On December 5th I wrote a post called "Requiem For The Doomed" in which I discussed two rather gruesome and disturbing news stories -- as well as larger issues involving our society and violence in the news and media. I also recounted a dream I had the night before of a disturbed young man and a scene of mass violence; this dream was prophetic.
On December 11, 22-year-old Jacob Tyler Roberts shot up the Clackamas Town Center in Portland, Oregon; two of the shoppers he opened fired at died, and Roberts himself apparently expired by a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
On December 14, 20-year-old Adam Lanza killed 26 people at a Connecticut elementary school, twenty of them children. Lanza also apparently committed suicide, as well as murdered his own mother at their home before the massacre.
Both Roberts and Lanza were dressed in military gear. in my dream, I assumed the disturbed young man was in the military.
In my original post I asked:
"What is the accumulated mental impact on the populace as the result of being exposed to such horrors?"
People talk a lot about gun control -- and I certainly support tighter restrictions on purchasing firearms. But how many of these same vocal gun-control advocates would support taking another look at the constant messages of violence in our contemporary pop-culture? And let's go a step beyond blood and gore, and put our focus instead on just plain disturbing, manipulative imagery and symbolism: in our entertainment, advertising, public events, etc.
I am by no means advocating censorship. But I am advocating educating the populace to Consume Content Consciously. To be aware when deep, primal symbolism is being used, whether it's in a movie or a sneaker ad. Because there's nothing wrong with you or I watching a violent film or playing a violent video game -- if we consciously consume that content.
But how much of the masses are just soaking it all in? For how many children is TV or video games the babysitter? How many parents are involved in their children's lives enough to keep tabs on what content they consume?
What is the cumulative impact of this constant stream of content "flashed" on children as they grow up? What is the impact on the more psychologically vulnerable of those children, ones who experience this content (entertainment/advertising/news) in a far more intense way -- the way Adam Lanza, who had emotional problems as well as autism, might have experienced it?
And what is the impact on the populace of news stories containing unimaginable horror such as that coming from Sandy Hook elementary school yesterday? What is the psychic toll?
I'll end this post with words from Marion Cotillard, star of "The Dark Knight Rises" -- a movie that, in some strange, elemental way, seemed to have "set off" a constant stream of mass shootings since this Summer:
"I’ve never felt good about guns. Especially when it’s out of control. Sadly, I guess, it's in America’s culture. And I believe it’s going to be hard to change that because some people can’t be secure without it. It’s creating at the same time this insecurity. It’s a vicious circle."Read Also:
"It Was Like A Chris Nolan Scene": The Case Of The "Times Square Ninja"
The Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning: From San Diego To Aurora
So. There's Apparently A James Holmes Fan Community.
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