Elephant

I've definately seen this one before(thanks Nev!) and also bought this last night for cheap at Blockbuster. There's so much to say about this movie. In a way I find similarities between this and Mean Creek in that it deals with human interaction among kids (18 and younger). I really love how this movie seems real and touches on all the "main" types of people you usually find in high school. You have the jocks, the artsy people, the pretty-popular people, the geeks, etc. Then you have these two pretty normal kids who just get picked on and somewhat forgotten who finally have enough and respond in a very violent way. I really think violent reactions like this stem from insecurity. It's really too bad that people feel this is the only way to get people to listen, pay attention or stop doing something. I know there's times in my life where I have responded in a violent way towards people - haven't killed anybody - and it really seemed like there wasn't an alternative. I have run into many people that feel violence is never the correct reaction to any situation and I disagree with that. However, I will say that in many times where violence is used, it wasn't always the correct decision. I came from the High School shooting era and the Columbine incident happened during my senior year in High School. Watching this brings back memories of that time watching the news, the bomb threats at my school, and the day where some kids had planned to come and shoot people up. It also reminds me of the night before the last week of school where my friends and I were sitting in Tyler's basement talking about the whole Columbine incident. I really like how this movie isn't just one big bloody, gorey shootout scene where lots of people die. Instead, it focuses on the lives on many of the students involved that day up to the point it happens. You get some background information on some of the students to better understand why they did some of the things you see happen. I think Gus Van Sant's purpose in making this film is to get people to really think about why these things happen. Is it the media, the video games, the bad parenting, music, gun laws, blah blah blah that force these situations upon society? Or is it more of our fault as society for how we treat one another, good or bad, and look out for our fellow neighbors embodying Christ?