Today my church was attacked. News of The Aurora Theatre tragedy spread as I waited in a queue at the Waterloo IMAX for my own Dark Knight Rises experience. My thoughts go out to the victims and their families. The film-goers were geeks like many of us here. To be in attendance at a midnight screening they would have loved film and loved Batman. That such a reverential audience were killed and injured in a place everyone deserves to feel safe beggars belief.
Things will change after today. No more fancy dress, increased security and increased scrutiny on the influence of cultural media. There will be those who politicise, and there will be those who make reactionary statements. But for now, we should ignore the hysteria and remember the human cost of very human evil. One man committed this crime, not a film, or a culture. I hope this man is forgotten long before his victims.
My belief in the transformative power of cinema remains as strong. Those that died in Colorado believed in the transformative power of cinema. For my part, I will not let my belief waiver or be poisoned because I am told that some twenty-four year old has been warped by a fictional piece of entertainment about a man in a rubber bat costume. But next time I go to a cinema - a near religious experience for as long as I can remember - I will take note of this tragedy, and take stock of how lucky I am to have all that I have.
My condolescences to all involved.
Things will change after today. No more fancy dress, increased security and increased scrutiny on the influence of cultural media. There will be those who politicise, and there will be those who make reactionary statements. But for now, we should ignore the hysteria and remember the human cost of very human evil. One man committed this crime, not a film, or a culture. I hope this man is forgotten long before his victims.
My belief in the transformative power of cinema remains as strong. Those that died in Colorado believed in the transformative power of cinema. For my part, I will not let my belief waiver or be poisoned because I am told that some twenty-four year old has been warped by a fictional piece of entertainment about a man in a rubber bat costume. But next time I go to a cinema - a near religious experience for as long as I can remember - I will take note of this tragedy, and take stock of how lucky I am to have all that I have.
My condolescences to all involved.
