Sometimes, when the unthinkable happens, we think it to be pure fantasy, a story even. From miles away, we can only imagine the pain, like we do in books or movies. But when it hits close to home it becomes all too real for those around us and affected by tragedy. As a product of social media I think we have a problem separating fact from fiction.
I'm a huge proponent of imagination and mixing our fantasies with real life. Fantasy is a wonderful thing. It allows us to escape, be somewhere else for a while, and I love that. That's why I think films, stories, and comics such as Batman are so important. They twist the audience's perception and put them in a world that may or may not be completely different than their own, and make them believe it for approximately 2.5 hours.
What really gets me about the Batman shooting is that this killer used this knowledge to his advantage. The movie had already let people sink into a whole other world which slowed their reaction time. This guy was not stupid - most super villains aren't.
The irony of this massacre occurring at the premiere of Dark Knight Rises still strikes me in many different ways. It breaks my heart to know that it's not even safe to go to the movies any more. That the magic that movies have on people is now torn away from the victims and survivors of that theater. All my beliefs on gun control aside, we as Americans should have the right to go see a super hero movie, and enjoy those two hours of imagination, without worrying that they or their children are going to be murdered.
I went to the premiere and I realize that this tragedy could have happened in my town, in my theater, just as easily as it occurred in Aurora. There is no special zip code for the criminally insane (unfortunately).
Batman to me however, is and always will be a symbol of hope. This twists the irony back onto the villain himself. If he's going to play the villain, considering he's actually watched a super hero movie all the way through, he may take a disheartening amount of lives, but he should know that in the end, he's not going to win or gain anything. If he really wanted to be the Joker, he got his wish, because he's either going to die, or be put in a padded room for the rest of his life, and nobody will take pity on him.
What I've realized is, super villains can be very real, but so can Batman. Batman to a lot of us, is real. Whether he manifests himself as police enforcement or the justice system, eventually justice should be served. I'm not saying by any means that our justice system is perfect. It's not. There is still a chance that this guy could get away with a lot more than he should, which is completely unfair to those who lost their lives, loved ones, and their sense of security. To stretch the metaphor further though, Batman is not perfect either. I think that's why I like him more than any other super hero. Our hero could easily be a neighbor, a friend, or a lover, but we never know until the time comes where somebody needs to step up.
It's incredibly sad that we need a situation like this to realize we have silent protectors all around us, trying to keep us safe from harm. Whether they be a Guardian Angel, God, or a police officer.
Perhaps super hero movies have more to them than they seem. Perhaps we're not supposed to see our heroes or know them, but are supposed to trust that they are there. Perhaps we are to be somebody else's Batman. The beauty of it is, he's an (albeit very rich) average citizen, protecting the city that he loves, and that's it. Technically, he could be anyone.
So this is my personal prayer to those affected, and my personal thank you to all the Batmans in the world. Normal people who step up in times of tragedy and chaos are what make me believe in humanity again. We can't lose our faith in people, we can't lose our faith in the good, just because evil follows us everywhere. And I think that believing is our biggest accomplishment as a community.
Thoughts and prayers to the victims and survivors of the 7/20 shootings in Aurora, Co. <3
