The crocodile tears of middle class hypocrites
I was perplexed to see how many people came out of the cinema in tears. Now don't get me wrong, this was a moving and thought-provoking piece of work, but it didn't make me cry. Am I therefore a heartless bastard? Perhaps. But I wonder, how many of those in the audience went out of their way to take action back in 1994 when it could have made a difference? How many cried back then? How many bothered to donate the £5 they spent an that evening's "entertainment" to aid the refugees? Probably not many. I mean, Shooting Dogs didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. Those of us who are old enough all saw the slaughtering on TV. We all just sighed and shook our heads and went back to worry about our own little problems. After all, to quote the best line in the film, they were just a bunch of dead Africans. It's a hard thing to admit, isn't it? But for most of us it's the truth. Those tears are just as worthless as the tears shed over "Titanic".
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