The Dirties: A School Shooting Film About a School Shooting Film

[redhawk23]

So this came out of nowhere, but looks great.

http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/ne...ight-down-the-barrell-of-school-shootings.php

Slashfil describes the film as such:

The film, co-written and directed by Matt Johnson and starring Johnson and Owen Williams, is about a couple of high school kids that set out to make a film about giving bullies a taste of their own medicine. But the kids, hardcore Tarantino fans, end up taking the “movie within a movie” in a scary and serious direction.

The trailer is quite good; check it out below. Note that the footage is probably not safe for work due to language.

Personally, this trailer presents a film that I will likely find uncomfortably relatable as someone who watched far too much Tarantino in high school and spent way too much time making terrible movies.

 

[Ultimatehero]

That sounds great, haven't seen the trailer - but that is what happened to the Colombine guys. They got in too deep and took things too far, days before they stated that they couldn't stop even if they wanted to. And they made a similar f-u to the bullies film in class before they did it for real.

 

[redhawk23]

Have you seen Zero Hour? It's basically a found footage film directly based of of Harris and Klebold's "Basement Tapes" and the security footage from the school.

That movie gets me in the gut every time.

 

[Teelie]

I probably won't see it. It just feels exploitative to me.

 

[redhawk23]

The filmmakers, who wrote and are starring the film have said their intention with this film is show more grounded and realistic bullying as they feel most media presentations of the topic is overblown in some respects while missing the mark and ignoring others.

Here's an interview with one of the directors where they talk about the production and their intents.

http://www.sarasotafilmfestival.com...lm-festival-interview?tmpl=component&type=raw

My interest with this film derives very much from the fact that the filmmakers are choosing to draw from their own (quite recent) high school experiences. I welcome the opportunity to see a film commenting on bullying and school violence from people so close to my own age, who similarly have grown up in the shadow of Columbine and the many events that followed.

 

[Ultimatehero]

Have you seen Zero Hour? It's basically a found footage film directly based of of Harris and Klebold's "Basement Tapes" and the security footage from the school.

That movie gets me in the gut every time.

Yeah. That and Elephant and I'm pretty sure there's another big one but I can't remember the title of it right now. I can't wait until 2020 (or at least I think that's it) because that's when the tapes will actually be released and I'm considering trying to put together an actual film about it. For some reason with school shootings I'm a lot like Robert Graysmith was about the Zodiac, it's just a crime that I've really latched onto.

 

[hammerhedd11]

That sounds great, haven't seen the trailer - but that is what happened to the Colombine guys. They got in too deep and took things too far, days before they stated that they couldn't stop even if they wanted to. And they made a similar f-u to the bullies film in class before they did it for real.

Don't want to turn this into a political debate (although, considering the subject matter of the film, it would be impossible to avoid) but that's pure horse hockey. I can see an argument made for Klebold, but Eric Harris was far removed from anything even remotely resembling 'getting in too deep beyond one's control'. Fancying oneself to be a god whose righteous mission was to bring about armageddon to wipe out us 'lesser beings' is about as far away as you can get from simply "taking things too far".

 

[Ultimatehero]

well, that was in Dylan's journal and writings - not Eric's. Should have been more precise. Also for those wondering, a lot of what they wrote is online. Eric's whole plan wasn't suicide, I think Dylan brought that to the table. Eric wanted to go from school to school.

 

[hammerhedd11]

That aspect is almost entirely attributed to Eric Harris. Klebold definitely had extreme rage and was prone to snap, and his writings can reflect that, but he also suffered from severe depression and was never exactly willing to lead. He sounds more like the teen "gone wrong". Harris was a narcissistic sociopath and the fuse that set everything off. He was beyond all help.

 

[Ultimatehero]

Eric wanted to go around from school to school killing as many people as possible. Dylan was suicidal and depressed for a very long time. Thus, to me it makes more sense that the suicide was Dylan's idea because Eric's was going from school to school - Eric's plan as he wanted it wouldn't have consisted of suicide because it would have gotten rid of his grand notions of widespread school shootings but it is something that goes along more with Dylan's psyche. From a depressed point of view, Dylan had everything to gain from that. From killing as many students as possible point of view, Eric had everything to lose from that - so why would he ever propose suicide? To me, that's an obvious Dylan decision and a last minute one because it goes completely against Eric's dreamed-of plan.

 

[hammerhedd11]

I don't know why you were are debating Klebold's depressive state- I never disputed that. What I am disputing is the idea that Eric was some bullied outcast who was pushed into action, whether he liked it or not. He was not. He was a bully. The worst kind- one who felt he was superior to all other beings, and that every one beneath him deserved to either die or serve him. Klebold may have talked big, he may have even acted big, but only under the influence of a sociopath.


As for your claim that Eric was not suicidal;
"After I mow down a whole area full of you snotty ass rich mother-f***** high strung God-like-attitude-having worthless pieces of s*** w****s, I don't care if I live or die." -- Eric Harris


Anyway, I don't wish for this debate to go much further, especially in a thread regarding a (slightly) unrelated topic.

 

[Ultimatehero]

I never stated that Eric was some bullied kid. Did they make a video stating they would kill all the bullies and ass holes? Yes. Did they joke about killing the jerks? Yes. Reb Brown states as much in his book. Was there something further wrong with Eric? Yes. Did it go further and further? Yes. Did Dylan see it as going too far but unable to stop? Yes. These are all easy checkable FACTS.

Also, exactly - Eric's plan was to kill as many people as possible live or die. His plan was NOT to shoot himself. How exactly can you kill as many people as possible before going down in a 'blaze of glory' if you kill yourself? That's counter-intuitive to that plan.

Eric - to hell with you guys, I won't stop until you kill me. Dylan - life sucks, I just want it to be over. Now who sounds like they would kill themselves and who sounds like they'd run at the cops guns blazing? Something changed because guns blazing was how Eric wanted to die. Eric - live and let die hail of bullets suicidal, Dylan - likely to kill himself suicidal. In the end they killed themselves, they didn't go down in a hail of gunfire like ERIC wanted.

 

[Alien Anal]

Holy **** so I watched The Dirties the other night and am obsessed with it. I thought it was great and cant stop recommending it to people. I have been watching as many interviews with director Matt Johnson as I can as I find them really fascinating, I really like Matt's attitude towards film making.

One of the best films I have seen this year even though it came out 3 yrs ago.

Cant wait for Operation Avalanche