Shootout at Troy

I was furious to find that the ONE film i wanted to see at the theatre this year (Kill Bill, Vol. 2) just went off at our local theaters today. as a consolation, i went to see Troy.

Homer's The Iliad is one of my favorite works, so i was a bit excited about this movie. It looked good and was pretty exciting. some of the scenes were down right remarkable and I enjoy Brad Pitt's acting, so i give it a B+/A-. go see it before you see Van Helsing (for god's sake).

Afterwards...

Upon leaving the theatre in a local suburb (Tinsletown) we had a turn for the worse. some pedestrians were holding me up on my way through the parking lot. then some cars stopped so that the drivers could chit chat. at this point i got a little annoyed. as i finally get to move, i hear 2 distinct POPS and people are running. They were gunshots. right there in the parking lot of a city where the residents LOVE to talk about how bad Jackson is and how great the suburbs are.

well, if i hadn't had those hold-ups in traffic, i would have been right where the shooters were. luckily i was about 50 yards away.

The shots were somewhat unimpressive in their volume, which i found completely curious. perhaps stupidly, they inspired no need to dash for cover, but i did want to move my car to the other side of the parking lot and call the cops (which i did).

Recently, some kids shot a gun in a mall in the 'bad side of town' and there was a storm of bad press. TONS of comments from people i know about how bad that part of town is.

I'm not trying to say the city has no crime worries, but i've been talking to some people in the print news media lately about crime. In jackson we have an incredible arrest rate for crimes committed, but you never hear that in the press. in the suburbs you rarely hear about crime at all. Someone recently pointed out what's really going on.

IF crime happens in the city, we hear all about it occurring, but never about the subsequent arrests, etc. leaving one to think Jackson is a war zone.

now, if a crime occurs in the suburbs, good luck hearing about it. the press doesn't really put much coverage on crimes committed, but instead they cover any Busts or arrests made by local law enforcement. This means you only hear about crimes SOLVED rather than crimes COMMITTED.

you'd think that the city only has unsolved crimes, and the suburbs' only have criminals which have all been caught! some people have a vested interest in this perception. tonight i lived the reality. so how do i feel? unsafe? nah. people have guns EVERYWHERE. that won't make me feel unsafe. i'm going back for a matinee tomorrow.