The Tragedy of "Patriots Day"

Patriots Day (2016)

Patriots Day is a new release starring Mark Wahlberg, J.K. Simmons, John Goodman, and Kevin Bacon. It centers around the bombing of the Boston Marathon in 2013, and frankly, it's a film which I will be avoiding this year. Before you roll your eyes and accuse me of censoring art or of being too sensitive, allow me to elaborate on why I won't be viewing Patriots Day and why I avoid other similar films.

While there are certain disaster films which explore tragedies in human history from a historical standpoint (such as the abundance of fantastic films centering around the holocaust), these films often focus on the light at the end of the tunnel, they make themselves about the heroes who helped and about the victory over those who caused such horrendous events. Films about events such as September 11th on the other hand seem to do nothing but monetize off of a horrible event without attempting to offer much else in terms of content. They expect people to buy movie tickets because they remember when they were effected by that dreadful day, families who lost loved ones will come to the theater as a form of mourning, and it's all executed by an enormous studio with no heart who only cares to find whatever way it can to make a profit - even if that profit comes at the cost of stirring up old painful memories in others.

This new film regarding the Boston Marathon bombing is particularly puzzling in its efforts to twist itself into one of those movies while simultaneously discussing an event which was still very recent. Imagine if films were being made about the dreadful events at Sandy Hook or the Orlando club, imagine the outrage. While I'm not inspiring a movement to censor art of any kind, I will say that I find it distasteful that this film is taking a tragedy and attempting to twist it into something it can use to pander to audiences while hoping to shake money from their pockets. It offers no depth and no profound stories aside from "this was a bad thing that happened and everyone was very sad", and for those who were not effected by the tragedy it will be another disaster film which is quickly forgotten while people who were fooled by the gimmick might remember it for years to come, or may find themselves offended if the subject matter is not handled tastefully.

Again, I am not calling for a censorship of art, but I am repulsed by the fact that large corporations will use recent and major tragedies in order to stuff their pockets with even more cash. I find it disgusting that a star studded cast donning police uniforms will feign sorrow over a tragedy when really they're hoping for Oscar nominations and another success to add to their list of box office hits. Films such as Patriots Day can be deep and inspiring, but not like this, not when all they offer is scenes intending to inspire the audience to cry because it's an easy and recent event they can use to remind people of that painful and terrible day. Films should inspire tears through their deep and profound writing, through the sweeping soundtrack and phenomenal performances, not through simply reminding audience members of something personal which effected them.

As of now I will not be viewing or writing a more in-depth article on Patriots Day, perhaps if more reviews come out claiming that it is tasteful and deeper than the trailers make it appear I will venture out and see it, but until then I have no intentions of doing so.