I'm sure scenes like that may have made an impact here and there, but that's not apparently what many Americans came away with. They did not return time after time to ache about the loss of life, but to see that plastic plant just one more time. It had such a nice paint job. And that's the reaction I've had ever since leaving the theater. The most striking message I got from the movie had nothing to do with the plot or the special effects or even the suffering.
More people have to die for an event to make the news.
Pre-teens are committing murder with increasing frequency and feeling no remorse other than having been caught. I'm not going to try to place blame here, but I do think it's good for people to at least acknowledge that such a thing is happening. What I would like to do is resensitize people to the violence they take for granted around them, and get them to reevaluate what they tolerate. What you tolerate, you give tacit approval to, because if you do not take steps to reduce it, then it will increase. If you say you wish there were less violence in our country, if you say you wish you could walk the streets again at night, then think about what acts of violence you tolerate.