Actress Charlize Theron gained 30 lbs. and a lot of makeup to look incredibly ugly for the movie Monster, in which she plays Aileen Wuornos, a serial killer who was executed in 2002. Now Theron and the film’s director are using the film as a platform to speak out against the death penalty:
“I don’t think condemning people who murder and then killing them necessarily sends out the right message,” said Theron, 28. And I have a huge problem with the way these people are used as political pawns.”
Theron, often cast as a glamorous blonde, put on 30 pounds (14 kg) for the role. The actress, whose previous films include “The Legend of Bagger Vance” and “Mighty Joe Young”, said Wuornos had been doomed to lead a tragic life.
“I think her entire life was just like water going down a drain. And it just kept going faster and faster,” she said, adding it was a story that needed to be told.
The film’s director, Patty Jenkins, said Wuornos’ tale was an American tragedy that provided a unique insight into how individuals can be corrupted by society.
“So rarely is there a story that lends itself so easily to looking at how a good person can be damaged to the extent that they cross the line and become a killer,” said Jenkins.
“It is a universal story that people are overlooked and left outside until they become capable of committing the same acts that have been done to them.”
The woman killed 7 people, for crying out loud. I understand the sympathy for lost souls, but to abdicate justice as a result of that sympathy is going too far. Theron and Jenkins hail this murderer as some sort of hero. Why aren’t they talking about the families of the men she killed? What about their wives, and children—weren’t they good people too?
Good people do not become “damaged” to the extent of committing such atrocities. All of us start out with a nature of sin—it’s only the grace of God that keeps each one us from becoming the next Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, or even Aileen Wuornos. It’s a shame the doctrine of victimization trumped the doctrine of total depravity in Theron’s mind.
I happened to see part of Nightline (I think – all those news shows are the same)last night (2/13) that showcased this group of prisoners who had actually killed people that were taking fool responsibility for what they did – not just admitting their guilt. They have discovered the only way they can recover is to accept the responsibility rather than blame it on the circumstances and their upbringing. I paid more attention to it than I normally would have because I had read this entry earlier in the day. I was shocked that there were people taking the blame for what they had done – it runs so counter to the culture.