Di new film wey dem call ‘The Drama‘ don cause plenty wahala for Hollywood since e come out. Di movie star Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, but na di story inside dey make people vex. Di film dey yarn about one woman wey dem call Emma, wey plan to carry out school shooting when she be small pikin, but she no do am because another shooting happen for her area.
Many people wey don survive school shootings for real life don talk say di film no correct at all. Melissa Alexander, wey her two pikin survive di 2023 Covenant School shooting for Tennessee, walk out from cinema before di film finish. She tell HuffPost say di film give her nightmare for night. She say, “Na specific type of person dey think about dis kain thing. To make am look like normal people dey think am, e annoy me well well.”
Di film show Emma wey dem dey bully for school, and she get interest for di “aesthetics” of mass shooters. She even pose with rifle for webcam. But after one shooting kill her classmate, she abandon her plan and join gun control activism. Later, dem arrest Emma for harassing Walmart workers wey dey sell guns.
Alexander talk say di reason wey dem give for Emma action—bullying—no make sense. She remind people say di person wey kill six people for Covenant School be 28-year-old wey kill three nine-year-old pikin. “Dem be mentally ill people. Dem no just grow up become fine Hollywood actress like Zendaya,” she yarn.
Gun control activists join di criticism. Mia Tretta, wey survive di 2019 Saugus High School shooting for California and another shooting for Brown University, talk say di film dey treat school shootings like “plot point.” She say, “To use planned massacre as rom-com hook no be ‘to start conversation.’ Na to exploit crisis.”
Fred Guttenberg, wey her 14-year-old pikin Jaime die for 2018 Parkland shooting, no see di film yet but talk say e no need to “humanise” people wey commit gun violence. March For Our Lives organisation wey Parkland victims start talk say di marketing for di film as “dark romantic comedy” no align with reality of school shootings.
For press tour, Zendaya dey wear wedding tradition things like “something old, something new” to play along with di romantic comedy side. She talk for interview say di film get “many elements of romantic comedy” but e dey “heartbreaking, disturbing to some, emotional.” Robert Pattinson talk say e “so romantic.”
Di director of di film, Kristoffer Borgli, talk for Popcorn Podcast say research no too plenty about mind of mass shooters. Two criminologists wey research mass shootings for ten years tell 60 Minutes say shooters sometimes experience “horrific trauma” when dem small but fit look normal like “di pikin wey dey sit next to you for class.”
Julia Moralez, wey know di mass shooter wey carry out 2019 mosque shooting for Christchurch, New Zealand, talk say when she know di man, he be “polite, kind and well-mannered.” But after di shooting, reports show say he be white supremacist. Moralez talk say di film title, ‘The Drama,’ dey make light of serious matter. “E no sit right with me,” she yarn.
Di film also go against statistics wey show say mass shootings dey mostly done by boys and men. For one scene for di film, Emma correct her classmate wey talk say mass shooters na almost always boys. Emma talk say girls too dey do am sometimes, and shootings dey happen outside America. But Moralez talk say, “If you look at numbers, na something wey affect men. To twist am make e be female issue, for sake of story, na to belittle di matter.”
Entertainment reporters no dey press Zendaya and Robert Pattinson about di controversy. Dem dey focus more on relationship between Emma and Charlie for di film. Di whole matter show how film wey touch serious matter like school shootings fit cause strong reactions, especially from people wey don experience am for real life.
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