What was expected to be an entertaining night for moviegoers viewing the highly anticipated Batman film “The Dark Knight Rises” at the Century 16 Theater in Aurora, Colo., quickly turned into terror.
However, the Colo. shooting ultimately has not discouraged fans of Christopher Nolan's Batman franchise from seeing the long-awaited finale to the movie series.
“It was very upsetting,” said Cindy Baker of Long Island when she first heard of the Colo. shootings. “It was a shock. I feel bad for the families.”
Baker was in the area visiting a friend with her two children and attended a movie earlier in the day at Manassas Regal Stadium 14. She thought about the possibility that the shooting might prevent people from attending movies in the future.
“I thought about going today and I had a little bit of a stop in my reaction, but I came anyway,” Baker said. “You can’t stop doing these things. You have to come.”
Public response to the shooting was unanimous, with celebrities, politicians, citizens and moviegoers alike left in awe. Many turned to social media outlets to further decipher the news.
“I first heard about it via Facebook this morning,” said Byron Wills, a Centreville resident who attended the midnight premiere of the new Batman movie. “I felt shock over anything else. I don't think that this will hinder people from going to the movies, but just make them more cautious and more paranoid around strangers. It shouldn’t hurt the ticket sales of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ on a large scale, but moreso locally in Colorado.”
Local news outlets in Aurora have reported that while the tragedy unfolded, many people in the theater thought the gunshots were part of an act to enhance the film experience, and did not realize the immediate danger until it was too late.
“The very first scene in the movie is so action-packed, I wouldn’t have been able to tell if the gunshots were real or in the movie,” said Gabrielle Mizerak of Manassas, who saw an advance screening of “The Dark Knight Rises” at AMC Tysons Corner 16. “I really hope that this doesn’t take away from all the hard work that Christopher Nolan did and everyone else at Warner Brothers. I think this movie has a big enough fan base that won’t affect it that much, and it’s such a random act of violence.”
The gunman, identified as 24-year-old James Holmes, was heavily armed with an assault rifle, a shotgun and a handgun. Questions are being raised about whether or not the shooting will spark continued debate over local and national gun control laws.
“Since the whole Trayvon case, gun control has become a more talked about and controversial topic,” Wills said. “This event is just fueling the fire.”
Even though gun control laws may come into the spotlight, public opinion along with lawmakers’ attitudes towards gun control contention might not change.
“I think has the potential to start debate, but I don’t think it will result in any litigation,” Mizerak said. “I don’t know how much will actually be done about it because there have been things like this before, like Columbine and Virgina Tech, that haven’t resulted in anything.”
Although Holmes has since been apprehended and is in police custody, some fear that copy cat criminals nationwide might see this as an opportunity to cause additional fear and havoc. Certain movie theaters across the country are taking precautions with increased police presence.
“ might improve security a little bit, as far as anything else I’m not sure,” Baker said.
Similarities between the plot of “The Dark Knight Rises” and the gunman’s actions could conceivably show a link among the two. Violent attacks on unsuspecting people are a key component of superhero movies, especially in the Batman series.
“Do I think there could be a connection between the movie and the shooting? Possibly,” said Dan Thompson of Manassas, Va. who arrived in the afternoon to see the movie at Manassas Regal Stadium 14. “But we’ll just have to wait and see what [the gunman’s] motive was.”
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