If one saw this film in the seventies or eighties, he or she might be shocked by its surrealism and many disturbing implications. However, being released in the early nineties, changes our perceptions drastically. This is simply because at this time it was much more relevant and familiar to our society. Assumably, the many television clips interspersed throughout the film hit a little too close to home for many Americans. We are living in a time when it is common to see "Special Reports" and "Live" newscasts cut into our favorite television shows. Much like Stone utilized

2 Natural Born Killers, dir. Oliver Stone, perf. Juliette Lewis, Woody Harrelson, Robert Downey J.r., and Tommy Lee Jones. Warner Bros. 1994.

3 Richard Corliss, "Stone Crazy," Time vol.144, No. 9 August 1994, 6 November 2000 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/archive.cinema.html

I think that Oliver Stone's claim that killers are not born as killers, but transformed by society, and continue that way because of television and movies is arguably a good one. This particular claim is exemplified perfectly in one of the last scenes. Riots in the prison leave blood stained walls, but the reporter still does not abandon his camera. In his interview, Mickey actually states that the media made him the way he was, and actually created a serial killer. As Wayne Gayle, the reporter, begs for his life, Mickey says profoundly, "Killing you and what you represent makes a statement...Frankenstein killed Dr. Frankenstein." Mickey has met his match, his creator-the media. Mickey goes on to explain his own theory that media is like man made weather. That it survives on the buying and selling of fear. It is a vicious circle. The media helps to create these killers in our society, but does nothing to stop it, it is the airtime these people get from both the media and us as viewers, that keep them the way that they are. The movie directors and news anchors only supply what we demand. "Look at what the media has done to us," Stone stated in one interview, "Any of us could become like Mickey and Mallory."7 I do not necessarily agree that anyone could be like Mickey and Mallory, but if already troubled enough, our mass media system could definitely bring forth the fame that surrounds Mickey and Mallory in the movie. This is quite possibly an equally disturbing idea.

As much as I agree with Stone's accuracy and relevance to the social context of the time at which the movie was released, I think that there could have been a bit more having to do with the families the murderers came from. Mallory's family was highlighted in the sit-com style scene, but nothing much was said for Mickey's childhood, except for a few generic flashbacks. I agree strongly that the extreme coverage of mass-murderers and criminals on television today has made our society more acceptable of crime and more jaded to real life violence. There is still the hope that strong family values can make up for what the television has forced us to lack. There were more than a few allusions to broken homes and dysfunctional families, but not nearly as much as the allusions to television. I see the two as equally corrupting.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1895
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)