The film we watched was a Frontline documentary about the tragic case of Ralph Tortorici called A Case of Insanity. On December 14, 1994 Ralph went into a lecture hall with a rifle and a hunting knife taking the whole classroom hostage. He demanded to speak to President Clinton, and threatened to kill the hostages if they did not comply with his demands. Ralph was calm towards the students held hostage and demanded people from outside to gather food for them. 19-year-old Jason McEnaney attempted to wrestle the rifle out of Ralph’s hands, but this caused the to go off and he was shot in the genital area. Several students attacked Ralph and held him until the police came in and arrested him. Ralph was taken to jail with 14 counts of …show more content…
As a child, Ralph was very intelligent, athletic and was very popular, but in his teen years Ralph started becoming more aggressive towards his family. Ralph was born with a defective urethra and had gone through multiple operations to fix it, and as he become more delusional he felt that during one of his operations, the government placed microchips throughout his body (PBS). Ralph went to go see a psychiatrist and asked to be given an x-ray and when the x-rays came up negative, he continued to believe that the microchips were still inside him and he felt that the psychiatrist was on the government’s side as well. He later went to the police complaining about the micro chips inserted in his body and was sent to the same psychiatric center. Ralph’s paranoia schizophrenia also made him depressed, fearful and anxious. Tortorici became addicted to drugs and used them to escape from his paranoia. His addiction became a huge concern because his mother said “He started doing drugs again and he locked himself in the bathroom to smoke crack” (PBS). After various tests, doctors came to the conclusion that Tortorici dealt with a great amount of depression, suicidal ideas and he had tested positive for cocaine (PBS).
The prosecution was only able to obtain one doctor. Dr. Siegel was the only psychiatrist that would agree to meet Ralph
On April 20, 1999, the unimaginable occurred at Columbine High School in the small town of Littleton, Colorado. A school shooting, perpetrated by, then senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold took the entire community by storm. With 15 deaths, including the perpetrators, and 24 non-fatal injuries, the memories of this horrific massacre will forever resonate in minds of all. With a meticulously, thought out plan, the two shooters prepared guns and bombs before performing the sickening act. Families, the FBI, local officials, psychologists,
The Biased viewpoint of Michael Moore tears viewers away from the actual problem, and perhaps even the film’s intended message itself…
To begin, the documentary uses a good amount of emotional appeal by telling touching stories. One of the stories that may tug at many people’s hearts is the story about another young teenager that was sent to the same adult prison Alonza was sent to. There that young teenager committed suicide, which then raised concerns about housing juveniles in adult prisons. Alonza later even wonders if he could be next. In turn, he reaches out to doctors at the jail through a letter and signs it “A young man crying out for help.” Later in the video it is even revealed that
Over the past couple of decades, school shooting have seemed to occur often-- continuously shocking the nation and reminding everyone that no community is exempt from such horror. One main contributor of this hysteria is found within the media. At the catalyst of this hysteria, lies the horrific Columbine shooting in 1999. Since then, school shootings have received ample coverage-- some argue that this has romanticized school shootings, others argue that is has provided condemning coverage of the often insane perpetrators. In the first year after the Columbine shooting, over 10,000 articles were written about the event, likely setting the stage for the nationwide desire for constant coverage of such events (Elsass et al, p. 445-446).
Moore situates to learn about the reason behind the massacre of 12 individuals at the Columbine High School on April 20,1999. He details how Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold had the access to firearms in which they had a record of arrests, juvenile detention, and drug usage.
The film begins in New York City in a courthouse, it is clear by the expressions on everyone’s face including the judge that everyone is tired and it has been a long trial. The viewers are told that an unidentified, young Hispanic male originating from the slums is on trial for supposedly stabbing his father to death. The viewers are also given the final closing arguments, including the testimony of two witnesses; one an elderly man saying that he heard the father and son argue then heard a body drop, and the other a woman who lives across the street who claims to have seen the boy murder his father. The Jurors and audience are told that if a verdict of guilty is found then there is a mandatory death sentence that will follow.
What can one learn from this violent tragedy, what mistakes did this instance have that can help evade other similar instances? It is commonly believed that there is no such thing as bad publicity, but maybe some schools would disagree with this statement, and take publicity more seriously than the welfare of their faculty, staff, and students. A school with a debauched reputation is not going to receive countless applicants, but is that a valid justification for not reporting disturbances and protecting their students? I believe that if turbulences exist, like a student threatening or shooting at people, schools should warn the cops right away. Mary Hoeft, a professor of communication arts and French at the University of Wisconsin – Barron County, wrote “Professors in the Crosshairs,” an article about incidents that have occurred at her school that should have been associated with the police. Hoeft addressed a situation that occurred at her school, where a disturbed young female student raged down the campus, yelling that she wanted to kill her English professor by aging her 120 years with a magic umbrella; luckily, the professor was out of town at a conference with
The columbine shooting shocked the world and having the blame on video games was one of the reasons why these kids did this. In this article it talks about the tragic event that took place on April 20, 1999 a couple of teenagers who were being bullied throughout high school came to school and went on a killing rampage taking out everyone they can see. This article also talks about the background behind why these teenagers would do such a horrible thing and this made a lot of people aware about how these teenagers even got a chance to get a hold
peel back the curtain and take a long hard look at the wizard (In the
In the historical events of the Rosewood massacre, a woman claimed rape by a black man, yet her story is still not confirmed nor proven. The result was the lynching of a black person, the retaliation from the black community, and the destruction of Rosewood and the death of six black and two white individuals (D’Orso, 52). The movie illustrates a high level of carnage in the town, and the use of KKK, which is not accurate according to historical facts. It demonstrates the producers attempt to create the element of dramatization, and the emotional effect of the movie.
On April 20th of the year 1999, two high school students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, went armed into Columbine High School with guns, knives, and a multitude of bombs. The result was the slaughter of twelve students and one teacher. The gunners also turned the guns
This bitter conversation with the drug user would also be regeneration for the narrator. The drug user states he feels somewhat responsible in Sonny's arrest. In turn, the narrator faces the fact that he feels somewhat responsible for Sonny's arrest. As a result of his guilt and interest in Sonny, the narrator starts to ask the drug user specific questions regarding Sonny's disposition. The drug user has knowledge of the never-ending cycle of abusing drugs and shares this information with the narrator. In return, the older brother feels a regeneration of care for the drug user, who his is viewing as Sonny. This encounter concludes by the drug user requesting money from the narrator. The narrator feels sensitive of the drug users struggles (and failures) in life and gives him more money than requested.
Newman begins her book by telling the stories of two different rampage shootings, at Heath High School and Westside Middle School. Once she establishes the shooters and the subjects of her study, Newman lays out her thesis and explains that her research shows that many factors contribute
Prior to taking this course I wouldn’t be able to explain the differences or even be able to compare it to the criminal justice system. However, I now have a better understanding of how the criminal justice system works. This movie takes place in the southern state of Alabama and revolves around two teenagers accused of killing a store clerk. Throughout this essay I will explain the legal processes that appeared in the film as well as the processes that did not appear in the film.
Bowling For Columbine is a well-directed documentary that informs people about gun violence in America. Michael Moore is successful in showing that America has been going through many gun tragedies; and portrays the sense that America’s problems are out of control. He conveys this through informative facts, images, and comparisons.