I visited the theatre where The Dark Knight Rises shooting occurred this past weekend when I went home to Colorado. The theatre is still completely blocked off and unused until they decide what to do with it. Across the street is an empty lot where there is a makeshift memorial set up for the victims of the shooting. Greg Zanis, the man who built the crosses for the Columbine memorial, traveled from Aurora, ILL to Aurora, CO to, again, build a memorial for another Colorado tragedy. As I looked at the crosses I couldn't help but think back to Columbine.
I was a junior at Cherry Creek High School in Colorado when Columbine happened. Cherry Creek was a neighboring High School, maybe 15 minutes away from Columbine. Right after lunch that day, I went to health class with Mr. Goldsberry when he mentioned in passing that "somebody shot someone or something at Columbine High School." None of us really thought much of it, since we didn't really know any details in the pre-Twitter and Facebook era. I went about the rest of my school day and when I got home my mom had the t.v. on and we watched the horrible events unfold.
The next day at school there were police all over Cherry Creek campus. There was talk in the news about the so-called "Trenchcoat Mafia" that the two killers were supposedly a part of. While in English class, two policemen came in and took out a kid who routinely wore a trenchcoat to class. I never saw that kid again.
I didn't personally know anyone at Columbine, but Richard Costaldo was the next-door neighbor of a good friend of our family's. He went to Cherry Creek for the first part of high school and for whatever reason decided to go to Columbine that year. While eating lunch with his friend outside, he was shot 8 times and now is paralyzed from the chest down.
The morning after the shooting in Aurora I jumped on Facebook for a few minutes like I do every morning, and saw 9 posts referring to it. I read a news article and had a pretty good scope of what had happened in about 2 minutes. The reaction and blame was just about as instant.
I remember hearing a radio show where the host basically condemned The Dark Knight Rises director Christopher Nolan to hell for the movie and what it "inspired". But this isn't the first time people copied their favorite film characters. After A Clockwork Orange came out in 1971, there were two violent copycat crimes from the movie which prompted Stanley Kubrick to withdraw the film from the U.K.
Many people dressed up as The Joker and Alex from A Clockwork Orange for Halloween because they were instantly recognizable. The only thing that Nolan and Kubrick did was create two of the most memorable characters in film history. And when it comes down to it, isn't that why people make movies?
Instead of looking for people to blame, everyone in Colorado came together to support those affected by the shooting. The Broncos made hospital visits. The Rockies made hospital visits. There were online fundraisers to cover hospital bills, but ultimately the hospitals decided to waive the patients' fees. There were other fundraising events including a concert put on by my friend Bert, aka, "Bob Foxx".
There was a feeling of familiarity with the Aurora shooting, but also a feeling of solidarity. We're Colorado. We stick together. It's what we do.
UPDATE: Today, 30 volunteers from the Aurora History Museum took down the makeshift memorial today citing concerns about the changing weather. Some people collected things they had left at the memorial, but most people left their items which included teddy bears and candles. The museum is taking the items to an undisclosed warehouse until a permanent location is chosen, but they won't be on display at the Aurora History Museum.
It was interesting looking at the memorials for both the Aurora shooting and Columbine, because they were so different. Columbine's memorials, I believe, were on school property and therefore, somebody took care of them. Each cross had just a few items closely grouped to it, and there was no trash strewn about. The Aurora memorial was on a vacant lot, and I presume no one was taking care of it. Even though the memorial had been sitting out in the summer, the teddy bears and signs were still subjected to the rain. I'm really glad that the museum volunteered to take care of the memorial. And I'm sure the families are, too.
LATEST UPDATE: Cinemark announced in a letter to the Mayor of Aurora, that they will renovate the Cinemark 16 Theater and reopen it to the public. Cinemark will talk with the families about a possible memorial, which will be interesting since the families of the victims have filed a lawsuit against Cinemark for its lack of security.
LAST UPDATE: Plans and permits obtained from the city show that there are extensive renovations being made to the Aurora Theatre in Aurora Co, where the shooting occurred during the latest Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises". A mural is being installed on the outside of the building depicting popcorn, film reels and people. The theatre will now be named the Century Aurora instead of Century 16.
Safety measures were put into place adding a feature that will turn on lights in a theater as soon as the fire alarm door is opened. The two main theaters involved in the shooting received extensive remodeling including new carpets, drapes, seats and handrails. Here is a link to the Denver-area news article: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/plans-permits-reveal-modifications-made-to-aurora-century-16-theater-after-movie-shooting?hpt=us_bn10
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| Hundreds of stuffed animals lay in front of memorial crosses. |
I was a junior at Cherry Creek High School in Colorado when Columbine happened. Cherry Creek was a neighboring High School, maybe 15 minutes away from Columbine. Right after lunch that day, I went to health class with Mr. Goldsberry when he mentioned in passing that "somebody shot someone or something at Columbine High School." None of us really thought much of it, since we didn't really know any details in the pre-Twitter and Facebook era. I went about the rest of my school day and when I got home my mom had the t.v. on and we watched the horrible events unfold.
The next day at school there were police all over Cherry Creek campus. There was talk in the news about the so-called "Trenchcoat Mafia" that the two killers were supposedly a part of. While in English class, two policemen came in and took out a kid who routinely wore a trenchcoat to class. I never saw that kid again.
I didn't personally know anyone at Columbine, but Richard Costaldo was the next-door neighbor of a good friend of our family's. He went to Cherry Creek for the first part of high school and for whatever reason decided to go to Columbine that year. While eating lunch with his friend outside, he was shot 8 times and now is paralyzed from the chest down.
The morning after the shooting in Aurora I jumped on Facebook for a few minutes like I do every morning, and saw 9 posts referring to it. I read a news article and had a pretty good scope of what had happened in about 2 minutes. The reaction and blame was just about as instant.
I remember hearing a radio show where the host basically condemned The Dark Knight Rises director Christopher Nolan to hell for the movie and what it "inspired". But this isn't the first time people copied their favorite film characters. After A Clockwork Orange came out in 1971, there were two violent copycat crimes from the movie which prompted Stanley Kubrick to withdraw the film from the U.K.
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| The gang from the movie 'A Clockwork Orange' |
Many people dressed up as The Joker and Alex from A Clockwork Orange for Halloween because they were instantly recognizable. The only thing that Nolan and Kubrick did was create two of the most memorable characters in film history. And when it comes down to it, isn't that why people make movies?
Instead of looking for people to blame, everyone in Colorado came together to support those affected by the shooting. The Broncos made hospital visits. The Rockies made hospital visits. There were online fundraisers to cover hospital bills, but ultimately the hospitals decided to waive the patients' fees. There were other fundraising events including a concert put on by my friend Bert, aka, "Bob Foxx".
There was a feeling of familiarity with the Aurora shooting, but also a feeling of solidarity. We're Colorado. We stick together. It's what we do.
UPDATE: Today, 30 volunteers from the Aurora History Museum took down the makeshift memorial today citing concerns about the changing weather. Some people collected things they had left at the memorial, but most people left their items which included teddy bears and candles. The museum is taking the items to an undisclosed warehouse until a permanent location is chosen, but they won't be on display at the Aurora History Museum.
It was interesting looking at the memorials for both the Aurora shooting and Columbine, because they were so different. Columbine's memorials, I believe, were on school property and therefore, somebody took care of them. Each cross had just a few items closely grouped to it, and there was no trash strewn about. The Aurora memorial was on a vacant lot, and I presume no one was taking care of it. Even though the memorial had been sitting out in the summer, the teddy bears and signs were still subjected to the rain. I'm really glad that the museum volunteered to take care of the memorial. And I'm sure the families are, too.
LATEST UPDATE: Cinemark announced in a letter to the Mayor of Aurora, that they will renovate the Cinemark 16 Theater and reopen it to the public. Cinemark will talk with the families about a possible memorial, which will be interesting since the families of the victims have filed a lawsuit against Cinemark for its lack of security.
LAST UPDATE: Plans and permits obtained from the city show that there are extensive renovations being made to the Aurora Theatre in Aurora Co, where the shooting occurred during the latest Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises". A mural is being installed on the outside of the building depicting popcorn, film reels and people. The theatre will now be named the Century Aurora instead of Century 16.
Safety measures were put into place adding a feature that will turn on lights in a theater as soon as the fire alarm door is opened. The two main theaters involved in the shooting received extensive remodeling including new carpets, drapes, seats and handrails. Here is a link to the Denver-area news article: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/plans-permits-reveal-modifications-made-to-aurora-century-16-theater-after-movie-shooting?hpt=us_bn10
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