Natural Born Killers

Following the Columbine tragedy in 1999, people sought to justify what had happened. Many looked at the culture that the two killers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, consumed. A large part of this culture is the movie Natural Born Killers, released in 1994 and written by cult movie hotshot Quentin Tarantino. Following two deranged lovebirds, Natural Born Killers tells the story of Mickey and Mallory, who engage in a murderous crime scene across the country. Variety Magazine refers to it as “the most hallucinatory and anarchic picture made at a major Hollywood studio in the last 20 years...a psychedelic documentary on the American cult of sex, violence and celebrity." The final version that made it to theaters had a total of 150 redacted scenes.

In the diary entries of Harris and Klebold, they mention the initials “NBK,” talking about it as a type of behavior or action. Harris wrote, “When I go NBK and people say things like ‘Oh, it was so tragic,’ or ‘oh he is crazy!’ or ‘It was so bloody,’ just because your mommy and daddy told you blood and violence is bad, you think it's a fucking law of nature?” He also referred to April 20, the day of the Columbine massacre, as the “holy April morning of NBK.” Meanwhile, Klebold mentioned that going “NBK” was a way to “break free” of life.

Ever since Columbine, Natural Born Killers has been pointed to as a cause of deviant behavior. Following the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, Wayne LaPierre, the NRA’s executive vice president, stated, “I mean we have blood-soaked films out there, like ‘American Psycho,’ ‘Natural Born Killers.’ They’re aired like propaganda loops on Splatterdays and every single day.” At the time of this statement, Natural Born Killers was 18 years old, and there was no mention that Adam Lanza, the killer, had seen the movie. In a way, Natural Born Killers acts as a default scapegoat for deviant behavior, popularized by its importance to the two Columbine killers.

However, it’s not to say that Natural Born Killers has never been linked to other tragedies. Before Columbine, a 14-year-old Texas boy decapitated a classmate in 1994, saying that he “wanted to be famous, like Natural Born Killers.” In April 2006, 23-year-old Jeremy Allan Steinke and his 13-year-old girlfriend, J. Richardson, killed Richardson’s family. Prior to the crime, Steinke referenced going “Natural Born Killer” on Richardson’s family.

Violent culture has always been a pinpoint for those trying to find reason in tragedy. Natural Born Killers, now permanently infamous from the Columbine massacre, is a keystone of this violent culture.

Works Cited

Brooks, Xan. “Natural Born Copycats.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 20 Dec. 2002,       www.theguardian.com/culture/2002/dec/20/artsfeatures1. Peitzman, Louis.

“Why ‘Natural Born Killers’ Still Gets Blamed For Gun Violence.” BuzzFeed, 21 Dec. 2012,   www.buzzfeed.com/louispeitzman/why-natural-born-killers-still-gets-blamed-f?   utm_term=.jg4poNy5w#.vf4nL1jQX. 

“Remarks from the NRA Press Conference on Sandy Hook School Shooting, Delivered on Dec. 21,   2012 (Transcript).” The Washington Post, WP Company, 21 Dec. 2012,   www.washingtonpost.com/politics/remarks-from-the-nra-press-conference-on-sandy-hook-school-   shooting-delivered-on-dec-21-2012-transcript/2012/12/21/bd1841fe-4b88-11e2-a6a6-   aabac85e8036_story.html?utm_term=.5615fe3c28b2.

Brooks, Xan. “Natural Born Copycats.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 20 Dec. 2002, www.theguardian.com/culture/2002/dec/20/artsfeatures1.

Peitzman, Louis. “Why ‘Natural Born Killers’ Still Gets Blamed For Gun Violence.” BuzzFeed, 21 Dec. 2012, www.buzzfeed.com/louispeitzman/why-natural-born-killers-still-gets-blamed-f?utm_term=.jg4poNy5w#.vf4nL1jQX.

“Remarks from the NRA Press Conference on Sandy Hook School Shooting, Delivered on Dec. 21, 2012 (Transcript).” The Washington Post, WP Company, 21 Dec. 2012, www.washingtonpost.com/politics/remarks-from-the-nra-press-conference-on-sandy-hook-school-shooting-delivered-on-dec-21-2012-transcript/2012/12/21/bd1841fe-4b88-11e2-a6a6-aabac85e8036_story.html?utm_term=.5615fe3c28b2.