So now, based on a picture with a hammer, Old Boy is being blamed for the Virginia Tech murder spree. Just a couple of days ago I casually mentioned how much I love that movie.
Great. My favourite movie is the new black trenchcoat.
I’m starting to take Mr. Cho Seung-Hui’s spree personally. He’s fucking with the things I love. And I never did anything to him. Well, I guess no one really did, but you know what I’m saying.
So okay. I’m shallow. I know this.
But here’s what’s bothering me the most: The description of these spree killers and their warning signs. I feel like I’m hitting every red flag there is. A love of violent cinema. Check. A list of grievances. That’s kinda what this blog is. A recent break-up. Uhhh. A loner. Yup. Manifestos . . . Maybe you see where this is going. Psychiatrists would certainly think they do.
And yet, I’m not going to hurt anyone. I wouldn’t even kick my cat no matter how much she might deserve it. The only spree I went on was a shopping spree. I bought a violin.
Now, I like to think this is because I’m a good man but I’m also realistic. I’m not a very good man at all. I try but I’m a bit of a rake. A cad even. Perhaps a bounder.
So isn’t it time the American media at least looks at gun control. It’s not a dirty word – gun control. It’s common sense. Guns are fucking dangerous and you don’t let every wacko buy them. What’s the point of profiling of a spree killers if they can just head down to the local five and dime to procure a pistol? Shit, just wanting a gun should be reason enough to ban a person from owning one. It is, in itself, a very bad sign. But every time someone mentions gun control, it seems that the Americans feel like they need these weapons to overthrow their government.
Well, here’s the bad news, Yankees: Unless you have an Apache Helicopter in your back yard, an Abrams Tank in your garage and some ICBMs in your driveway, your government has bigger and better weapons than you. Violence is not going to work. And, let’s be frank, if you were really into overthrowing tyrants, Bush, Cheney and Co. would be floating down the Tiber by now. Your country is no longer protected by citizen militias but by a standing army. Most of which is overseas.
You don’t need to ban South Korean movies. You don’t need to arm teachers. You just need to make it very hard to buy a gun. It’s really that simple. Come on guys, it’s 2007 not 1887. You can at least try to act civilized. That’s all I’m asking. Just talk about it amongst yourselves for a bit. Just a little thought, discussion and effort. That’s not too much is it?
4 comments
Anonymous
April 19, 2007 at 9:35 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Right on ! . Bush won’t even mention the topic of gun control caus of the “healing ” time . Fuck that and him and all the other cowboys down there . He’ll never address it . Get real USA and us . We have a problem here . Profile THIS ! GUNS
Ryan Oakley
April 20, 2007 at 6:36 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Fuck Bush certainly, but I kind of like cowboys. They gave us beef jerky. But Bush is, as the saying goes, all hat, no cattle.
Minister Faust
April 20, 2007 at 10:28 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
G.Owl/H.Eagle, you’re a passionate ma n with important things to say. Nevertheless, I feel impelled to note that unless you bought a minimum of three violins (or three items, really), you could not be said to have carried out a “spree.”
Re: *Old Boy*–I saw the comparison, described as “exact” on CNN despite the notable differences (a pose of one hand vs. two, for instance… and, also, that one was a fictional character and the other a mentally unbalanced mass murderer) and strongly agreed that “art” can encourage people to commit acts of unspeakable violence, which is probably why *Blackhawk Down* (justifying further action of Goliath against David) and *300* (a cynical ode to obliterating Iran… unless it’s a super-stealthy ode to Hizbollah in the 2006 war?) get the opportunities to poison minds that they do.
Ryan Oakley
April 21, 2007 at 5:41 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
When the smoke settled, I’d bought two violins, three suits, one cane, seven books and a praying mantis. Not a spending spree for some, but for me it was berserk.
The Old Boy Comparison seems based on both shooter and actor being Korean.
(I watched Blackhawk down the volume was off so I never heard a word they said. It looked pretty.
And I wanted to see 300 until I heard that the Spartan king yells: “For FREEDOM!” Really? A Spartan? For freedom? A fucking Spartan for freedom. Where do they come up with this shit?)
I do believe that art can inspire people to do things – otherwise there wouldn’t be much point in watching or reading or looking at it. But Old Boy, like the rest of the revenge trilogy is anti-revenge. It shows it for what it is – a life destroying, dead end.