This Is A Battle Song

As I just said, this isn't a review. This won't be funny, dramatic, humorous, or life changing at all. To all of you eagerly expecting an Amazing Spider-Man review, sorry, wait a little longer. There's things in life that are more important than just a movie. I know Cole posted his thoughts on what has happened, but it's still on my mind and there's some things I need to say before I get back to my regular shenanigans. No pictures, no funny captions, no sarcastic insults. Just not right now.
I'll always remember the first time I saw Batman Begins. That movie literally changed the way I thought about heroes and villains in movies, the nature of heroes and just what constitutes a good person in the first place. It's silly to think that a movie provided such a strong awakening in me, but I've always been a silly guy so it's only appropriate. I feel like everyone has those kinds of moments in life, where something hits you so hard that you are never the same afterwards. That's not to say that it changes who you are, but it makes you realize what kind of person you are, who you're becoming, and what you want to be. So yes, not only a movie, but a Batman movie was my awakening. Laugh if you want, but the movie is and always will be special to me. Spider-Man may be my favorite, but he doesn't make you think and ponder the way Batman does, and to be honest, his movies don't hold a candle to Batman's.

  I was on a camping trip with the 11 year old Boy Scouts in my area. I was only in 6th grade. My dad and I, being the experienced and hardened campers we were, slept in the back of our car, setting our sleeping bags and pillows along the edges of the car and laying down to sleep. It was dark, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The stars were out in full force. That night at the campfire, we had all talked about them and how the different constellations fit together. For an 11 year old 6th grader, that was some intense conversations. Outer Space, the Great Unknown. It was hard to wrap my head around, that I, the small-ish child, was part of one of the physically smaller species on Earth, which was one of the smaller planets in its solar system, which was one of  the smaller systems in its galaxy... That's the general idea. What I know now is routine and regular thoughts for any person seemed revolutionary and new to me back then. Was I the only one who thought like that? Even more naive, I wondered if I was the first one to ever think that?

I quickly learned that I wasn't. Within minutes of laying down to sleep, my dad put a movie into the portable DVD player of the car. I was excited, because I had always loved movies and knew that my dad had decent taste. If he was putting in a movie to watch, I should probably pay attention.

"What's the movie, Dad?"

"Batman Begins."

The next two hours were an amazing experience to say the least. I loved every minute of that movie, from the intense action sequences to the philosophical ramblings of Liam Neeson. Never before had a movie hit me that hard before. I had always enjoyed going to the movies, but movies were just entertainment. They weren't exercises in thought, they were exercises in escapism. Cook some popcorn and kick back, enjoy the next few hours, maybe laugh a few times and then take a nap afterwards. Batman Begins was different. I was glued to the movie while it was on, and when it finished I couldn't stop thinking about it. Not for a long time.

Again, is it silly that a movie affected me so much? I don't think so. Is it so different from reading a book, or seeing a piece of art in a gallery? Hearing a song? No, it isn't. The fact that it was about a superhero doesn't change anything either. Superheros are the ultimate battle of Good vs. Evil. No matter what happens, you can count on the Hero to save the day and defeat the villain. Even with this gritty new universe of heroes in the movies now, the Hero will always save the day in the end. People die, people are hurt, it makes you cry, it makes you angry, but the Hero always wins in the end. It doesn't matter what the evil is, Good will always prevail.

A few days ago I changed my mind.

Some of you may be aware that to commemorate the end of what is inarguably the greatest superhero movie trilogy ever, and arguably the best movie trilogy ever, some theaters showed all three Batman movies in IMAX for a marathon showing. You get there at 4:00 to get good seats, and the first movie starts at 6:00. Then you sit back, and for the nine hours you bask in some glorious film making and the triumph of heroes over villains.

I won't bore you with anymore details of the movies. If you're curious about whether The Dark Knight Rises is a good movie, read Cole or anyone else's reviews. Better yet, go see it. The first two in the series are amazing, and if you haven't seen them yet shame on you.

I won't get into details about the tragedy that happened either. By now you all will have heard about what happened at the midnight showing in Aurora. The unthinkable happened. Evil won.

This was a movie I had been looking forward to since the minute I walked out of the midnight showing of The Dark Knight in 2008. It was supposed to be an amazing epic, not just a great superhero movie but a great movie on it's on merits. All of you critics and movie snobs who claim that a comic book movie can never be as amazing as other movies, I have no time for you. I would rather watch any Batman movie than The Artist any day.

This was a trilogy that had changed my perspective on the art of film and the characterization of heroes. This was a trilogy that had changed my whole outlook on movies and the way they could be enjoyed. These movies were my door to another world, where heroes were larger than life. Where no matter how bad things got, you could always count on them.

Aurora had no larger than life hero, because those heroes don't exist. No one could save all of them. Every single person in that theater is a real life hero, but it doesn't change the fact that 12 people died, and so many more were injured. It doesn't change the fact that four of the dead were protecting their wife or girlfriend while they were shot. Those men are true heroes. When crisis came, when terror was literally in the air and the tear gas was flowing throughout the theater, the shots ringing out, they did the only thing they could. Protect the ones you love, hope that they don't get injured or die. Their own safety was not the priority, just the safety of their loved ones. That is what heroes do. They put the welfare of others above themselves.

Many other people at the theater also sacrificed their own safety in order to protect others. The entire audience there at the movie, every single member had more bravery that night than I feel I've had my entire life. I admire all of them. I could never imagine what exactly they went through and what they felt. I don't pretend to understand the pain they must be in right now. I'm just a nerdy kid.

What I do know however, is how seemingly random the attack was. Why did it happen at that movie? Why did it happen in the first place? I was only a 20 minute drive away from the theater as the attack happened. I was watching the exact same movie as the victims at the exact same time. I was sitting in the front row of the theater. Had the killer chose our theater instead, and walked in the emergency exit behind our screen, would I still be alive to write this now? I really don't know. But I can't express how glad that I am. Only a few miles separated myself and the victims. By no means am I saying that I hurt as much as anyone who was in that theater, but I do say that I am still hurt by what happened. It's affected my life also.


Christopher Nolan said it best, and I paraphrase him here. The Movie Theater is my home, and this man has defiled it. Something that was special and incredibly important to me has been disrespected and torn apart.


There was no way to predict this would've happened. It's just a horrible situation that happened, and it's up to all of us to decide what to do next. I said that I had changed my mind about good always beating evil. I stand by that decision still. In every war, good will not win every battle. Sometimes evil will win far more battles than good ever will. I still believe though, with every single fiber of my being that good always wins the war. The side of goodness needs us all. There are going to be countless battles up ahead where we will be needed. Not all of us will make it. But the war is worth it. Wherever there is evil, good must stand up to it. If Batman stood for anything, he stood for the tireless efforts of good trying to overcome evil. So let's all be a little more like Batman. Let's all be good. Let's fight against evil. Put on your armor and don't be afraid. There's a song I love that says it best. This is a battle song, brothers and sisters. Time to go to war.