Last saturday I read the news from my country to find out that a human body had been found in pieces in 25 bags across a road, a week before that, the news were that police had found 49 bodies without head and hands... and before that more killings, more bodies, more murders. In México this kind of thing happens frequently, in the city where I'm from, Chihuahua, I even dare to say that daily. I can't say I'm surprised anymore. Terrified, yes, and although we are now used to this, we can't stop wondering "what the heck do the people that are guilty of this have in their heads?"
Well, I found some answers in this Sunday's documentary: The Act of Killing.
Imagine that a group of gangsters who murdered hundreds in Indonesia are suddenly asked to make a film about their killings. Well, that's exactly what you get in The Act of Killing.
Superficially, there are a lot of differences between the background of the murders in Indonesia (which target were to finish with the communists) and the murders going in Mexico (which most of the time are about drugs wars), but I think that just as in any other war, the end is the same; what is wanted in all cases is money and power.
It would be stupid to think that my conclusions about this people could be right after just watching a summary of 2 hours of their whole life... but oh God, how much did I hated them. Empty. That's the most suitable word I find for them. Empty of feelings, and empty in their heads, yearning to fill up their hands with money; proud to have Hollywood's gangster movies as an example and guide in their ways of killing; doing what they do just to buy fancy clothes, and although knowing they are wrong, forcing themselves to see what they do in a perspective where it's good.
I was looking for an insight, something that could help me understand them. I can't say I fully found it, because what they did is so brutal and just beyond my personal judgment. Yet, I have an interesting point in which I can elaborate: how movies influenced this assassins. I often listen to men argue about how it's not true that watching violence can make someone violent; well after seeing this at such a scale I will have to disagree. Yes, maybe it might not be influential in someone who has a strong base and a personal idea on what's right and wrong; but for someone who doesn't it can be a total difference (now you go judge yourself at what age and situation someone is able to have a strong base). This is also something to reflect upon in a personal level. Maybe I was not willing to kill just because I watched Inglorious Basterds, but maybe I was hoping to find Mr. Right after watching a Jennifer Aniston romantic comedies.
I really, really, really am reluctant to believe that we can be as vulnerable to influence from media as these men... but I know I am just not willing to see (the mere existence of marketing proves me wrong).
So in the end, how much of the emptiness of these men do I feel? Maybe not enough to justify taking human lives in order to buy a car or clothes, but surely enough to believe in the illusion that movies provide, maybe to even want to follow their example, the desire to be the pretty lady who finds love, to be the successful movie director, the adventurous traveler to which interesting things happen to, or whatever. Is it bad to dream, to want something we see someone else has (even if it's someone imaginary)? I don't think so, that's not what I'm trying to say... there is a reason why I love movies, and it's because they give us the impossible, but we must be careful in what we believe or how we desire to live those illusions that are ours for as long as the movie lasts. Sure, we are meant to sympathize with the characters, to feel understood as we watch someone act the way we probably would... but is good understanding that there are things that just belong to the screen.
And this is how I come back to my original subject, how the Act of Killing is a very good documentary to watch, and I wish this was one of the situations that remains only in the screen... and that murders like this didn't happen in my country.
So I recommend it. It might not give you understanding of the "why's" of these people, but it will at least give you an idea of their mindset. Maybe.
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