brunt of the blame in this tragedy. However, if she wants to point a finger elsewhere, why is it she chooses to point it toward actors and directors for allegedly giving the shooter false hopes about women and sex, and not toward people such as herself whom turn these lunatics into celebrities and martyrs? When Columbine occurred, music and video games may have been the initial scapegoats, but why did so many disgruntled teenagers attempt to copy the two shooters in the days, weeks, months, and years to follow? Was it loud music and violent video games, or the fact they knew they'd die with their faces on the front page of newspapers, and be talked about on cable news for days on end?
Seth Rogen is not to blame for this crazed shooter. Judd Apatow is not to blame. Christian Bale is not to blame. The perpetrator of this horrendous act is Elliot Rodger. While I think it's very important for us to continually work toward full equality for women in this country and the rest of the world, I think that's an entirely different conversation than the one surrounding this deranged individual. Where the central focus should be is how to better prevent such tragedies from taking place. The talk should be about: Increasing spending on mental health, tighter gun regulations, attentive parenting, improving education, and perhaps finding ways to alter the mindset of the "selfie" culture to one that's more about community and generosity.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/in-a-final-videotaped-message-a-sad-reflection-of-the-sexist-stories-we-so-often-see-on-screen/2014/05/25/dec7e7ea-e40d-11e3-afc6-a1dd9407abcf_story.html
http://thinkprogress.org/culture/2014/05/27/3441705/seth-rogen-neighbors-yes-all-women/
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