Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Tragedy and Oversensitivity


Over the weekend a tragedy occurred in Aurora, Colorado. Twelve people were killed and fight-eight were injured in a senseless act of violence.

Much of the reaction will focus on gun control in the States. But what I have noticed in the last few days is, to my mind at least, an overreaction and oversensitivity towards certain things following the shooting.

The Herald has reported in the last few days:
DC Comics is asking retailers to postpone sales of a Batman comic book out of respect for victims of the shooting at a theatre showing The Dark Knight Rises in Colorado.
and
A scene in which bullets are fired into a crowded theatre is being removed from upcoming film Gangster Squad following the Colorado cinema tragedy.
I always wonder about these sort of reactions to tragedies. I understand they are trying to be sensitive, but I feel like they are being oversensitive and treating people like idiots. I don't think people reading the comic or seeing the film would see it as a joke at the expense of the people in Aurora. Most people would understand that they were produced before the shooting and understand.

And when they censor art/pop culture like this following a tragedy. Are they not letting the "bad" guy win?

Madonna has also been criticised for her use of fake guns in a concert in Edinburgh, days after the shootings. The fake guns have been used as part of the show throughout the tour. They have nothing to do with what occurred in Colorado and the concert was in a city thousands of miles away. And yet she has been called "crass and insensitive."

Maybe I'm the one being insensitive, but it just doesn't make sense to me.

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