MovieChat Forums > The Incident (1968) Discussion > Genovese Syndrome

Genovese Syndrome

posted 17 years ago by riogarhed
12 replies | jump to latest

"The Incident" was released four years after the same writer's TV movie "Ride With Terror." The terrifying Tony Musante played the same thug, and Gene Hackman, by the way, was in it. "Ride With Terror" was prophetic by one year. In 1964 Kitty Genovese was raped and stabbed to death outside her Queens apartment despite her screams heard by her own neighbors. (I think a play or film titled "John Wayne Movies" was based on the stabbing, wherein the neighbors were preoccupied watching a Wayne movie.) Psychologists have since termed that collective or individual state of mind that prevents onlookers from interfering the Genovese Syndrome. The phrase of the day was "don't get involved," i.e., let others be the victims, but as you see Musante's guy doesn't let anybody off the hook. Others may just call it cowardice, but "The Incident" examines something more complex, a kind of group paralysis, a burying of heads into the sands of their own selves, that is painful to watch but believable. And those who call "The Incident" "unrealistic" or--as if our essential human hardwiring is a matter of fashion--"dated," seem to deny that human behavior can run in this direction whatever the era, and that is a myopic denial.

[–] bobadexter 17 years ago

Absolutly!! others who say its unrealistic or why didnt anybody stand up, and if that was today it wouldnt have happend? "Just dont get it"!

[–] greendimension 17 years ago

I disagree. This was not like the Genovese incident. Ppl werent cold hearted or callous. They simply were too petrified to do anything. Even one man didnt have the cojones to tell the thugs to back off when they went to his daughter.

The only one who beat them was the soldier with a broken arm. As usual its the military to the rescue.

[–] raindog517 17 years ago

lol and the old lady! She had enough balls to smack the Tony Musante character across the face

[–] lescavanaugh 17 years ago

OP- So true. The only thing that's dated about this movie is that today the young thug might be concealing a gun instead of a knife. The individual/crowd reactions are totally on the money.

[–] SaucyJack11 16 years ago

About a year ago I was at the grocery store when I witnessed a robbery. I actually stumbled upon it when I heard yelling at the front of the store and went to investigate. For a while I just stared as I tried to figure out what was going on. Even though people were running past me in the opposite direction, it was only when one of the robbers (there were three) yanked the register forcefully from the machine, that I even realized a crime was taking place and that another man pointed a gun at the clerk. By the time this finally hit me, the robbers were already running out of the store.
What I remember of that moment was how frozen all of the customers (the ones who hadn't fled) were during the robbery. All we could do was stare, transfixed upon the events taking place. When they left, it was as if time had unfrozen and everyone went back to what they were doing before. People lined back up at the cash registers and purchased their groceries. We asked "What happened?" and "Can I still buy these?" the clerks replied, "It was worse last time. That will be $22.95." and a manager came to ask if everyone was okay. While our minds were still on the robbery, everyone, with the exception of the manager, went back to acting as if nothing had happened. It was about three minutes after the robbers had left that someone asked, "Did anyone call 911?" No one had.
To me this relates to "The Incident" in several ways.
1) People don't know how to react during a violent crime.
2) Often this leads to a confused paralysis as people try to make sense of what's going on in front of them.
and 3) People assume that someone else is doing or will do something to rectify the situation. For instance, many times I've heard a scream outside and rationalized to myself, "If it's anything serious, then I'm sure someone who saw it would call the cops."
While I believe "The Incident" sets out to do more than just demonstrate these psychological phenomenona, I think these behavioral characteristics can be attributed to a few of the characters in part.

[–] CatTales 10 years ago

wow, great story, Saucyjack. But even then, since many people have cell phones, I'd think the cops would have been phoned, and pics/video taken of the situation.

[–] Sheldonshells 11 years ago

"The only thing that's dated about this movie is that today the young thug might be concealing a gun instead of a knife."

Oh sure, because back then thugs never had guns *rolls eyes*. In fact, it was EASIER to get guns back then in major cities because they were no registries or background checks. And like then as today, you could always get them on the black market anyway.

[–] riogarhed 11 years ago

What makes you think Kitty Genovese's neighbors were not paralyzed in fear? Just because they sat in the safety of their units does not mean "cold" and "callous" hearts beat inside them. There was something else going on. They were not unaware of her peril, and they were not unaware of their duty. And while they were telling themselves these things they still could not act because to do so would expose themselves to danger.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] munky_funky 9 years ago

The first time I saw this movie was just after that incident that happened on some New York bridge in which some guy terrified some girl to jump off the bridge while several onlookers just watched and did nothing to stop it. It seemed completely realistic to me.

[–] hockeyhrs 9 years ago

Myths busted:

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/03/10/a-call-for-help

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kitty_Genovese

http://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/kitty-genoveses-brother-reexamines-her-famous-murder

https://www.yahoo.com/movies/new-documentary-the-witness-debunks-the-myths-of-163914096.html

[–] liscarkat (16515) 4 years ago

"I think a play or film titled "John Wayne Movies" was based on the stabbing, wherein the neighbors were preoccupied watching a Wayne movie."

No opportunity can be passed up to take a jab, even a subtle, indirect one, at John Wayne. The playwright could have made it a Henry Fonda movie, or anybody's movie, but he used the Duke because of course people who like to watch his movies must have something wrong with them.