A year after a troubled and isolated student went on a rampage, killing six UC Santa Barbara students and leaving a community in mourning, a petition has surfaced demanding a film that was apparently inspired by the massacre not be released.
Del Playa Drive is a popular street for UCSB students living in unincorporated Isla Vista and was one of the several locations Elliot Rodger found his victims during the deadly May 23, 2014, incident. It is also the name of a similarly titled horror film that is in postproduction.
The “Del Playa” trailer, released Wednesday, depicts a young man being bullied before obtaining a mask and setting out to kill numerous people in several locations, including a party, the beach and a bathroom.
Its tagline, seen in posters advertising the film, is “Monsters aren’t born. They are created.”
The same day as the trailer’s release, a petition on change.org was created aiming to “educate the filmmakers about the seriousness behind gun violence tragedies, including the Isla Vista shootings, and to halt the release of the insensitive and untimely ‘Del Playa’ film.”
The petition, which garnered nearly 23,000 signatures as of Saturday afternoon, states “it is clear” the idea for the film was conceived immediately after the tragedy, and that it justifies and glorifies the Rodger’s actions.
Dozens of people have since spoken out against the film to the media and online.
“I thought it was some cruel joke, that somebody made up a poster and it just went viral and people took it as real. To find out that it actually is something that’s happening and they are filming it or they have filmed it is just incredibly upsetting,” Santa Barbara student Scott Henson told KTLA sister station KSWB.
Students and those impacted by the killings should be allowed to heal and move on with their lives, rather than be forced to experience the trauma again, student Cole Rodger told KSWB.
On Friday, the film’s director published a message on YouTube saying he is a UCSB graduate and although the film is connected to the area, it was not directly about Rodger.
“First and foremost, I would like to publicly apologize to everyone who has been offended in any way by our making of this film. It was never our intent to monopolize on the tragic shootings in Isla Vista that took place last year. While I do admit there is the connection of Santa Barbara, this film is not about Elliot Rodger,” director Shaun Hart stated.
He added that he hoped the film, which does not yet have an official release date, would engage people in a discussion about bullying and violence.
“As a graduate of UCSB and a former resident of Del Playa, that day was a knife to my heart. For me, the actions of one individual tainted a lot of good memories of an innocent time and brought darkness to a place that should only be home to the hopes and dreams of the young,” Hart stated. “For all touched by the tragedy at DP, know this: I stand right there with you. And share love and compassion for our fallen Gauchos.”
Petitioners have not wavered, however, and stated Saturday that although the filmmakers have a right to free speech, they should reconsider the “untimely” release of the film.
Furthermore, the petition stated several “supporters” and UCSB students have contacted them saying their faces were used in the trailer without permission.
“Our team has been in contact with university lawyers and employees to determine if the filmmakers have obtained the proper permission to film on campus and feature UCSB students in their trailer,” the petition states. “Should it be the case that they have not gotten the proper permits or permission, UCSB and a legal team will take the appropriate actions.”
The Isla Vista community continues to mourn the death of the six UCSB students, and several others who were injured, and hundreds gathered on the one-year anniversary to remember those killed.
Rodger, who was not a UC Santa Barbara student but rather a dropout who had attended a local city college, has been described as an alienated 22-year-old who, prior to the attack, posted rambling videos on YouTube complaining that he did not have a girlfriend.
In his last video, he vowed to take revenge on the women of Isla Vista, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Minutes after his last YouTube post, Rodger began his rampage, killing three people inside his apartment before driving around Isla Vista hitting people with his vehicle and opening fire. He killed himself that night.
The incident sparked debate over mental health issues and gun rights, leading to the passage of a California law allowing guns to be temporarily taken away from people determined to be dangerous, the Times reports.