Columbine in Today's Modern Culture

Songs, TV shows episodes, movies, books, etc that have been inspired by Columbine throughout the years.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

This episode was inspired by Columbine.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

This is a scene from the 2010 movie "Rampage". 

Critics have said that this movie will be the next "Natural Born Killers" and will inspire a new generation of "Eric and Dylans". The director (Uwe Boll) blew off his critics and said that the public loves events like Columbine, so the legacy of Columbine was doubtlessly on his mind when he made it. 

I think Eric's fantasies were probably a lot like this. Setting off bombs, killing cops, idealizing the violence.

The same director also made a film called "Heart of America" about a couple of bullied kids who shoot up their school. Does he have a fascination with young people going on rampages?

Anyway, I though it was worth a mention. Although there will always be shootings, I think Columbine has helped popularize rampages as "cool".


[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The movie "Klass" is mentioned on the Wikipedia link above. It's an exceptional foreign movie and deserves a watch if you're interested in school shooting movies. Foreign movies don't seem to get the attention they deserve.

Here's a link to the final scene of the movie (the part where the two boys shoot up their school):

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Who else saw the episode of Family Guy where they made fun of Columbine?

Here's a short clip of the Columbine joke part:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Those guns they use in Klass are horrible. Eight round magazine and a bolt action rifle? Who would try and commit mass murder with that junk?

Quote :

Those guns they use in Klass are horrible. Eight round magazine and a bolt action rifle? Who would try and commit mass murder with that junk?

The guns are stolen from the taller boy's father. They don't have access to larger quantities of ammunition -The father (for some reason I can't put my finger on) doesn't see the need to keep rampage-friendly amounts of ammo in his house.

The shooting is an act of desperation, not an act of audience entertainment. The tragedy of the movie is because Kaspar is unable to kill himself at the end. Kaspar was never unpopular, he only became a target because he protected the other guy (Joosep). Kaspar's reward for helping out Joosep was to end up roped into committing a shooting he didn't want to, unable to kill himself at the end.

So, lifetime, what's your weapon(s) of choice for mass-murder?

AK 47, shotgun, and .40 Glock.  I'm surprised no one has been using the bigger 7.62 round in these mass shootings we've been having lately. I'm not advocating that they do, but I don't think they realize  the 7.62 is much more powerful. And of course you probably can't get weapons like the AK 47 in Germany. So it's understandable that they would have crappy weapons not made to kill massive amounts of people.

I think the V-Tech guy made a convincing argument that whatever it was he was using would get the job done. The manufacturer should pay Cho's family advertising royalties. I heard that after Sandy Hook, sales of the gun that Lanza used skyrocketed.

Sales skyrocketed because of idiots that think it's necessary to own a high powered, high magazine capacity assault rifle, were afraid of having them taken away.

As far as Cho is concerned. He should have never been allowed to buy a gun in the first place. Everyone that knew him at VT knew he was having problems. Yet he was still able to pass a background check to get a gun even after he was put on suicide watch (not even considering his past mental problems). It should have never gotten that far. Also, the VTech shooting is one of those rare occasions where someone was able to kill a lot of people with a underpowered hand gun. (Dylan was also using a underpowered handgun, but he had 50 round magazines meaning, in a class room of 30 students, he could shoot each student once and still not have to reload.)

Better gun laws aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of possible violent offenders very well could have stopped VT from happening at all.

Lifetime wrote:

Also, the VTech shooting is one of those rare occasions where someone was able to kill a lot of people with a underpowered hand gun.

Interesting. What do you think contributed to Cho's high body count then?

In wikipedia, it says, "he had fired at least 174 rounds, killing 30 people and wounding 17 more. All of the victims were shot at least three times each; of the 30 killed, 28 were shot in the head".

Do you think Cho just had good aim?

As far as I know, E/D didn't make a lot of headshots, I wonder why? Even their original plan -a bombing- suggests that E/D weren't really keen on up close and personal murder.

The aggression Cho shows in his attack is an interesting contrast to E/D's childish wargames.

StinkyOldGrapes wrote:

Lifetime wrote:

Also, the VTech shooting is one of those rare occasions where someone was able to kill a lot of people with a underpowered hand gun.

Interesting. What do you think contributed to Cho's high body count then?

In wikipedia, it says, "he had fired at least 174 rounds, killing 30 people and wounding 17 more. All of the victims were shot at least three times each; of the 30 killed, 28 were shot in the head".

Do you think Cho just had good aim?

As far as I know, E/D didn't make a lot of headshots, I wonder why? Even their original plan -a bombing- suggests that E/D weren't really keen on up close and personal murder.

The aggression Cho shows in his attack is an interesting contrast to E/D's childish wargames.

This is a really good comparison. I feel like Cho almost perfected E/D's attack. Obviously not the bombing, but he created a distraction that genuinely worked (homicide vs a half-ass bomb) and then proceeded to actually double the body count, and he did it alone. I will never understand why (although I'm thankful for it) E/D didn't kill more. If they had just open fired in the caf at the start, it would have been like shooting fish in a barrel. Were they both horrible shots? Why not practice more? They had 5 or 6 months to practice with 3/4 of the guns. And before E broke his nose, when they were still "having fun", why not be more aggressive? They clearly weren't squeamish.

Obviously this is one of those stupid questions that drives me nuts. I just feel like: this is your dream, horrible as it may be. You're here and shit is not going as planned but you've still got your wingman and your guns and your power. So why not?

Again, want to clarify that I am glad they DIDN'T do more damage. I in no way condone the massacre. I simply don't see why you would take it this far and not experience it to the fullest.

And damn, I have now completely forgotten what this topic even was, lol.

Wideawake wrote:

I feel like Cho almost perfected E/D's attack. Obviously not the bombing, but he created a distraction that genuinely worked (homicide vs a half-ass bomb)

I laughed my ass off at the "homicide vs. half-ass bomb" part. It's completely true though. E/D's bomb was a pathetic effort. I know there's probably not a lot of places they could have tested such a large bomb beforehand without drawing attention to themselves, but since they couldn't test it, I'm surprised they didn't have a better backup plan in place. Like you said: This is their life's dream. They're going to DIE for this.

Quote :

I will never understand why (although I'm thankful for it) E/D didn't kill more. If they had just open fired in the caf at the start, it would have been like shooting fish in a barrel.

I've wondered about the cafeteria too. E/D knew it was packed with people -that's why they planted their bombs there -so why not head there first? The 400 or so people in the cafeteria would have fallen over themselves trying to run away. It would have been a slaughter.

Quote :

Were they both horrible shots? Why not practice more? They had 5 or 6 months to practice with 3/4 of the guns. And before E broke his nose, when they were still "having fun", why not be more aggressive? They clearly weren't squeamish.

Supposedly, they planned the attack for a whole year beforehand. What exactly did they spend their time doing? They didn't spend it planning the practical aspects, that's for sure. It definitely wasn't time well spent.

Eric's journal might be raging, but his actions on the day were lazy and more "thrill seeking" rather than a serious attempt to murder people. Cho's rampage lasted 10-15 minutes. He killed 30 people during that time. He killed 1 person every 20 or 30 seconds, not even considering all the people he wounded. The guy didn't stop to take a breath, and was probably physically exhausted by the end of the spree.

On the other hand, E/D spent a good deal of their time wandering around the halls doing nothing. They could've broken into occupied classrooms one-by-one and systematically killed everyone. They had plenty of time. Seeing what a lazy attitude E/D had towards murder, I can understand why Tom Klebold said, about his son, "I’d ask him what the hell he was thinking and what the hell he thought he was doing". I'm not exactly sure what E/D were doing either, because it wasn't serious mass murder.

StinkyOldGrapes wrote:

... I can understand why Tom Klebold said, about his son, "I’d ask him what the hell he was thinking and what the hell he thought he was doing". I'm not exactly sure what E/D were doing either, because it wasn't serious mass murder.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to hell for laughing at this, but it was too funny. Agreed that they didn't use their year of planning efficiently. I always think if it were me and I had a year to plan, I would have a couple of backup plans and practice more and test my bombs. I don't know if this is my practical mostly mentally stable adult brain talking, compared to a depressed homicidal hormonal teenager's or what. Eric comes across as a control freak. Hard to believe he would be so shoddy with it all.

On the other side of things though, E/D genuinely seemed to enjoy what they were doing. Cho was doing so much damage so fast that I doubt his brain had time to process it. Maybe that's all it was, a way to draw it out and prolong the "fun".

Wideawake wrote:

StinkyOldGrapes wrote:

... I can understand why Tom Klebold said, about his son, "I’d ask him what the hell he was thinking and what the hell he thought he was doing". I'm not exactly sure what E/D were doing either, because it wasn't serious mass murder.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to hell for laughing at this, but it was too funny. Agreed that they didn't use their year of planning efficiently. I always think if it were me and I had a year to plan, I would have a couple of backup plans and practice more and test my bombs. I don't know if this is my practical mostly mentally stable adult brain talking, compared to a depressed homicidal hormonal teenager's or what. Eric comes across as a control freak. Hard to believe he would be so shoddy with it all.

On the other side of things though, E/D genuinely seemed to enjoy what they were doing. Cho was doing so much damage so fast that I doubt his brain had time to process it. Maybe that's all it was, a way to draw it out and prolong the "fun".

Well the fact of the matter is that you didn't do it, so credit where credit is due.

They did. They were the raison d'etre of raisons d'etres of Cho, too. Higher kill count, yeah, they're down to bronze medal status on sheer kill count (Lanza being silver medalist, and severely underrated,) but it's about more than kill count. Same reason why some classic rock bands are untouchable, though later musicians may have had better technical skills in playing their instruments.

Lifetime wrote:

Also, the VTech shooting is one of those rare occasions where someone was able to kill a lot of people with a underpowered hand gun.

StinkyOldGrapes wrote:

Interesting. What do you think contributed to Cho's high body count then?

In wikipedia, it says, "he had fired at least 174 rounds, killing 30 people and wounding 17 more. All of the victims were shot at least three times each; of the 30 killed, 28 were shot in the head".

Do you think Cho just had good aim?

As far as I know, E/D didn't make a lot of headshots, I wonder why? Even their original plan -a bombing- suggests that E/D weren't really keen on up close and personal murder.

The aggression Cho shows in his attack is an interesting contrast to E/D's childish wargames.

The quote option still isn't working right for me.

What attributed to Cho's high body count was the fact that he was less than 10ft away from his victims and shot them either two or three times in the chest or head. He knew he had to shoot his victims multiple times to make sure they were dead. Cho was extremely cold and methodical in the way he was killing people.  Eric and Dylan on the other hand, were having a grand ole time shooting people.

And for people who don't think magazine size makes a difference. Kip Kinkel was able to shoot 20 people in 19 seconds because he was using a rifle with a 20 round magazine.

FredPete wrote:

Wideawake wrote:

StinkyOldGrapes wrote:

... I can understand why Tom Klebold said, about his son, "I’d ask him what the hell he was thinking and what the hell he thought he was doing". I'm not exactly sure what E/D were doing either, because it wasn't serious mass murder.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to hell for laughing at this, but it was too funny. Agreed that they didn't use their year of planning efficiently. I always think if it were me and I had a year to plan, I would have a couple of backup plans and practice more and test my bombs. I don't know if this is my practical mostly mentally stable adult brain talking, compared to a depressed homicidal hormonal teenager's or what. Eric comes across as a control freak. Hard to believe he would be so shoddy with it all.

On the other side of things though, E/D genuinely seemed to enjoy what they were doing. Cho was doing so much damage so fast that I doubt his brain had time to process it. Maybe that's all it was, a way to draw it out and prolong the "fun".

Well the fact of the matter is that you didn't do it, so credit where credit is due.  

They did.  They were the raison d'etre of raisons d'etres of Cho, too.  Higher kill count, yeah, they're down to bronze medal status on sheer kill count (Lanza being silver medalist, and severely underrated,) but it's about more than kill count.  Same reason why some classic rock bands are untouchable, though later musicians may have had better technical skills in playing their instruments.

I feel like I've offended you and I'm not really sure how, but if I did, I apologize. Um. Yeah. I realize that a lot of factors other than kill count contribute to which school shootings are the most infamous. All I was trying to say is that I'm surprised Eric didn't plan better and/or do something to ensure they had a higher body count when the bombs didn't go off. I wonder if they were enjoying the little conversational exchanges they were having with their victims too much to worry about racking up bodies. You know, really getting all the fun they could out of it instead of just kill kill kill. And to clarify, I refer specifically to Eric rather than E/D together based on the number of shots fired by each - not to say Dylan didn't participate, but Eric took far more shots.

Wideawake wrote:

FredPete wrote:

Wideawake wrote:

StinkyOldGrapes wrote:

... I can understand why Tom Klebold said, about his son, "I’d ask him what the hell he was thinking and what the hell he thought he was doing". I'm not exactly sure what E/D were doing either, because it wasn't serious mass murder.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to hell for laughing at this, but it was too funny. Agreed that they didn't use their year of planning efficiently. I always think if it were me and I had a year to plan, I would have a couple of backup plans and practice more and test my bombs. I don't know if this is my practical mostly mentally stable adult brain talking, compared to a depressed homicidal hormonal teenager's or what. Eric comes across as a control freak. Hard to believe he would be so shoddy with it all.

On the other side of things though, E/D genuinely seemed to enjoy what they were doing. Cho was doing so much damage so fast that I doubt his brain had time to process it. Maybe that's all it was, a way to draw it out and prolong the "fun".

Well the fact of the matter is that you didn't do it, so credit where credit is due.  

They did.  They were the raison d'etre of raisons d'etres of Cho, too.  Higher kill count, yeah, they're down to bronze medal status on sheer kill count (Lanza being silver medalist, and severely underrated,) but it's about more than kill count.  Same reason why some classic rock bands are untouchable, though later musicians may have had better technical skills in playing their instruments.

I feel like I've offended you and I'm not really sure how, but if I did, I apologize. Um. Yeah. I realize that a lot of factors other than kill count contribute to which school shootings are the most infamous. All I was trying to say is that I'm surprised Eric didn't plan better and/or do something to ensure they had a higher body count when the bombs didn't go off. I wonder if they were enjoying the little conversational exchanges they were having with their victims too much to worry about racking up bodies. You know, really getting all the fun they could out of it instead of just kill kill kill. And to clarify, I refer specifically to Eric rather than E/D together based on the number of shots fired by each - not to say Dylan didn't participate, but Eric took far more shots.

No, you didn't offend me. I tend to come off harsh.

Maybe they were subconsciously aiming for fun over carnage--the impulsive hedonistic mindset that says, "what's the point of all this if it feels like a chore?" Maybe that's why Columbine stands out, because there was the emotional spiritual dimension as well. There's a poem by one of my favorite writers that sums up my thoughts wrt: why Columbine as the iconic. It's called Sun-Death. One's entire life concentrated into a pinpoint, explosion into light and fire and so on.

FredPete wrote:

Well the fact of the matter is that youdidn't do it, so credit where credit is due.

No. I didn't do it. But if ever do a massacre of my own, feel free to dissect it and mock me for all the things I failed on. If I'm too sensitive to cope with people making jokes about my methods, then, let's face it, I really shouldn't be doing a massacre in the first place.

Using your classic rock bands analogy, E/D put their "art" out there for the world to see. I know I'm not as talented as them, and they had more guts and courage than I ever will, but they weren't a perfect band. Since E/D -and all the other mass murder "artists" out there- are offering up their "art" for public consumption, I've got a right to give my feedback.

Anyway, they felt no remorse during their little thrill-kill spree, so I doubt E/D would mind that I don't feel sorry when I mock their sloppiness. If there is an afterlife and E/D are watching this board, then I'm sure these remorseless mass murderers aren't taking too much offence at my jokes. E/D weren't that hypocritical.

Canadian-French cop show "19-2" did an impressive school shooting episode.

The entire shootout goes for a full 30 minutes.

I uploaded a small sample of it for anyone interested:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]