MovieChat Forums > The Fisher King (1991) Discussion > Jack's guilt - something unrealistic? (S...

Jack's guilt - something unrealistic? (Spoilers)

posted 8 years ago by B-J-C
3 replies | jump to latest

Just watched this for the first time, and something was nagging me the whole way through. So much focus was given to the fact that the man who did the shooting was a radio listener. In the film he's famous as being the shooter who was a fan of the radio, and it's treated as an undisputed fact that his final conversation with Jack directly lead him to shoot several people and himself. Jack's words to him when he called the show were even replayed in the news item about the shooting.

But how are the two things related? I've listened to the call a few times and Jack was only telling him, in very colourful language, that this new girl isn't his type. Of course Jack was just playing with him - he didn't even know the man, let alone the girl he was talking about - so how could what Jack said be attributed to the man's actions? And why did Jack, who thought nothing of mocking and humiliating his callers on air, take so much guilt on himself over the man's actions?

[–] franzkabuki 8 years ago

"Jack was only telling him, in very colorful language, that this new girl isn't his type".

Jack didn't just tell him the chick was not his type, he said that all people "of her kind" - yuppies - are evil, inhuman, unworthy of life and needed to be stopped. Unfortunately, the killer took these words literally and in his delusional mind they served as validation for his psychotic thoughts and fantasies, giving him the final push over the deep end.

"He didn't even know the man".

I think it was implied that the guy was a regular caller, an obsessive, and by that time Jack surely must have been able to appreciate that he was dealing with someone who clearly wasn't on his wavelength, someone rather disturbed. But he kept at it regardless.

"And why did Jack, who thought nothing of mocking and humiliating his callers on air, take so much guilt on himself?"

Because he wasn't a psychopath after all? As far as we're let on, this was the first time he truly became aware that his words can and do have real life consequences - and the consequence in this case was a goddamn massacre.

"facts are stupid things" Ronald Reagan

[–] somesunnyday 8 years ago

Nicely said

[–] TheArgentinian (7186) 2 years ago

I thought his change was way too sudden.