James Holmes, the primary suspect in the Colorado theater shootings
Sitting in a darkened movie theater, waiting for the start of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, many people’s minds will undoubtedly drift to the Aurora, Colorado massacre. Thirty minutes into the darkly violent film, the shooting may press even more heavily upon their consciousness. Nolan’s final installment in his Batman re-boot is a taut action thriller, perhaps even darker than the first two films. The main villain of the film, a mask-wearing, psychopathic revolutionary named Bane, uses martial arts, guns, and explosives to terrorize the citizens of Gotham City, breaking Batman’s back and nearly breaking his spirit in the process. Although James Holmes, the primary suspect in the shooting, dyed his hair orange and compared himself to “the Joker,” the villain of the previous film, it’s hard not to think of his actions whenever Bane or one of his minions opens fire in a crowd or kills senselessly. Whatever identity it takes, evil remains the same.
At the start of The Dark Knight Rises, Gotham is in “peacetime.” Organized criminals great and small have been put away in the bleak Arkham prison, thanks to Batman and the ethically-dubious Harvey Dent Act. Bruce Wayne is in reluctant retirement. Commissioner Gordon is on the verge of stepping down. The police department has gotten lax and self-congratulatory. A storm is brewing, however, in the form of the rumored mercenary, Bane.
“The idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me.”
Similarly in the real world, the U.S. is in “peacetime,” and has been for a very long time. It’s been almost one hundred and fifty years since we had a war on U.S. soil, seventy since we were in a war that dramatically altered life for the average American, and forty years since the last military draft. Aside from a few national tragedies, America is in a comfortable position as a strong, peaceful, and dominant world power.Tragedies like the one in Colorado, however, shake up this peacetime, leaving us, as a nation, fragile and frightened of the Banes and Jokers in our own midst. At moments like these, one of our best options is to follow the people of Gotham City and turn to Batman.
In response to the Colorado shootings, Christopher Nolan said, “I believe movies are one of the great American art forms and the shared experience of watching a story unfold on screen is an important and joyful pastime. The movie theater is my home, and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me.” For Nolan, and for many Americans, the theater is a transformative place of escapism, where people can go to experience the strange for a few hours before returning to their daily lives. It is joyful, even when the films are not, which is often the case with Nolan.
Perhaps the most important part of Nolan’s message in both his press release and The Dark Knight Rises is the “hope” of movie theaters. Early lessons in the film seem to teach the debilitating deception of hope. Selina Kyle desperately hopes for the “impossible” clean slate. Pennyworth hopes for a peaceful end to “Batman.” Bane puts Wayne in a prison whose most sadistic feature is the skylight at the top—a constant reminder of the “impossible” escape option. Wayne escapes the prison, however, gives Kyle the so-called “clean slate,” and meets Pennyworth abroad, not as the dark brooding Batman, but as a joyful Bruce Wayne.
A report on the Aurora, Colorado theater shootings
It’s difficult to find hope in peacetime complacency. Hope is a response to darkness, like Bane’s ticking time bomb or Holmes’ theater massacre. It is faith in the near-impossible, in a superhero without guns or powers or in a nation without terror. Holmes’ actions may have destroyed the innocence of the theater, but they have not destroyed its hope. For every person who finds an outlet for their anger in the Batman villains’ senseless killing, many, many more draw hope and inspiration from Batman’s triumphs.
The Colorado shooting has been called senseless many times over, and in the respect that a dozen innocent civilians have been slaughtered, that term is appropriate. How we, as a nation, can begin to make sense of such violence, however, is by looking past the violence of the film to its message of hope and change. As with Batman, every dark night must end.
For info on the relationship between animal abuse and mass shootings, click here.
News covering Breivik’s terror trial began April 16, close to a year after the terrorist attacks, allows for a look into the Norwegian legal system.
There were two terrorist attacks in retaliation against the Norwegian government and a Workers’ Youth League summer camp. The first attack was a car bomb explosion in front of Oslo government headquarters killing 8 and injuring 209 people. The second attack occurred in a summer camp by a man posing as a policeman and opening fire killing 69 and injuring 110.
On the first day of the trial, families of the victims and prosecutors shake hands with Breivik. Soon after, Breivik addresses the court in an hour-long speech entailing motives behind the attacks – “self defense on behalf of my people, my city, my country” – and a plea of innocence of all charges.
Lawyers who represent the victims and families of victims interrupted his speech stating that he is using his time to express his extremist views on the current country. And also, the judge at the trial insisted on Breivik to get to the point. Regardless, he spoke of his reasons and motives behind the attacks as necessary.
Breivik termed the Norway prison as “pathetic” and would rather befall two outcomes – a full acquittal or the death penalty.
One key issue of this trial is Breivik’s mental competency and stability. If Breivik is found mentally insane, he will be committed to psychiatric care rather than being jailed if found guilty.
Breivik admits to setting the car bomb and killing those in the youth summer camp. He says that he targeted teenagers because they were representatives of “multiculturalist regime”.
Osama Bin Laden, a name that strikes fear in to American hearts and the hearts of our allies, is dead. A man that has been haunting the spirit of our nation for the last decade was killed in mere minutes by a team of American Navy SEALS, inside of his custom built hideout in Abbottobad Pakistan. Three other males were killed in the raid, one of them being Bin Laden’s son who has not been named at this time. Bin Laden was shot in the head when he and his bodyguards resisted forces. Officials say that one woman was also killed when she was used as a human shield for one of the males. No Americans were harmed, but in a matter of moments after President Obama’s speech, the State Department issued an alert, warning US embassies of the possibility of anti-American violence.
Despite the fact that the operation went seamlessly, the Bin Laden raid was not an easy one. His compound was surrounded by 8 feet of barbed wire. There were also additional 7 foot security walls within the compound. So what factors contributed to Bin Laden’s defeat you may ask? US officials say that inside information was an integral part of the operation’s success. The Bin Laden family was also the only family that burned trash, and the only million dollar home that was without phone or internet connections; a giveaway that the compound was ideal to hide someone of great significance. Administration said that the raid was kept so secretive that no foreign officials were told in advance, and very few within the US government were privy to prior knowledge of the history that was about to unfold a world away.
On September 11, 2001, over 3,000 lives were lost in the worst attacks of terrorism on American soil. On May 1, 2011, the man responsible for this horrific amount of innocent bloodshed was finally brought to justice. Bin Laden’s capture sent throngs of cheering Americans in to the streets in both Times Square, and in front of the White House. Gordon Felt, president of the Families of Flight 93, issued a heartfelt statement saying, “This is important news for us, and for the world. It cannot ease our pain, or bring back our loved ones. It does bring a measure of comfort that the mastermind of the September 11th tragedy and the face of global terror can no longer spread his evil”.
Please check back soon for updates on the forensic discoveries relating to Bin Laden’s capture and killing. For more information, please click hereorhere.
