12 dead, 58 injured in Colorado at midnight showing of Dark Knight

Yeah, I'm not going to lay the blame for this at Nolan's feet, but I do think it's interesting that folks would have no problem assigning blame to Rush Limbaugh in the Giffords shooting, but don't think movie violence could play any role in motivating an at risk individual in a situation like this.

 

Optimist's answer: People learned from their mistake.

 

There might be some moderators who would like to talk with you more on this subject.

 

Ugh, just saw on twitter via the AP: 6-year-old girl was killed in the shooting.

 

It wouldn't surprise me at all if The Dark Knight and everyone's fascination with Ledger's Joker motivated Holmes to do this. But so what? Billions of people saw the same film and were not motivated to do this, just as a billion people read Catcher in the Rye and watched Taxi Driver and weren't motivated to shoot the president or John Lennon.

You can't assign rational motives to an irrational mind. Violence will always exist in art and in the world. We are a violent species, as even the most benign history book will attest to. A guy like Holmes needed serious medical help and less access to weapons. If it wasn't The Dark Knight, it could have easily been V for Vendetta or even The Godfather trilogy that set him off.

 

1986 "Dark Knight" graphic novel featured a theater shooting.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/batman-movie-shooting-imitated-from-scene-in-1985-comic/article/2502701

 

Veronica Moser, a 6-year-old, died from her wounds. Perhaps you can go grill her mother, 25-year-old Ashley Moser, about what the f%&$ she was thinking taking her daughter to such a movie. Worse yet, a midnight showing.

You might not get an answer immediately, though. Ashley Moser is in the hospital with a bullet in her throat and abdomen.

 

I agree with this, and that's why I don't blame Nolan.

 

I never explicitly blamed Nolan.
I think he could have kept his mouth shut for a few days or pledged a part of the massive revenue this movie will generate.
That would be meaningful concern.
I think the guy could stand to make better choices with his art.
That's all.

 

And if he kept his mouth shut assholes like you would be screaming he's ignoring the tragedy.

 

This, to me, is a bit much. She had a kid at 19, so she may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I don't think it's an appropriate talking point given what happened. It really doesn't matter if a preschool took a bus full of kids to this showing. To me it makes no difference who was inside. One person is to blame for one despicable, cowardly act.

 

Is it questionable to bring a 6-year-old to a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises"?

Sure, it is.

Is the parent really culpable at all, morally, for her child's death here?

No, she's not.

Six-year-olds don't go to midnight showings of movies because 6-year-olds need sleep. And 6-year-olds don't go to violent movies because 6-year-olds get scared at violent movies. We don't keep 6-year-olds out of midnight showings of violent movies, however, because there is a danger that the movie theater might get shot up.

If she failed her summer school test the next day, I'd say the parent was morally culpable, because that's the kind of harm that our mores about keeping 6-year-olds out late is trying to prevent. If she had nightmares about the violent scenes in the movie, then the parent would be morally culpable. That's the kind of harm that our mores about keeping 6-year-olds out of violent movies is trying to prevent.

The parent is not morally culpable, however, for something absolutely unforeseeable.