The Elephant in the Room

As the movie finished I glanced around my classroom. The students sat stunned, staring blankly at the ominous cloud background and fur elise music playing behind the credits. This film, a realistic depiction of a school shooting, was exquisitely made.

The entire movie made you think about movites, causes, and the pain high school kids endure. Obviously the killers must have gone through terrible ordeals in order to birng themselves to murder innocent people. But then one must think, what could have possibly happened to them that rendered them so unsympathetic and cold-hearted that even those who had never bullied a kid in their life should be brought to their death just for attending the same school? As director Gus Van Sant wanted us to relate to, I began to think about the Columbine inncident. Did it happen as the movie depicted? Was the day unlike any other? And where are all the adults while this is happening? It is the adults responsibility to make sure that teenagers in high school are treated fairly and allowed to act or feel however they want within legal bounds and not suffer from humiliation.

Aside from the excellent depiction of a school shooting, the cinematography was unbelievable. It was unlike anything I have yet seen in any movie. The movie gave the apperance of being unedited, having extremley long shots while the camera followed one character as they followed the days events, unaware of what was about to happen. As we could only see the back of one character's head at a time, it left the watcher uneasy because we had no idea of what was happening around them. Unlike other movies where this method might not have gone over very well, I can think of no other filming technique to better demonstrate the days events. We were introduced to one character at a time, not necessarily in chronological order, and we watched as each one of them was murdered. All except one, the innocent along with the 'guilty' were shot.

Not a single sane or admirable adult was shown on film. As the class watched in horror while the events of the day unfolded on the screen, I began to notice the elephant in our room. Had anyone acted in a way that could possibly drive someone to commit such an atrocity? Had any of us perhaps mocked innocently or stood by as an innocent kid was bullied, scarring them for the rest of their life? Awkwardly we all stood around. I know that I am no angel. I admit to have observed bullying a few times in my life and been too cowardly to stop it. All the while we consol ourselves - this won't be the straw, they can always endure more.

The elephant in my classroom stomped around mocking everyone in their seat. Who do we side with? Of course we can't agree with Alex and Eric. How they handled their pain was beyond the boundaries of normal psychological coping mechanisms. There is no excuse for how they acted ever, and it can never be offended. But we can never ignore the cause. Clearly something went wrong in their life and since this was based on true events there are mistakes happening every day that can no longer go ignored.

I hope this movie is an eye-opener for everyone who sees it. We must be aware of the events that unfold around us and we must do the right thing, always. Let there never again be an elephant of that magnitude in any room pertaining to this topic again.

Rushmore, please No More.

I sincerley apologize to anyone who may disgree with the following statement:

Rushmore is one of the worst movies ever made.

It was ridiculously unrealistic, pointless, utterly preposterous, dumb, poorly directed, incoherent, and overall horrible movie. I am not a harsh movie critic so please take what I say into account literally: Do NOT go see this movie.

As a movie pertaining to the life of a high school teenager I would at least expect the plot line to be somewhat entertaining. I foud myself struggling to stay awake as monotonous scene was followed by yet another montonous scene. Much of the film was misleading. While at one point you might believe the film was heading on one direction, you were only supremley disappointed to find out it was heading in a different direction, only to be surprised again moments later when it turned down yet another unforseen road. Some might say unpredictability is directing at its finest. I agree, however, unpredictability only exceeds mediocrity when the actual events formulate a real story. In this case it did not.

I was very excited actually at the start of the film when I found out that the movie was about high school. It happens that my favorite movie is Charlie Bartlett. In fact, these two movies draw extreme similarities. At the beginning, both films open with a fantasy of the main character. Both male main characters are viewed as outsiders, awkward, and weird. They were both kicked out of the private school they love and embrace their place in social society as a misfit. However, Max in Rushmore decides to chase a teacher (not attractive surprisingly) because he supposedly fell in love with her after talking to her for all of three minutes. Max attempts to sabotage anyone in his way. Charlie, in Charlie Bartlett goes the other route. He becomes a selfless peer listener trying to help everyone around him with their problems. These two characters are the antithesis of each other. While Charlie is a character that one grows to love, Max is one that the audience begins to hate.

This film explores no greater meaning to life quite unlike Charlie Bartlett. In Rushmore, I might say that the greatest lesson learned throughout the entire film is honestly. While this is a noble lesson, it is hard to make a best selling movie when the entire story is driven by uncoordinated events strung together on the quest for honesty. Charlie Bartlett however, teaches the lesson of using power for good. It teaches te value for family and for love, and helping peers along the way because everyone needs a shoulder to cry on.

I highly do not recommend you see the movie Rushmore; you will most certainly regret it. I apologize for my strict scrutiny and hope that the next movie I view finds itself in better lighting than this one.

Do The Right Thing...sometimes.

Upon the completion of Do the Right Thing, motion picture directed by Spike Lee, I began to reflect on what I had just watched. True, the opening credits were misleading and at times I found myself playing clips of other more...interesting films in my head, once delving into the point of the story I began to realize how much thought and awareness was put into this movie.

As a title, Do The Right Thing tells you nothing about the film it is named for. What it does say, however, is that there will be a morality lesson posed in the movie and that in fact is true. Near the end the entire movie takes a turn of events when playful aggressive behavior becomes destructive and violent. When Radio Rahemm refused to turn down his music Sal began the downward spiral of unnecessary acts of violence and hatred. This succession evolved into nothing less than a riot, where Radio Raheem is killed by a police officer after refusing to stop choking Sal, and Sal's pizzaria is burnt down.

This dilema poses the question of fault. Who takes the blame? Is it Raheem for abusing his right and not adhering to Sal's rules in his own store which is allowed? Is it Sal for letting his anger get the best of him and smashing the radio? Is it the all the people of the town who were swept up in the emotionof the evening? Or is it the white family who represents the larger problem of racism?

The answer is this: There is no answer. Each individual who watches this movie can come to their own conclusion regarding who was wrong who was right. There is a catch, however. You must be able to justify why you believe this is so. The reason you have to justify is because otherwise you could be labeled racist or ethnocentric. This is an extremley touchy subject and most do not like getting into it at the risk of living up to a stereotype. The movie raises this "elephant" in the room and begs you in the title to DO THE RIGHT THING. You have the right to believe what you want, but it must be based on hard facts.

Sometimes there is no right thing. In some situations, everyone is wrong. This movie skillfully raises the question of blame, and who rightfully deserves it on their shoulders. Both sides are depicted evenly; there is no one 'better' group demonstrated in a more possitive light than the rest. Therefore, this is not just a movie, but a question asking you to search your own morality and look beyond your own personal beliefs to see the much larger issue between not just those of different races and genders, but more importantly between those of the same.