By Haley Whitt ‘15

I recently saw the new comedy “Neighbors” that is based around the shenanigans and tensions that occur when a rambunctious frat house becomes the new neighbor of a married couple. Let’s just say that the movie was rated R for a reason. It includes scenes with violence, excessive drug and alcohol usage and vulgar language. In a Washington Post article, film critic Ann Hornaday suggested that “Neighbors” was partially a cause of the shooting rampage in Santa Barbara, California. Hornaday asserted that the film—and others like it— makes young men feel “unjustly shut out of college life that should be full of sex and fun and pleasure.” Seth Rogen, a star of the film, was rightly upset about Hornaday’s article and tweeted, “I find your article horribly insulting and misinformed.” It is a silly claim that a film would cause a lunatic to go on a killing rampage because films don’t force people to commit acts of violence. The person has to have an underlying mental disorder to follow through with vicious acts. It’s time to stop blaming popular culture and entertainment for mass shootings and other incidents of actual violence.