Natural Born Killers

I had seen Natural Born Killers when I was 16 or so, so I didn't remember it in it's entirety. What I do remember very distinctly from my first viewing of it is how over the top violent it is, how completely insane it's two main characters are, and the scene in the grocery store that for some reason has only neon green lighting. The opening credits are impressive, there are some big names involved with this film that I was unaware of (Quentin Tarantino), and for a movie with such an all star cast and crew, I have to say, I expected more. Perhaps it's just a bit dated, or maybe my sensitivity to violence in film has considerably decreased, but I really didn't find anything particularly groundbreaking in this film. To me it just seemed like a campy, two hour long celebration of violence and rebellion. While this can be entertaining in it's own right, Natural Born Killers just didn't really do it for me. That's not to say that the movie isn't enjoyable to watch- it is- but I just didn't really get any sense of profound meaning or awe upon watching it.

The reading associated with this film is to a large extent concerned with the film and how it relates to portrayals and criticisms of pop culture. This is definitely a very central theme in the film, but one that I think it just as central, if not more prevalent, and a little more interesting, is the film's portrayal of the media. Robert Downey Jr.'s character, Wayne Gale, is a TV reporter, who primarily reports on violent or otherwise brutal and heinous crimes, crimes that he becomes obsessed with. We've all seen this, turn on any syndicated news channel and you'll see that the stories that pull in the most viewers are those of destruction, catastrophe, etc. Even in our pop culture violence sells, popular shows like CSI and Law and Order are based centrally around a violent crime occuring at the beginning of each episode, gangster rap music, death metal, all these things are rife with violence. Gale's character becomes increasingly more and more obsessed with interviewing Mickey and Mallory and recording many of their killings, much like the American media becomes obsessed with covering worldwide catastrophes. Furthermore, Gale takes it so far that he ultimately sacrifices his own life for the sake of covering the story of Mickey and Mallory, even going so far as to extend his arms as if he were on a cross, becoming, essentially, a Christlike figure.

One thing I particularly like about the reading is the statement that Natural Born Killers "effectively juxtaposes the competitive score-keeping of football and multiple murder". I love it whenever a movie or some other form of expression takes shots at the incredible amount of importance that many Americans place on professional sports in their lives. It has always seemed very bizarre to me that people can be so concerned with, and will spend copious amounts of money on seeing other people who are in turn very concerned with the position of a ball on a predetermined area of grass (these sports are also oftentimes quite violent). Billions of dollars go into watching the locations of balls on fields or courts of whatever. Strange. But, I digress...

Natural Born Killers is an interesting film, and I'm glad that I saw it again. It's probably not a film I would watch repeatedly for enjoyment, as it seems to me to be one of those "Okay, I get it" after the second or third time through kind of films. The dischordant pacing and psychedelic nature of the film can be a bit jarring at first, but if these two things were not in the film, I don't know that it'd even be worth watching.