MJD-110-B
March
26, 2014
Crime Created by Movies
Three boys
watching a film that will stick with them longer than just the movies runtime.
Many films have the reputation of
sensationalizing actions and behaviors that are not healthy or beneficial for
the individuals or the community around them. In isolated instances the plots of
these films transpire as a reality. Copycat crimes from films range from bank
robberies to first-degree murder. For many years the movies Point Break and The Town have been inspiring bank robberies across North
America. Fight Club has turned into a
reoccurring hobby among teenage fans of the film, holding their own fight clubs
in the basements of their homes. Finally Natural Born Killers, is a satirical film that follows how the
media glamorizes Mickey and Mallory Knox as they conduct a cross-country
killing spree as the nation enthusiastically watched in amazement. This film has since
been credited for spawning more real-life killings than any other film. Clearly
Hollywood's films occupy the minds of their audience far beyond their runtimes. Criminal themed films' reign over audiences will continue, as horror movies are highly in
demand and hold the title of third most popular film genre.
The
faces of the horror films that torment audiences for decades
Researcher Kristen Harrison conducted a study through the University of Wisconsin and concluded that watching scary films undoubtedly leaves both short and long term damage to teenage viewer’s minds. The study consisted of 150 students whose disturbances “included sleep difficulties and continual avoidance of events shown in the films, such as swimming in the ocean after watching ‘Jaws.”(Coconi) 90.2% of her subjects reported enduring fright effects caused by exposure to frightening media. This may not be surprising, but the proportion of participants-- one in four--who reported fright effects that they were still experiencing indicates that these responses should be of major concern.”(Harrison) Many fright effects have proven to persist for decades beyond the viewings the film, thus proving that films can have a permanent effect on viewers and it is unpredictable how audience will react.
The bank robbers in Point
Break dress as four of the “ex presidents” during each of their heists.
In 1991 Kathryn Bigelow released
the surfer/crime film Point Break. The film features four surfers who disguised
themselves in masks of
former presidents; Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Lyndon B. Johnson, and
Richard Nixon to rob thirty banks in 3 years. In the twenty-three years since
the film’s release there have been numerous heists in the United States of
America, Canada, and in the UK in which the thieves wore identical masks to those
that were worn by the actors. In the real life robberies, the thieves appear to
prefer Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan disguises. Similar to in the film,
burglars have been described as displaying various mannerisms similar to the
actors in the film such as: jump up on desks,
identifying themselves as the ex-presidents, never shooting anyone, and
essentially holding the bank hostage.
Two masked bank robbers sand
side by side; a nun from The Town and
former president Jimmy Carter from Point
Break.
In recent years some of the masks
of choice have been updated to model more recent political figures such as Mitt
Romney and Hillary Clinton. Also in recent years, the release of The Town,
hatched a new generation of mask wearing bank robbers. Though the film features
its criminals in three different disguises; scull masks, nuns and police
officers, the nun costumes have proved to be a favorite among copycats. Just
six months after the film’s release “Two thugs dressed
in nun masks and habits robbed a Chicago area bank in a scene
reminiscent”(Caulfield) of one of the heists in the film. The robbers also
mimicked an earlier scene in the film where two of the burglars pointed their
weapons at a female teller and forced her to open the safe.
Tyler Durden and the
narrator stand back to back to depict the narrator’s split personality.
In 1999 David Fincher released a
film about an insurance assessor who struggles with insomnia as a result he
creates an alternate personality who lives a more creative lifestyle. Within
the past fifteen years, North American teenagers have tried to recreate fight
club in their own basements. The more recent fight clubs have been modernized
with video and their participants posted them on the Internet. “The
first rule of fight club is, you do not talk about fight club” ,technically
posting a video generally does not include narration and is not breaking this
rule. However they are contradicting the original goal of fight club, which
gives members an anonymous place to go without judgment and without pressure to
conform to
Pipe bomber, Luke Helder, planted
a portion of his pipe bombs in the shape of a smiley face, similar how during
Project Meyhem they burn a smiley face into the side of a building to burn it
down.
Two particularly
avid fans of the film took a much more extreme approach to follow in the steps
of Tyler Durden. In 2002, 21-year-old Lucas Helder earned himself the nickname
“The
Midwest Pipe Bomber”. He planted 18 pipe bomb that were set to detonate
when the mailbox was opened, injuring 6 victims. Helder carefully chose is the
“locations in several U.S. states to create a sort of smiley face on the
country map”(criminal minds.wikia.com) this is especially evident in Nebraska.
After the attacks, the media carefully looked at Hedler’s life and past
behaviors. People spent up to two hundred dollars on EBay to purchase a CD from
a band that Hedler was part of called Apathy. The Midwest pipe bombings are a
perfect example of how media sensationalizes criminals over victims thus
glamorizing them to media consumers. Kyle Shaw is another Fight Club fanatic.
On Memorial Day Weekend in 2009 Shaw planted a bomb outside of a Starbucks in
an attempt to start his own project mayhem and “had boasted of a second planned
attack.”(Grace)
Mickey and Mallory Knox have
projections that summarize one of the film’s themes projected across their
chests.
Similar to how
people spent large sums of money to own that Hedler’s cd, Oliver Stone’s
Natural Born Killers satirically looks at how the United States glamorizes
psychopathic murderers like the film’s stars, Mickey and Mallory Knox. Natural
Born Killers “not only has it been associated with the highest number of
separate killing sprees… it is also the one film where the killers definitively
admit that the film was the source of their actions.”(15 Films That Inspired
Real Life Crimes) It is unsurprising that Quentin Tarantino had a hand in
creating the characters and writing the script, seeing as he has made a career
out of glorifying gore and featuring nonlinear story lines in his films. As
many as thirteen
crimes have been linked back to the film. There were numerous censorship
issues surrounding the rating and final edit of the film. The modifications may
not have been enough, within two months of the film’s release there were three
people dead at the hands of teenage murders who saw the film. One fourteen
year-old boy told police that he “wanted to be famous. Like the Natural Born
Killers,” after he decapitated a thirteen year old classmate. The following
month seventeen year-old Nathan Martinez murdered his stepmother and his
half-sister while they were sleeping, he followed the murderers by shaving his
head, similar to Mickey prior to his television interview. It was reported that
Martinez had seen the film at least ten times in the week prior to the murders.
A viewer watching Mickey Knox during a scene of Natural Born Killers.
A
film strip featuring the films discussed in above paragraphs
It has been proven
that film can encourage negative behavior among viewers. The films
sensationalize bank
robberies, fighting, and murder. Some minds cannot process that these films
are made purely for “entertainment” and are not suggesting a lifestyle. In a
few instances people have tried to recreate the films mayhem within the real
world. For others these films create long-term inner fear. Even with these
negative effects, movies based on irrational dangerous behavior continue to be
very popular and in demand.
Bibliography
Ramsland, Katherine.
"'Movies Made Me Murder'" If They Can, We Can — Movies Made Me Murder — Crime Library. N.p., n.d. Web.
25 Mar. 2014.
"Luke Helder." Criminal
Minds Wiki. N.p., 2002. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
Dennison, Ben. N.p.. Web. 25 Mar
2014. <http://www.weirdworm.com/5-movies-that- inspired-crimes/>.
Coconi, Angeliki. "How Films
Affect Teens' Behavior." Everyday Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
Harrison, Kristen. "Tales
from the Screen: Enduring Fright Reactions to Scary Media." 12
Watch Mojo “Top 10 Real-Life Crimes
Inspired by Movies and TV.” Online video clip. YouTube. September 17, 2013. Web.
. N.p. “15 Films That Inspired
Real Life Crimes”. Web. 15 Mar 2014. <http://brainz.org/15-films-inspired-real-life-crimes/>.
Alizul. "10 NOTABLE COPYCAT
KILLERS." 10 NOTABLE COPYCAT KILLERS. N.p., 12 Oct. 2013. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
Edwards, David. "Gunman
Wearing Romney Mask Robs Virginia Bank | The Raw Story." The Raw Story. N.p., 14 Dec. 2012. Web. 20 Mar.
2014.
Grace, Melissa. "Kyle Shaw, 19, Pleads Guilty to
Bombing an Upper East Side Starbucks in
2009." NY Daily News. N.p., 17 Sept. 2010. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
Kirn, Walter. "Luke Helder's Bad Trip." Time.
Time Inc., 12 May 2002. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
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