Matrix blamed once again

To those of you who know about the D.C. area sniper, it was said on the news that the younger individual that was involved in that ordeal was brainwashed. They said something along the lines of him being forced to watch the Matrix a hundred times and that the movie had altered his perception of reality. They also said that as a child, he liked killing cats...I forget how they said that he killed them. I think that they ought to be ashamed. They just need to leave these movies alone and realize that people are somewhat responsible for their own actions. They even said it themselves...if he killed cats as a child, then the boy was already nuts. The Matrix had nothing to do with him doing what he did. What do you all think about this?

In Germany they blamend Counterstrike and Slipknot for a school massacre, since then Pong is ratet Teen and every game has everything bloody cut out (In DmC Dante is shooting out of his open hands >_>)

Oh and I forgot to mention, this is the second incident that was blamed or linked back to the Matrix. A few years ago, there was a school shootout that killed about 14 or so students. According to the media, this shooting was patterned after the lobby scene from the first Matrix and the students responsible for it was a duo who referred to themselves as the "trench coat mafia". If I remember correctly, these two were also problemmed (sp?) children.

yeh they also blamed columbine(i can't spell it) on rammestine, marilyn manson, and violeng games.

it kind of sucks that everybody is willing to blame everything exept the people themselves (or thier sanity or insanity) for these crimes

A word on columbine...Where were the parents at? Huh? Why'd they shoot up the school? People picked on them and they sit and complain, 'no one will play with us,' like they got no friends or something....Sh*t, they called themselves the TRENCH COAT MAFIA. M-A-F-I-A. There were 6 of them; I didn't have 6 friends then, I don't have 6 friends now. If you ask me, that whole thing was bullsh*t.

recently a kid took a 10 gauge shotgun and shot his mom and dad in the face. he was 15 and lived in the us. at his trial he pleaded insanity by matrix. apparently he was really into the matrix and the matrix made him do it...bull

Americans have less guns per capita than the Canadians, but more violence...WHY?

I don't think it has anything to do with violent movies...that's far to easy...it lies with your rotten, stinking government that war-mongers and treats the poor with contempt. The US is the biggest bully in the world and yet it endlessly debates why it creates so many bullies! Duh...

Originally posted by Sephiroth
In Germany they blamend Counterstrike and Slipknot for a school massacre, since then Pong is ratet Teen and every game has everything bloody cut out (In DmC Dante is shooting out of his open hands >_>)

ye - exactly. That's why I always buy the american versions ;) :p

oh please, is it really going to have to get to a point where non-documentaries have this label on them: THIS MOVIE WAS NOT INSPIRED BY REAL EVENTS. IT IS TOTALLY MADE UP. DO NOT BELIEVE ANYTHING YOU SEE IN THIS MOVIE IS REAL.
Is it really the Matrix's fault if people are morans or psychos?

Micheal Moore covered this topic in Bowling for Columbine. Americans don't necessarily own more guns, but they use the ones they own in a violent way more than any other country. We are the only country with kids using guns at school. I think Ou Be hit it on the head, it's because of bullying. That's probably the only way to explain it. Our culture (assuming we ever had one), is so far off the positive path that it's going to take some major catastrophe like 9/11 to even make us join together in a good way for even a week at a time. I notice 9/11 seems like a distant dream already, people are forgetting and going back to their mundane existances, provided they didn't know a victim. But it seems like the very next day everyone was trying to go back to work, gotta pay the bills and all, no time can be taken off. I'm suprised they didn't try to destroy wallstreet, that would have permanently messed up our economy (as if it isn't already f****d).

I'm dissapointed in you valasher. Even you should know enough of your government by now.

The first attempt at terrorism at the trade towers (with the bomb-van) failed.
The leader of the terrorists refused to place the bomb near one of the supporting pillars. If he would have the tower would have gone down that very day.
Or that's what the FBI calculated when they ordered the terrorists to do it. The FBI was all over the place when the bomb detonated.

9/11. The terrorist that were on the planes were under the direct protection of current president George W. Bush. He ordered the FBI not to arrest them (the fbi had evidence that the terrorists would attack the us).

Okinawa city bombing. There was one bomb detonated, according to the fbi. Yet anyone who was asked what they heard clearly said they heard TWO blasts.
Normally, a bomb goes of ones, after that it won't work anymore.
So what was the FBI trying to cover up?
Maybe the fact that they were the ones behind it?

After the attacks on 9/11, we saw the US attack Osama bin Laden (a man Bush met 2 months before the attack, a man trained by the CIA in Guerilla warfare and terrorism) and Iraq (a nice bonus (Oil anyone?)).

Why did Bush want war?

Bush' daddy, has a lot of stocks in the companies selling guns, ammo and other stuff to the us army.

The congres pays Bush to fund the war. He gives the money to the generals, they spend it on equipment, and the profit of that equipment goes to the family Bush...

A person who has seen the teletubbies to often might just crack and kill everyone in his surroundings.

Enjoying to kill animals is a trait almost every serial killer has. Just like having an abusive childhood.

Actually, HU, I have heard everything you just stated. I don't claim to know whether it's true or not. And do you mean Oklahoma, not Okinawa? I was just using 9/11 as an example of people coming together in a positive and supportive way, which rarely happens in America on such a monumental scale. That's all. What actually happened, I can only speculate about.

Yeah, I've heard all the conspiracies about 9/11 et al...

But assuming we believe it wasn't set up by the FBI, etc...then what kind of statement is the US making by fighting terrorism with terrorist acts of it's own?

"Oh...we got attacked...let's bomb the **** out of Afghanistan...then we can build that oil pipe we always wanted...hey! Let's say Saddam was in on it too and we 'free' Iraq of it's sovereign right to it's own oil supplies!...Perfect!...Plus at the same time, we can even the score for Big Daddy Bush, when they tried to kill him!"

The simple truth is more unbelievable than all the 10 penny theories.

I think that's stupid to blame movies. Movies don't MAKE anyone crazy. If person can't see the difference between fact and fiction then he/she has already had some kind of problems. Of cource they might have some kind of affect, but they don't make anyone some kind of crazy murderer.

does anyone listen to jack johnson?
he has this really good song on one of his cds( dont know what its called) but its all about how everyone is to blame, not just one thing, i mean thats reality thats the way things go, everyone points fingers at everything else when everyone/thing should b pointing thier fingers at themselves
all of jack's music is very positive in my opinion and makes so much sense, i suggest u listen to his stuff if u havnt

It all boils down to one question....does lift imitate art, or does art imitate life? We can blame the media all we want to, it will get us nowhere. The thing is, envelopes will be pushed further and further due to the ever growing demand for something "new" and "fresh" by the American public. The problem is that many don't seem to realize that an individual has to make the decision to commit the act, and that by watching something will not influence us. If that were the case, then everything that is considered bad in any form or manner should be exterminated. Nothing we do is truly original, it is based on some early act. Why not blame the drug problem in the United States on Scooby Doo? Or the rise of homosexuality due to Batman and Robin? It is always easy to point a finger in the direction that has something that obviously has evident violence and themes that are adult in nature. They do not pull the trigger though, the person does. I think we need to be concerned more about the mental health of the individual, rather than something that may have "pushed" them to do so.

i agree with what most people are saying, but i also had some mentality problems related to the matrix. AND I AM NOT BLAMING THE MOVIE. i love the movies, and i know i did get too obsessed. but sometimes you cant help wanting to just go and live outside of reality, the temptation is just too much, and its hard to cope with. i did not go around shooting up people, or hurting others, but these people just use any excuse to get themselves out of jail time. i am sure that larry and andy wachowksi would have a social consceince towards their movies and society, and to hear there movie being blamed for the slaying of others. it just ****ing disgusting.

Matrix is nothing to do with these "accidents" occouring. It's just sad how someone can actually become brainwashed from watching a sci-fi movie.... Strange. The only question that puts most people into thought is.. "Are we in the Matrix?". But it doesn't make you believe that anyone could be an agent... What a strange world we live in...

Well it makes me mad when I think about all the hard work people put in to making the flims. They are ruining it for the rest of us.

Well, some kids have are wacko, and whether they use a golf stick to beat the **** out of other people because they saw a golf program, or whether they use a sem-automatic weapon and trenchcoats because they saw the matrix made no difference to me.

Although, I do believe they should have spread a clearer message of peace over war (I am currently thinking about the hall fight in M1 in which marble plates and people are shot to bits).

HU

all of this just seems like a further way to cheat out the american justice system and we wonder why its so screwed up, because every nut that goes on a killing spree tries to plead insanity "ohh he was under the delusion of this" or "he was acting under these rules" its all bull 80% of the people that plead insanity are not clinically insane nor were they when they commited the crime i'm more insane than any of them ever were

whenever people do stuff like that they ant to blame it on something like violent video games,music or movie's all of this is total crap violent video games do nothing unless they just become totallly obssesed and play it straight for weeks even then doubtful, and music can't influence someone to do something that wasnt already inside that person, same with movies in a different sort of way like if someone watched a bunch of war movies all the time it does not necesarilly make them want to go to war and on the rare chance they actually do as soon as they see one battle they're probaly gettin out as soon as possible because they didnt know the difference between the movie and the real horror of war

i would argue with that position. Having been an avid preacher of the cause behind the effect, i always considered the fact that violence on screen, movies, games was only the mirror of our violent primal instincts, that this was a percerption of society, an effect but surely not a cause. However i came to reconsiderate that position in the lights of what happened to tibet.

Since the arrival of television crime is expanding exponentially, such as prostitution and drugs abuse. And Mc donalds.

How can you be sure the cause of the increase (crime, et cetera) can not be led back to different causes than just tv/internet.

The colloseum in Rome was violent and bloody, much like our televisions. Do you not believe that it is perhaps the social problems people face that is responsible for this violence?

Sure, violence may increase our tolerance towards violence, but does it really make criminals out of good people?

HU

there was almost nihil crime before our civilisation warmongly entered via television, phone and net into tibet, that is a fact. All they thought about was dancing with cows, not buying the latest hi specs laptop. The postitution increased too, and you will see a certain amount of gals got into it to buy the latest fashion perls from the occident.

Originally posted by HomoUniversalis
How can you be sure the cause of the increase (crime, et cetera) can not be led back to different causes than just tv/internet.

The colloseum in Rome was violent and bloody, much like our televisions. Do you not believe that it is perhaps the social problems people face that is responsible for this violence?

Sure, violence may increase our tolerance towards violence, but does it really make criminals out of good people?

HU

I do not think that is an accurate comparison, imo the romans/greeks were much more civilized when it came to things as that, maybe the fact that it wasnt so hidden away but that fact that it was out in the open for everyone to see (almost) they handled things much better, people did not go see an event at the colleseum and then feel like going on a killing spree

something happened at fall of the roman empire and the end of all of those ancient civilizations its like we as a whole "regressed" big time and imo we still have not gotten back to that point, people nowdays cant see something and simply see it as it is presented everythuing is twisted up and the end result is something totally perversive of what it once was, peolple dont have any honor and so rare do they just take responsibility for what they did, it has to be because of something else

its a shame that we cannot grow out of this infancy, we are like little kids that tell it was the brother or sister that did it never getting the gonads to just suck it up and deal with the consequences

To a certain degree, everyone is a product of their society and environment.

Anthropologists argue that a society is based on the shared customs and beliefs of the people native to that society.

Therefore, I completely agree with the thinking that violent movies can create violent people...this doesn't mean that EVERYONE who watches violent films will go on killing sprees, but the fact that they are able to witness them in so many films, obviously makes the instances that do occur more prevalent.

Everything you see with your eyes gives influence to your imagination...if it is disturbed, then this imagination can lead to physical acts. To say that too many people plead 'insanity' to get off lightly is rather strange. I think someone who buys a gun and takes pot-shots at strangers is pretty certifiably insane!

To add to the responsibility debate...Education across the nation is what is needed...not more examples of your supreme leader killing others and acting like a universal gun-man. If he acts like a lunatic it's no wonder so many others follow his lead.

Although I despise it when the media, the courts, and certain religious factions blame video games, music, and role-playing games (like d&d) for violent activities, I have to agree that tv in particular has a very pervasive effect on our subconscious. I believe that it's not so much that it causes violence as that it jades viewers to the extreme depravity of violence.

We have internal boundaries that prohibit us from acting (in an extreme manner) on rage & other impulses. Yet as we become more exposed to graphic & horrific violence via television it becomes less & less of an extreme act.

None of this is a simple thing, however. The people with the power to change things have to choose ethics over money, something they're not likely to do -- or even be allowed to do. And we choose to buy it. We live in a consumer-driven world. That fact alone mitigates tv & other visual media of a great deal of responsibility. It becomes a chicken-or-the-egg quandry.

Regardless, I'm not concerned about The Matrix being blamed for criminal acts -- all sorts of people blame God for what they do, and He hasn't lost any popularity.....

Movies don't raise kids....they may give examples of violence...but anyone raised right knows the difference between right and wrong....

just sounds like they are coming up with a exuce(spelling "i think") to get a good story for people to see and hear. but its not likely to be true. i mean come on it seems like evey thing happening is the matrix fault. its justs a bunch of crap.