-Marcus Aurelius
Recently, I reviewed the unique cinematic work known as Cocaine Bear: a horror/comedy (sort of) based on actual events in which a Black Bear consumed a large amount of drugs and, in the movie at least, goes on a murder rampage. In my review, I found the movie to be a decently crafted and silly romp that doesn't ask too much of the audience or take itself too seriously. It has a silly idea and plays with it to its fullest potential, which I appreciate and enjoy (ironically, sometimes).
However, upon publishing that review, one of my readers brought up something that made me feel uneven for not considering it before. That is the movie's potential (either deliberate or accidental) for influencing extra violence toward Bears and other animals. For example, the reader mentioned the Steven Speilberg classic Jaws from 1975, the movie featuring a killer Shark that was partially responsible for creating and popularizing the summer blockbuster. It was also cited as an influence for extra violence towards Sharks shortly after its release, causing an uptake in random and needless Shark hunting.
While I understand and appreciate (for want of a better word) where this particular reader is coming from and remain deeply grateful for the wisdom imparted from those comments, it does raise an often overlooked aspect of cinema: its influence and inspiration towards people's behavior and actions. It goes without saying that cinema has a profound and incredibly nuanced power to inspire, encourage, and even demand specific ideologies and philosophies through elegant simplicity. They can range from simple and harmless (like fashion choices) to potentially dangerous and incredibly harmful (like propaganda). The question is, at what point do you draw the line between harmless fun and reckless endangerment?
Separating art from the artist and, by extension, fantasy from reality, regardless of any external factors and influences, whether deliberate or not, is one of my primary practices as an artist and a critic. Most of the time, I make great efforts to judge the work independently. When I watched and reviewed Cocaine Bear, my opinions formed therein were purely based on the movie...as a movie! In recognizing it as nothing more than a wacky (albeit gory) bit of schlock with no real purpose other than to provide a bit of controlled insanity for entertainment value, I didn't see any cause for alarm. And right there is the heart of the potential issue that is far too easy for people like ourselves to overlook: the ability to appropriately separate fantasy from reality.
Of the many changes to our existence on this piece of solar driftwood in the 21st century, the most egregious and dangerous is the alarming number of people who don't know how to separate fantasy from reality. Even worse, some have worked or currently work in the government. I shouldn't point out anyone, specifically, *cough* Donald Trump *cough* Marjorie Taylor Greene *cough*. Still, these people are so disconnected from reality it has caused and continues to cause deadly repercussions for the rest of us. Once more, these people are easily manipulated and overly influenced by the wrong sources of information and inspiration.
While you and I are more likely capable of recognizing art as a subjective medium, separating fantasy from reality and enjoying the silliness of it all, the unfortunate fact is that there are far too many people out there who have yet to learn this all-important discipline and, in all likelihood, never will, either due to a lack of internal motivation or negative reinforcement from too many loud external sources. I'm looking at you, FOX News!
While I stand by my initial appraisal of Cocaine Bear as a silly romp, I also recognize that it's not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination, nor is it best suited for all audiences. This is a point I mentioned in my review, though not as strong as I should have, in all fairness. I do not regret finding some level of enjoyment from the movie. I do, however, regret that there are too many people out there who do not share my discipline of separating art from reality and will likely use their improperly placed inspiration to cause significant harm to others, in this case, other Bears who are otherwise just living their lives in no direct conflict with anyone.
Moving forward, I will be more mindful of this and other mind-bending aspects of our reality in my reviews and discussions here on my blog. I may not be able to control how people are influenced by a movie, but I can at least make it abundantly clear what kind of inspiration they should likely consider the most. Remember to take everything you see, hear, read, and witness with a grain of salt. Because someone has to.
Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm; thank you all for reading.
