"Attention. Ladies and Gentlemen. Due to an accident in the subway line we've stopped the train. As you may have already noticed, we're only half way into the station. The doors will now open so you can step out the train. Please, follow the officer's instructions", the speaker blared as the lights inside the subway flickered on and off.
"What happened" Lillian asked Grace worriedly. They had taken this same train every day for five years, and never had encountered any problem. The automatic sliding doors opened and a man in uniform stepped inside her subway car. "Ladies and Gentlemen. We need you to walk down to train cars and go out thru your right. Stay to the side until you reach the station's exit" , the officer said.
"Officer, what happened" Lillian asked him. "A man committed suicide by throwing himself in front of the train. It's a terrible mess. I suggest no one here looks at it", the officer said as he walked toward the other remaining car.
Death. Someone had just died a horrible death. Grace felt her heart quickened and her breath shorten as she got up from her seat and walked in line with the other passengers, her sister Lillian behind her. They stepped out of the train, where another line had been made of the unloading passengers. The passengers were pressed against the wall, trying to get as far away as possible from the battered piece of meat grilled against the train's face. Some were even holding their hand in front of their eyes to block the view. Who knows? Maybe they thought if they didn't see the man's body, the man wouldn't really be dead�
Grace joined the other passengers who were being directed by another officer. "Keep walking. Keep walking. Nothing to see. Come on, don't be morbid and keep walking", the officer said over and over again as he stood between the line and the train. "That's so cool, man! It's like a bomb exploded inside him! Look at all the body parts", she heard a male voice say.
She looked to the front of the train to find a crowd of onlookers had already gathered where the body was. She recognized the one that had spoken the morbid words; he was also another student at NYU. His name was 'Psycho' Tse, and he did his name justice. With his big eyeglasses, his Jack The Ripper shirt, his military pants and dusty green jacket, Tse was the epitome of everyone's weirdest nightmare.
Everyone around him was looking at him with wide eyes; they couldn't believe that he was actually excited. "You're one nasty motherf*cker", one of them said to him. "Hey, at least I'm saying what all of you are thinking", Psycho said as he casually walked away, as if what he had just watched was nothing more than a wad of gum in the street.
"Keep walking. Hurry up. Nothing to see", the officer said over and over again. But the more he said it, the more Grace wanted to take a look. Grace left the line and slowly walked toward the front of the train. "Grace, what are you doing? Come back here!" Lillian whispered to Grace, but Grace ignored her sister. Grace had never considered herself a morbid person. She didn't browsed the video place looking for blood and gore entertainment. What was so morbidly attractive in death? Like the other onlookers that were gathered around the body, she was disgusted by the mayhem. Yet, she couldn't help herself to take a glance.
But before she could see the mayhem, somebody grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her away. "Hey, lady. Don't be gory and go back in line", a huge officer said as she pushed Grace back to the line. "Are you crazy, Grace? Why the hell did you want to see that for?" Lillian asked her. "I don't know, Lil. I don't know", Grace answered.
When they left the station, Grace felt something that scared her and fascinated her.
She felt disappointed.
************************
4 Hours Later
School of Mass Communication
New York University
"So, we have to ask ourselves: How much is too much?" Professor Lau said to his class. He started coughing violently, and took his inhaler from his pocket and used it. Professor Lau was handsome and relatively young, but he had been born prematurely. He had a bad congenital disease, and his heart and his lungs had grown weak.
"Man, I think that thing has weed", Judy, the girl sitting behind Grace, said. Grace had to stifle a laugh, but Professor Lau noticed. "Something funny, Ms. Yip? Something you want to share with me?" Professor Lau said seriously. "Busted Grace!" Judy snickered.
"Um� nothing sir. I just" Grace stammered. "It was actually about what you had just said. How much is too much" Grace said at the top of her head. "Well, care to share your thoughts with the class?" Professor Lau said with a smile as he walked with his cane toward the front of his desk and sat on it.
"Well, adult themes, like sex, violence, incest, drugs. In cinema, when do those themes cross the line between entertainment and statement? For example, the movie Natural Born Killers. An extremely violent. The problem was that the movie glorified violence without never really stating the consequences of that violence. In that way, it crossed from entertainment to a statement: murder can be fun and can be something you get away with", Grace said seriously. She was Professor Lau's number one student, and he confirmed it with a smile.
"Can someone remind me what was the buzz in the media when Natural Born Killers premiered?" Professor Lau asked the class. No one raised their hand, nor gave any indication that they had an answer. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Grace spoke.
"The brutal murder of an elderly woman by three teenagers that had just come out of the theater from watching the movie. When the media asked them why, they said that the movie made them want to kill someone to see what it will be like to be a murderer like the characters in the movie", Grace said.
"That's right. Now I ask all of you, was Natural Born Killers too much? Did it really influence these kids to perform this heinous act? Was it entertainment? Or did it became a statement in behalf of violence?" Professor Lau asked.
"I'm sorry to contradict the bookworm here, but that's just plan stupid", a male voice said a couple of seats behind Grace. Grace turned around and watched Psycho Tse refute her answer. "First of all, Mr. Tse, next time please refer to your classmate by her proper name. Second, what is your reason for contradicting her?" Professor Lau asked. He knew Tse had a lot of potential, but the guy was just plain scary sometimes.
"Images don't make people kill. Movies are nothing more than thousands of still pictures running at high velocity. Anger and hurt and rage it's what drives others to kill. Those kids wanted to kill someone long before they watched NBK", Psycho said cockily. Grace wanted to slap the smile off his face.
"They may have wanted to kill someone, but what made them choose that date? Why not Thanksgiving or Christmas? Why not Sunday after coming from church? Why not when they watched Episode I? Hey, I wanted to kill someone after watching Episode I. But they picked NBK because it was the last piece in their fantasy world. A confirmation that what they wanted could become reality", Grace replied.
"That's stupid. According to your theory, if you and I watch a porn movie together, you are going to start fu*king me, because the movie might drive you to it", Psycho said with a smile. Everyone started snickering. Grace face reddened as she bit her lip in anger and embarrassment. "Tse! Another outburst like that and you are out of my class!" Professor Lau said seriously.
"Sorry, professor", Tse said as he winked at Grace. She would have probably punched him if Judy had not been in her way.
"Well, we have two very distinct point of views here. Want to know who's right? Both! And neither! The truth lies somewhere in between", Professor Lau said. And that moment, the bell signaling the end of the class rang loudly. "And we will be discussing this tomorrow. Have a good day kids. If you go to the movies, I recommend Memento. It's what good cinema should be like. Grace, I want to see you in my office. Now, " Professor Lau said with a smile as he slowly gathered his things.
"In his office? That explains your grades," Psycho said as he got up from his chair and started gathering his things. "Hey, at least I didn't get a hard on from the mangled body in the subway station today," Grace said seriously as she followed Professor Lau outside. She didn't get to see Psycho smile.
************************
10 minutes later
"It's just the outline," Grace said as Professor Lau read her 10-page thesis statement. Professor Lau had been kind enough to volunteer to be her counselor for her thesis, but that required Grace to prepare status reports for him. She was nervous, cause this was their first meeting.
Professor Lau smiled as he closed the document. "I love your approach, Grace. It's a very delicate subject. With a subject like this, you are exposed to outrageous morbidity or to moral crusading. Yet, you are not being morbid or overly critical. You're being very objective," Professor Lau said as he handed her folder back. "Well, Grace. I'll see you tomorrow in class," he said with a smile.
"Actually, sir. I wanted to ask you for one more thing. It's about Section 8. My thesis main core," Grace said as she opened the folder and pointed at Section 8.
"Audiovisual Violence," he read the caption out loud. "I'm looking for documentation," Grace said. "Documentation? What kind of documentation?" Professor Lau asked.
"Extremely violent images� never before seen images too violent for broadcasting on TV or cinema. You have access to the university's vault archives. Maybe you could get me some interesting images," Grace said with a pleading smile.
"Does violence seem interesting to you?" Professor Lau asked, his voice dead serious. "Not personally. But for my thesis," she said nervously, afraid to sound like a psychopath in front of her favorite teacher.
"Violent images?" he asked again. "As violent as possible," Grace repeated. She watched the professor deep in thought. He grimaced and clutched at his heart, and she got nervous. "Professor, are you okay?" Grace asked worriedly. He nodded and searched his desk drawer for a pill bottle. He took a pill out and put it under his tongue. After a few moments, his face was calmer and he could breath normally. "Want me to call the nurse?" Grace asked.
"Don't worry, Gracie. It's my heart. It happens quite often. well, back to the project. The truth is it will be embarrassing for me to ask the vault keeper for those types of movies. God knows they'll think I'm some crazy lunatic," Professor Lau said.
He looked at Grace's hopeful face. She reminded him so much of his younger sister, than he couldn't help but say, "But come tomorrow morning around 7:00 AM. I don't promise anything, but I will try and get them for you." "Thanks professor! You're the best!" Grace said with a big smile as she gathered her things and left the office.
"Violent images?" he repeated to himself as his smile faded. He was a film professor, but he hated violence, fictional or otherwise. He will have to have a good plan to get those images for Grace.
Professor Lau would have never guessed he would get more than he bargained for.