Nathan and I watched Law Abiding Citizen today- I came away with mixed feelings. Normally I'm as down with vigilante movies as the next red-blooded American, but the anti-hero in this one pretty much went outside my comfort zone with his actions.
Don't get me wrong- if someone were to do to my family what the villain did to the anti-hero's, I, too, would feel compelled to end that person. But the problem with big elaborate schemes is that there are too many opportunities for them to go wrong, and it seems to me that bullet to the back of the head has a much smaller margin for error. Not to mention giving the villain less chance to repeat his crimes while I'm busy scheming. And that's not to say I disagree with making someone suffer for what they've done- I most certainly do not. But I guess watching this movie made me realize that I must actually believe in some sort of afterlife punishment system, because I really would rather just end the individual swiftly and let the Powers That Be handle it from there. I guess I have a greater faith in divine retribution than I thought I did... Not to mention I think that torturing someone probably damages something inside of you that simply executing them doesn't. But having had experience with neither, it's really all just speculation on my part.
I'm guess what I'm saying is that, if it was me that had been raped and murdered, I wouldn't want Nathan to hurt himself, hurt his spirit, by doing things like the anti-hero did. Make a clean kill and walk away. That's all I'm saying. Less chance of something going wrong. And oddly enough, this is coming from someone who does not feel she's been commanded to forgive her enemies...
So what do you think (always assuming, of course, you have the same sort of vigilante streak I do)? Make 'em suffer for what they've done, or kill 'em quick and let the PTB sort 'em out?
(And yeah, I get that the point of the movie was the anti-hero was frustrated with the justice system, in general, but still...)
Think Dr. Horrible. It's not about making money, it's about taking money. I haven't seen this one yet, but if it's what I'm thinking it is, I'm guessing the point IS that the justice system doesn't work. Make the point and get revenge AND get away with it (like I said, I haven't seen it, don't know if that's how it happens).
ReplyDeleteIt's bumped up to #1 on my netflix queue. I'll have to get back to you on this one once I've seen it.
Yes yes, you definitely should. Also, I loved Dr. Horrible, although I was definitely left with a gaping, aching hole in my chest by the conclusion. Curse Whedon and his stunning emotional manipulation!
ReplyDeleteI also think that torturing someone and even wishing to torture someone does bad things to the head. I would be surprised to find many emotionally healthy rapists.
ReplyDeleteThe bad karma that resulted in the rape creates bad karma that results in torture that creates bad karma that causes more suffering down the line. pretty bad cycle if you ask me.
I would hope to find a way to end this horrible cycle for both the suffering person seeking rape and the suffering person seeking torture.