WOW - If you haven't seen the documentary Tower

[TexasBushwhacker]

it's showing on the Independent Lens program on PBS. At least in Houston, it was shown tonight, but will repeat on this Sunday, 2/19.

It's about the mass shooting from the University of Texas tower in 1966. It combines old footage with Rotoscope animation, which may sound weird, but it was remarkably effective. It includes recent interviews with many of the people involved. Really moving.

Here's the trailer:

Check your local listings.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. I'll have to watch that.

A friend's cousin was one of the victims. It was (obviously) terrible for their family.

[AJT]

2. I vaguely remember the shooter told his friends and family

that something was going wrong in his mind and when the autopsy was done there was a large brain tumor.

[still_one]

3. Charles Whitman. The country was in shock when that occurred. Little did they

realize how common it would become in the future

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Whitman

[Laffy Kat]

4. Didn't the guy have a brain tumor?

I haven't seen the docu. yet but remember some of the details. You gotta kind of feel sorry for the gunman. He knew there was something wrong and he tried to get help before he went berserk.

[TexasBushwhacker]

5. Yes, he had been to doctors several times

including a psychiatrist. He even told the shrink about going up to the tower and shooting people with his deer rifle. The pecan sized tumor was in his right temporal lobe and could have been pressing on his amygdala which plays a role in emotions, especially fear..

There weren't CT scans or MRIs yet, so while I'm sure the psych realized Whitman was troubled, he didn't have any other symptoms associated with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, etc. Who expects a strapping 25 year old young man to have a brain tumor?

He had complained of headaches, but hadn't had seizures, dizzyness or balance issues that might have lead to a proper diagnosis. In his suicide note, he even asked that an autopsy be performed to look for physical abnormalities. It was truly a tragedy all around.

[SwissTony]

6. Just watched it. Very powerful

My memories were pretty vague - I was 15 at the time and living in Australia. But this documentary does a great job of conveying how things happened.

Some very, very brave people are featured in this documentary.

[TexasBushwhacker]

7. I was 9, living in Houston

Last edited Wed Feb 15, 2017, 04:31 PM - Edit history (1)

So I was younger, but closer. I remember it being in the paper and we probably had the LOOK magazine that had a multi-page spread. I probably learned more when the 10 year anniversary came around in 1976 and I was 19. By that time there was more known about Charles Whitman and how he had an undiagnosed brain tumor. He tried to get help. It was just tragic.

[kairos12]

18. I was 10 living in Houston and remember listening to live reports on the radio.

[Paladin]

8. Brilliant documentary. I'll probably watch it again. (nt)

[TexasBushwhacker]

9. There was also a podcast on the "Think" program on NPR

The first 15 minutes are with Pete Blair from the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Center at Texas State University (my alma mater).

The last 30 minutes is an interview with the filmmaker, Keith Maitland and Claire Wilson, who was the pregnant shooting victim. It covers some things not in the documentary. Well worth a listen.

http://www.npr.org/podcasts/478859728/think

[SwissTony]

10. Wow, that page is a bit of a treasure in itself.

I live in The Netherlands and am not as aware of NPR as I might be. It doesn't really feature on our media. But just looking at the first "page", I see not only the broadcast about the Austen shooting, but I see one about anti-vaxxers, one about compulsive behaviour and one featuring Neil Gaiman. And that's just for starters. I have also seen that I can view(?) past programs and download them.

It's bookmarked!!

[TexasBushwhacker]

11. It's a great program

Check out the other programs and podcasts as well, especially in the "News and Conversations" section. I like "Here and Now", "All Things Considered" and "Fresh Air" also.

[SwissTony]

12. I was planning to do so. Much appreciated. n/t

[Paladin]

13. Here's another detail you might appreciate.

I lived in Austin for many years; I was there the day of the Whitman shootings. Years after the incident, my wife and I attended one of her friend's weddings. Among the groomsmen was a guy in a wheelchair. Afterwards, I learned that he'd been put in that wheelchair by one of Whitman's bullets. It had traumatized him to the point he'd given up on the country and moved....to The Netherlands.

I hope you enjoy the "Tower" documentary. I found it extraordinarily well done and very moving.

[SwissTony]

15. Amazing story. And so sad.

I hope he is still enjoying his time in The Netherlands. It's a great country. We have our dickheads, but gun violence is way down the scale.

I mentioned upstream that I'd watched the documentary. Did I enjoy it? Well, yes in the sense that it was very gripping and amazingly well done (the blending of animation and film was something I'd never seen before and it was brilliant). On the other hand, it was based on true events with people dying, suffering long and "short" term physical injuries and god knows what psychological damage. I've never been through anything like that, so I can't even imagine.

But there were a number of genuine heroes about whom I had known nothing...the young woman who ran out to lie beside the pregnant woman...the people who ran into the line of fire to rescue people...the civilian who went up with the cops to try and take the guy out...the cops themselves. Genuine heroes, one and all.

It's an amazing documentary.

[Paladin]

16. I'll never be able to listen to "Clair de Lune" again without thinking of its use in "Tower."

Debussy's pensive, romantic piano music, as an accompaniment to the animated footage of those Austin cops at the top of the UT Tower, about to confront Whitman and end his murderous rampage. Gives me shivers, just thinking about it.

Glad you enjoyed it.

[TexasBushwhacker]

17. I had tears rolling down my face almost from the beginning

But the animated parts in color, where Claire talked about her boyfriend and her pregnancy, were a sweet and welcome respite. I'm not sure I would have been able to tolerate the whole thing without those parts. It also reinfirced that it was happening during the "peace and love" part of the 60s.

[elleng]

14. Watching promo for it on PBSNewsHour now.