Is it ok to make a fictional movie about school violence? (1 Viewer)

[Avery623]

Where I got my inspiration is from Run Hide Fight from 2020 and Class of 1999 (starring Bradley Gregg) of 1990.



Before you make any smart remarks, let me explain this carefully and please view this from the autism spectrum - I'm autistic.

Even though my Blender-made movie contains explosions and shootings taking place within a school - not to mention some murdering of some characters, it's merely special effects, makeups, etc.

Although the year of this movie, Class of 1999, is somewhat ironic to Columbine Massacre, it's in absolutely no way related to Columbine. Even though there are explosions and shootings taking place within a school - not to mention some murdering of students via robotic teachers (you could see blood oozing out of one guy's mouth at one point), it's all actors and mere special effects makeups. These characters will be in no way - any way related to the murder victims.

Heck, YouTube is becoming a cesspool of convoluted rules and regulations when it comes to uploading anything related to Columbine; I have yet to find anything stating what we can and can't upload regarding an event like the Columbine Massacre. So to play it safe, this is where surveying my surroundings and utilizing the thesaurus will come into play in naming my school setting. Even r/filmmakers revealed their poor taste in autistic creativity by perma-banning me for "breaking the sub's rules" when I made this post. But they didn't note specifically which rule I broke. Only compounded when I asked them via mod mail in a calm and friendly manner "May I ask, what rule did I even break? All I need is info about a movie I plan to make and I even showed evidence on what I'm relating to. It's just the setting I need has to look like an odd-shaped fortress. And in Class of 1999 (Bradley Gregg), some students were killed within a school, but they're merely fictional characters." This was their reply: no message. In fact, a mute from talking to them for a whopping 28 days.



But this is where it gets complicated: the reason I need a school like Columbine High for part of the setting is because of the overall size and shape of the school. It's quite roomy inside, thereby allowing me to perform stunts that require alot of space to execute the stunt safely. Like super jumping to overhead pipes in the corridors, leaping off of the pipes, and somersaulting in mid air. If you watch Class of 1999 (Bradley Gregg), then you can see they rode motorcycles in the school during the climax. But there's hardly any space for those hundreds of motorcycles to safely maneuver around the school's corridors and staircases. Plus, the Kennedy High School in the movie; even though it looks like a futuristic prison with prison fencing, barb wire, futuristic CCTV cameras, etc, it's exterior shape is a mere rectangle building, while Columbine High somewhat resembles a fortress or a small university campus. And I can't seem to find any other school that looks "fortress-style" than Columbine High that have not had any past or recent shootings.

But here's the good part: I'm going to use Thesaurus to rename the entire school. There must be another substitute word for "school" in the Thesaurus along with finding another thing to name the school after. In addition to that, I'll paint the exterior a different color and add futuristic cosmetics, furniture, appliances, etc to the exterior and interior.

Speaking of irony, Columbine High School got it's name from the Columbine Flower. Which is toxic to humans. So I can see why people loath this massacre more than 9/11.



P.S., the game Ready or Not has a mission named "Elephant". It involves saving Watt Community College from a bomb threat and a group of shooters. That game's mission is based off of the movie of the same name: Elephant (2003). Therefore, I'm well-aware that people will eventually figure out that my movie was somehow inspired by a school shooting and they might figure out it was somehow related or linked to Columbine. And that's how I learned about the existence of Run Hide Fight from 2020. VOID Interactive didn't even try to hide the fact they based their game's one mission off of a movie let alone a real life event.

 

[jcroy]

There certainly exists school shooting movies which are not based on Columbine.

For example, there is a Quebecois french language film "Polytechnique" from 2009, which was about the 1989 Montreal massacre.

Polytechnique (film) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

École Polytechnique massacre - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The director of this film Denis Villeneuve, later directed stuff like Blade Runner 2049, the Dune remakes from several years ago, etc ....

 

[Walter Kittel]

In the words of Roger Ebert...

"It's not what a movie is about, it's how it is about it."

- Walter.

 

[Robin9]

In the words of Roger Ebert...

"It's not what a movie is about, it's how it is about it."

- Walter.

Yes, the more combustible the material, the more necessary it is to be careful. Any subject matter is legitimate, but caution and good taste might be essential.

 

[Avery623]

And now after my mute expired, when I try asking politely again, they respond the same way again! No reason - just another 28 day mute from talking to them!

It's clear that no matter how nice you sound or behave, some don't want to act that way back!

What did I ever do to deserve this type of treatment or punishment (permanent ban from that subreddit let alone a 28 day mute from talking to their mods)?! Like, if Class of 1999 (Bradley Gregg) - note: despite it's year in it's title, Class of 1999 was published in 1990, 9 years BEFORE the Columbine Massacre, and Run Hide Fight (Isabel May) exist, then surely it should be okay to make a school-shooting-themed movie provided you take as many precautionary measures as possible. The guys who made Run Hide Fight certainly did just that and they offended as little to no people in the process. But I'm offending tons for some unknown reason.

But numbskulls like r/filmmakers isn't buying it for some reason!

Speaking of Columbine, I began to notice something: a trend involving video games showcasing mods (modifications) involving Columbine - such as skins for your playable characters; they are made to resemble Eric and Dylan with similar clothing and (sometimes) identical weapons. Such as in Payday 2. But instead of killing students, they kill cops. Those videos got removed by force because they "violated YouTube's Terms of Service". This same reason applied to videos of the Super Columbine Massacre RPG. Like... how did videos of video games showcasing mods relating to Columbine violate YouTube's ToS? I checked and there's no mention of "You may not upload any content relating to Columbine".

 

[DaveF]

This isn’t Reddit. If you have issues with Reddit or other social media forums, please take it to those forums; HTF isn’t the place.

 

[Avery623]

This isn’t Reddit. If you have issues with Reddit or other social media forums, please take it to those forums; HTF isn’t the place.

I'm just mentioning what happened when I tried to explain or ask this question on another site. That site's responses were very bitter.

But at least here, folks are actually taking the time to look through my thread instead of hurl insults out of the blue.

 

[DaveF]

None of which is relevant to the question per se you’re asking. This isn’t the place to rehash your prior problems or grievances with other sites.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

There have been a number of movies about school shootings, fictional or otherwise. Prior to Columbine, it was easier to do so in a more direct way; movies like Heathers come to mind.

Most of the best ones since have been on the periphery of the school shootings: In The Fallout, for example, the entire ordeal is experienced from inside a bathroom stall as three students stand on a toilet seat and try to stay quiet and invisible. In Rudderless, we don't find out about the context of what has transpired until halfway through the picture. We Need to Talk About Kevin approaches the topic as a psychological thriller, told from the perspective of the parent of a perpetrator.

Given the sensitivities involved, I would suggest running your concept by neurotypical family or friends who might pick up on nuances that aren't obvious to you.

 

[Jake Lipson]

[sidebar]

The director of this film Denis Villeneuve, later directed stuff like Blade Runner 2049, the Dune remakes from several years ago, etc ....

"The Dune remakes from several years ago?"

Part One was released less than three years ago in late 2021. Part Two came out 59 days ago.

[/sidebar]

Even though my Blender-made movie contains explosions and shootings taking place within a school - not to mention some murdering of some characters, it's merely special effects, makeups, etc.

It depends on what you mean by "ok."

I am not aware of any practical or legal reason you couldn't make the movie. You certainly wouldn't be the first person to address the topic. But of course this is a sensitive issue. Some people may not want to watch a movie relating to school shootings. Of course, some people might not want to watch a movie about any given topic whether it is a sensitive issue or not.

I would give some thought to why you want to make a movie about this subject. What is the story you want to tell and why do you feel it is important for you to tell it? (That's a rhetorical question.)

 

[Avery623]

I would give some thought to why you want to make a movie about this subject. What is the story you want to tell and why do you feel it is important for you to tell it? (That's a rhetorical question.)

Well, it started like this: After watching this, I noticed there were numerous parodies and or Easter Eggs - involving my favorite vocaloid characters taking place of the original characters in addition to a different scenery taking place of the original set. Such as High School of the Dead and Terminator.

Then, after watching an episode of Zero Hour, these two videos combined are what inspired me to begin making a parody movie that involves one of the Zero Hour episodes along with Easter Eggs of other infamous events rolled in altogether combined with my favorite cartoon, fictional, and anime characters taking place of the originals along with a different scenery or altered set. I want to see if anyone can spot the Easter Eggs I planted in my parody movie.

Instead of two antagonists like in the Columbine case, I'm going to have a different number of antagonists. I even did my due diligence and thorough studies to ensure that making a movie like this is okay. If Run Hide Fight (Isabel May) from 2020 and Class of 1999 (starring Bradley Gregg) of 1990 (note Class of 1999 was published in 1990 - 9 years BEFORE the Columbine Massacre) exist along with The Assault (L'Assault) 2010, I'm Not Ashamed 2016, and 9/11 2017, then it must be okay to make this type of parody movie - provided that you take as many precautionary measures as possible to offend as little to no people in the process as possible.

[MODERATOR: Content removed that’s been repeatedly warned against]

 

[Jake Lipson]

But when I try to explain this process and the precautionary steps I'm taking on the you-know-wheres

It seems to really bother you what happened on other websites. As the moderators have mentioned, that's not really relevant to the original question in your thread.

You also felt the need to indicate to us that you are autistic and that we should consider that when responding to your discussion points. If you make this movie, I would not expect potential audiences to care if you are autistic or not. They're either going to see the movie or they're not going to see the movie. The topic you are suggesting here will probably provoke very strong feelings from a lot of people.

Part of putting art out into the world is accepting the fact that everybody who sees it is going to have an opinion on it. Even people who don't see it are likely to form an opinion on whether it is appropriate or not. If you make this movie, or any other movie, you have to accept that there will be criticism of the movie and you need to be able to deal with that. Especially in the age of social media, criticism, both constructive and not so constructive, can come swiftly.

If you're really bothered by what people on other forums are saying about your idea now, you need to think about how you'll react if the movie actually comes out. As I said in my earlier post, this is a rhetorical question. I don't need you to actually answer this here. But you'll need to be prepared to deal with any number of responses and reactions from people. That's just how it goes.

 

[SD_Brian]

The only way you're ever going to know if making a movie like this is ok is to write the script. After you write the script, solicit feedback on the script. Rewrite the script until you are happy with it, then see if you can get it produced. Once it's been produced, release it out into the world and see how people respond.

There is no shortage of movies out there about school shootings and there is no shortage of movies about teenagers killing other teenagers (The Hunger Games franchise and Battle Royale are two that immediately come to mind). To quote Walter's quote of Roger Ebert, "It's not what a movie is about, it's how it is about it." In the abstract, it sounds tasteless and trite, but who knows: The finished product may be brilliant.

 

[John Dirk]

While it's generally rude to answer a question with another, I have to ask, "OK with whom?"

The inference would be "is it OK with each of us who chooses to respond." My answer is a resounding "YES." If it was "OK" to make Mississippi Burning [and it was] then it's OK to make films about school shootings or anything else. Fortunately it's also completely OK if we as individuals choose not to view content we find objectionable.

Reading your original post, respectfully, I believe what you're really doing is explaining to us why YOU feel it should or shouldn't be OK. That's fine, I suppose.

 

[Avery623]

In the abstract, it sounds tasteless and trite, but who knows: The finished product may be brilliant.

Exactly! They haven't even seen it yet, because I want to surprise them! - As in no spoilers.

I haven't even began Phase 2: writing the script yet; I'm still stuck in Phase 1: gathering the materials needed for the final draft. Yet these rude folks are jumping the gun and already judging the book by it's cover.

 

[SD_Brian]

I haven't even began Phase 2: writing the script yet; I'm still stuck in Phase 1: gathering the materials needed for the final draft. Yet these rude folks are jumping the gun and already judging the book by it's cover.

If the proverbial book hasn't even been written yet, you may be the one jumping the gun by asking for feedback that goes beyond the cover.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Yet these rude folks are jumping the gun and already judging the book by it's cover.

Only because you are asking them to.

 

[jcroy]

Exactly! They haven't even seen it yet, because I want to surprise them! - As in no spoilers.

What is your starting point ?

For example, is the underlying themes loosely resembling something like "catcher in the rye" or The Joker ?

You also felt the need to indicate to us that you are autistic and that we should consider that when responding to your discussion points. If you make this movie, I would not expect potential audiences to care if you are autistic or not.

For a wide audience outside of the hardcore nerdy/geeky crowd, such a film would have to appeal to "normal" people who do not care about about the plight of "autistics/aspergers". The story and character(s) would have to be relatable to how "joe sixpack" and "jane q public" think and feel. One cannot elicit sympathy or understanding, if normal people cannot understand or relate to it. (ie. You cannot "educate" people who simply do not care).

 

[Jake Lipson]

One cannot elicit sympathy or understanding, if normal people cannot understand or relate to it. (ie. You cannot "educate" people who simply do not care).

You're missing my point.

Anyone who makes a film is opening themselves up to criticism from potential audiences. You're not going to be able to tell everybody who looks at your film to "please view this from the autism spectrum - I'm autistic."

Respectfully, you seem to be very sensitive to and defensive regarding comments about your potential work. There is nothing wrong with that. But if you are actually able to get this film financed, made and distributed, the responses that it will receive will be a lot bigger than what you are currently objecting to in the comments you've already received. This is likely to be especially true when you are dealing with an extremely serious topic such as a school shooting. You will need to be prepared to deal with the criticism.

 

[Avery623]

if you are actually able to get this film financed

I'm not profiting off of my film, I plan to make it for fun like Alvin Earthworm's Super Mario Bros Z.