Comments on: THE SUMMERTIME SHOOT ‘EM UP by Noah Buschel

By: Hakuin

Hakuin — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 16:33:00 +0000

All the fake sympathy for the victims of the Aurora shooting is annoying. Americans LOVE violence. Every time I heard ” I can’t believe how horrible….blah..blah…blah” coming out of someone’s mouth I could simultaneously hear the real uncensored brain wanting to say “WOW this was reaaaally awesome dude!”.

By: Mcgeecreative

Mcgeecreative — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 17:50:00 +0000

Dead on.

By: Ghost Forest

Ghost Forest — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 14:04:00 +0000

Um Tim, the piece is about Chris Nolan proclaiming his innocence and how in fact he is someone who makes a living off of people shooting each other on screen. Do you even know what you’re ranting about? The point made in the piece is pretty clear. You don’t have to agree with it, but you seem to be spinning off.

By: Tim

Tim — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 13:29:00 +0000

since when did “free speech” come to mean “the right to not have anyone disagree with me”? you’re right that the lack of civil discourse surrounding these films is disappointing, but it’s a devaluation of language to equate a bunch of trolls on a movie review website with the vice squad. only the government can violate your right to free speech.

By: Tim

Tim — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 13:24:00 +0000

again, this has nothing to do with the twelve people murdered last month and to imply that it does is offensive and opportunistic

By: Zack Wheeler

Zack Wheeler — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 23:15:00 +0000

Tim, the reason it is important to mention Nolan as popcorn pap director is because there are those who make his Batman trilogy out to be this really deep series that is exploring the meaning of life. So it is important to point out that Nolan is not Kubrick. Nolan wants to have his cake and eat it too. He wants to shoot people up like in James Bond films, but he also tries to be ponderous and political. I think it is definitely worth mentioning that his films are lacking in regards to their moral merit.

By: Kevin Ringgenberg

Kevin Ringgenberg — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 22:32:00 +0000

Great piece Noah. It’s about time more people come out and speak the truth about these empty, violent spectacles. I wish all of the people who see these movies would watch Funny Games. I know Haneke has his detractors ( I’m a fan of his work) but you did sit around and enjoy the violence, he throws that enjoyment back in your face. Beware of the Angry Fan Boys who will forget all about free speech and try to shout down anyone who disagrees that these films are helping to numb the minds of people all over the world, especially Americans.

By: Tim

Tim — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 22:05:00 +0000

I think it’s fine to critique the presentation of violence in cinema, and actually am sympathetic to your comments about the realistic presentation of consequences versus fantasy “video game violence.” but any direct connection between that presentation and events like the one in Aurora is bound to be tenuous and speculative at best, and conspiratorial at worst. my problem with this essay though isn’t just that the argument doesn’t hold water. with a line like “You’ll have to excuse me if I think the only thing separating any of
Nolan’s trilogy from standard summer popcorn pap is Heath Ledger”, you’ve gone beyond merely the opportunistic use of a national tragedy in order to dredge up a reheated argument leftover from the Clinton-era culture wars, and have actually had the gall to opportunistically use a national tragedy in order to make a critique of the abilities of a filmmaker you don’t like. I also happen to think that Christopher Nolan is a less capable director than his fans make him out to be. but that has nothing in the world to do with those twelve people shot to death in Colorado. I find the mere title of this post to be hundreds of times more offensive than any of the films you mention.

By: Rawhidefinale

Rawhidefinale — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 21:34:00 +0000

Read the piece again, Seriously. No one putting blame on Nolan. But Nolan has to see his part in grand scheme. If he wants to make his money on movies where people shoot each other and guns are made cool and sexy and life is made frivolous then he needs to not call himself innocent.

By: Seriously?

Seriously? — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 21:08:00 +0000

You’re kidding, right? There’s a part in TDKR where Batman literally says “no guns or killing.” This is PG-13 movie violence with no blood or gore and, considering you’re a filmmaker, I’m especially shocked at the nonsense you’ve just spewed. In the future, would you prefer for Nolan and others to pre-emptively censor themselves because we have a shitty gun culture here?

You’re right, it _isn’t_ an accident that this took place where it did: in a place where a mentally ill person with stupidly unrestricted access to lethal weapons knew hundreds of people would be sitting in the dark. The way you’ve shifted blame from the actual killer to a movie is so intellectually dishonest I’m having trouble believing it’s sincere.