Do you know why mass shootings are really used in movies? They up the value since people like to see more action than drama a lot of times. There are those among us that are more evolved and actually like a good story, but then there are those that simply like to go to a good old shoot ’em up film that features people getting clipped by some cowardly bad guy with a gun and next to no conscience. These films have been ongoing for a long time now and have never been given much attention unless they featured noteworthy actors and a plot that was only slightly more challenging than something a third grader could concoct. Unfortunately they’re the kind of films that we should have paid attention to since they were telling us of times that might be too soon in coming.
Here are a few films that we probably should have given more attention.
5. Taps
When a prominent military school is slated to be closed the students find that they have hard time coping with the idea. When their instructor and superior is accused of shooting an innocent civilian they react by going to war with local law enforcement. Near the end of the movie Tom Cruise’s character swiftly escalates the situation by opening fire with a machine gun, indiscriminately firing round after round until retaliatory fire takes him down.
4. Boyz N The Hood
This is one of the oldest tales that never seems to get any better. Young black men are reported to kill each other over the simplest of things and enter into vendettas that never seem to end no matter how red the streets run. Be they in gangs or just on their own young men of color are depicted as never being safe or entirely innocent as they continue to take each other out.
Despite being close to the same story as Boyz N The Hood, this take on the issue is one that seems much more serious since the young man that plays the lead is so steeped in the criminal culture that he has only a slim chance of finding his way back. Near the end of the movie however that chance seems to evaporate like gun smoke as the credits begin to roll.
2. Runaway Jury
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The beginning of the film is where people need to pay attention first, since it sets up the entire premise of the film. While at work one day a family man and his secretary are discussing a song that he’s promised to sing for his son’s birthday when a lone gunman goes tearing through their office building, killing anyone and everyone in his path.
1. Higher Learning
College life isn’t meant to be easy, but it’s at least meant to be survivable. At Columbus University the racial tensions that exist are so obvious that one can almost feel them like a physical presence. When the trouble finally sparks however the flame that’s produced is enough to consume nearly anyone and everyone caught in its path.
The mass shootings and their effect on those involved are very real. We’ve known of the possibility of this for so long and yet have done nothing to stem the tide. Perhaps now with the recent shooting in Vegas people will find the voice necessary to speak out against gun violence.
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