Movie did not set off shootings

"Set It Off," the movie starring Jada Pinkett and Queen Latifah, has been the setting for two South Bay area shootings involving suspects who police believe are gang members.

Some media reports and television broadcasts are wording their reports to insinuate that the content of the movie has something to do with the violence that it is attracting.

On an NBC local news broadcast, the newscaster stated that the movie plot involves "a gang of bank robbers." He went on to describe the victims involved in the gang shooting outside of the United Artists theater at Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance.

But the movie neither deals with gang violence nor stars any current or ex-gang members.

Still, some individuals find it necessary to go to a place and carry out their gang rivalries with each other where movie-goers simply want to be entertained.

The ignorance of gang violence is in no way a reflection of the movie's content or the writers and directors of the film.

The violent elements in the film is not necessarily a lure for individuals who are looking for trouble.

Nor does the fact that gang members happen to show up in the same place say anything about African-American films in general.

People have emulated characters they have seen in films before.

In the summer of 1994, Oliver Stone's movie "Natural Born Killers" was released. In it, Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis portray characters that go on a cross country killing spree.

Many juveniles thought it would be a good idea if they acted out criminally like their favorite stars. They too were committing robberies and shootings like Harrelson's and Lewis' characters in the movie.

The shootings which occurred at the two showings of "Set It Off" also make it extremely difficult for African- American filmmakers and actors to be able to get mainstream support for their efforts.

On the radio station 92.3 KKBT, Blair Underwood, one of the stars in "Set It Off," said that many movies made by African-Americans have trouble selling to more commercial theaters due to past incidents at movies starring black actors.

Unfortunately, the people who are committing these crimes do not even value their own lives let alone the lives and livelihood of others in their own communities.