With the latest reports of a British couple being taken from their yacht on the Indian Ocean by pirates, and this following a spate of other recent acts of piracy, there seems to be a disturbing trend back towards these deliberate acts of often small scale and cowardly terrorism.
Only in the last few years has a crime such as piracy started making international news headlines again. There is little doubt that piracy at sea has always been, but why the sudden surge in ships and boats being seized?
One wonders, if these criminals are inspired by Hollywood made, blockbuster movies that are interested only in milking our pockets in the name of entertainment, when we pay for cinema tickets, DVDS and a plethora of other branded merchandise. Has the huge success and global, public awareness of movies like, "Pirates of the Caribbean" made piracy "cool" again or at the very least, sown ideas into the minds of wannabe gangsters and terrorists the world over? Or is this wild, paranoid speculation and coincidence?
Are groups of thugs sitting in darkened grottos, watching "pirate" copies of such movies and hatching daring, reckless plans of crime, thinking, "
Hey, we could try that!" In 1998, the movie "The Siege" starring Bruce Willis and Denzel Washington caused great controversy for its portrayal of Muslims in New York City and a terrorist campaign that was conducted during the film's plot. Huge bomb blasts were seen occurring across the city as the security forces hunted high and low for the culprits.
It's not the first time this film has been used in reference to the events that followed a few years later on September 11 th 2001. The resonance between the devastating real life attack and movie are startling! Of course the makers of this film and others like it, are not deliberately trying to incite a riot or encouraging terrorists but are the clever, creative insights of writers and film makers providing useful, free "
How To" manuals for those that would commit such heinous atrocities?
Hollywood itself was shaken after 9/11 and big, thoughtless action movies were noticeable by their absence in the aftermath and for quite some time after. Was the film industry temporarily embarrassed by some of the pertinent material it had released and that was in production? Did they genuinely and sensitively have the hearts and minds of people as their greatest concern or was there really a sense of guilt at some of its output?
Whether or not movies influence the acts of an individual is probably an argument that is as old as movies themselves, but does that make it less relevant? Some complain about excessive violence and sex in film, some argue that there is not enough but are movies about plots of terrorism, mass destruction and even to some extent things like bank heists, providing a blueprint of ideas and theories for those who
are willing to cause great harm and who
do claim to have a cause.
There will always be great, big explosions in movies, in fact technology is only aiding the power of the "bang" but is it possible we are spoon feeding the radicals and becoming our own worst enemy?
Let us hope and pray that the British couple are returned safely to their families.
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