The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

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 ...