WaPo reports that there have been numerous crimes by people trying to escape the Matrix:
The cases in which “The Matrix” has emerged as a central theme span the country. Even last fall’s sniper shootings in the Washington region have overtones from the popular science-fiction film, which posits that computers have taken over the world.
“Free yourself of the matrix,” sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo, 18, wrote in his jail cell. “You are a slave to the matrix ‘control.’ ”
Just this week, in Ohio, a woman who told police that she lived in The Matrix and that “they commit a lot of crimes in The Matrix” was found not guilty by reason of insanity to charges of killing her landlord.
And in San Francisco, a man who believes he was sucked into The Matrix also was found not guilty by reason of insanity on charges that he killed his landlord.
Warner Bros. Pictures, which released the sequel to “The Matrix” this week, said there is no connection between the movie and the killings. In a statement, the studio expressed condolences to the victims of violent crimes. “However,” the statement said, “any attempt to link these crimes with a motion picture or any other art form is disturbing and irresponsible.”
But many lawyers are continuing to search for any links between art and actuality to defend their clients.
Bizarre. Now, granted, this has to be an infinitescimile fraction of all those committing crimes and, presumably, many of these people would have found another movie to blame their crimes on. But it always befuddles me when people can’t separate a movie from reality.
