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USA, 2008, 94 Minute Running Time Genre/Subjects: Documentary, Educational, Family Issues, Social Issues Program: Documentary FilmsLanguage: English
DIRECTOR: Danny Ledonne Producer: Danny LedonneEditor: Danny LedonneCinematographer: Danny LedonnePrincipal Cast: Peter Baxter, Brian Flemming, Jack Thompson
In 2005, using a low-resolution format, Danny Ledonne created a role-playing video game (RPG) based on the shooting at Columbine High School, which claimed the lives of twelve students and a teacher as well as the two perpetrators. This highly provocative documentary, which Ledonne himself directed, explores how the controversial game he named Super Columbine Massacre RPG!—and interactive media in general—may help people to confront the gravest of issues. While critics condemn the very idea of turning the incident into a form of entertainment, a phalanx of college professors and game developers—and even a couple of shooting survivors—bring unexpected insight to the debate surrounding the reenactment of the tragedy. As Ledonne juxtaposes onscreen replays of other violent video games with footage of the Columbine killers—causing real squeamishness in the process—he raises the question: Why do fictional RPGs proliferate unchecked, while the interactive portrayal of a real-life event goes decried? The cultural battle is played out partly in clips from the news media and from Columbine-inspired films like Gus Van Sant’s drama Elephant and Michael Moore’s documentary Bowling for Columbine. To those who find the game “sick” and “exploitative,” Ledonne responds that he created it in an attempt to find some answers to the phenomenon of school shootings like the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre. And the game actually “makes you feel terrible,” according to one commentator; rather than glorifying a culture of violence, it makes the player complicit in the killings and “makes you understand something about yourself.” Playing Columbine may well do the same for audiences, whatever their views on the RPG itself.