I recently started a career in the film industry on my local state television network. My job is to take old film and television footage and maintain a catalog of content. Anything from transferring old VHS tapes to digital to curating the resource selection of local creatures. Now my local station is also affiliated with the free CW network. A trashy teen drama network known most famously for DC’s comic book-inspired television adaptations.
It was at a time when I was tasked with digging through old archives of the Smallville series, when I found something peculiar. If you’re not familiar with this, the show started in the early 2000’s and was the first attempt to make a teen and young adult focused drama about DC characters. The show takes place in the titular town of Smallville, Kansas and follows the adventures of a young Clark Kent and Lex Luthor. This show was a hit in my area when I was younger, it probably helped that I grew up in the heartland of America, just hours away from Kansas City.
Now there was a folder called “Season 11: Test Runs”. My curiosity was piqued when I noticed that the folder was quite large. So, as someone whose job it is to keep these records, I opened it up to take a look at the files. The first files contained still images of what appeared to be promotional photos. Character photos in big bold letters announcing an 11th season, that sort of thing. Then I noticed the video files, with one in particular standing out. It was a 46:57 long video simply labeled “The One with the Batman”.
Being a fan of DC comics and particularly a fan of Batman. I was ecstatic to see something like this. As the show never had an episode where a young Clark and Bruce meet. Judging by the file size, I assumed this must have been a planned special to possibly kick off the new season or transition to a justice league show. Therefore, using my right to “manage” the content on our systems. I decided to “inspect” the full length of the video file, but now I wish I hadn’t.
The episode opened with a newspaper headline “Metropolis: Man of Steel Saves the Day”. Then the camera slowly zoomed out to reveal a man starting to fold paper in frustration and discontent. It’s Lex Luthor, who starts to leave the newsstand and heads towards his office. Now, before I continue analyzing the video content, I must inform you about the quality of the footage. Most of the scenes after the initial setup with Lex and the role are rough. If you’ve ever seen raw, unedited footage from a production, then you know what I’m talking about. The occasional framed light and sound equipment, various production marks in the corners, that sort of thing.
As Lex is crossing the street towards Luthor Corp., building a black 1925 roller, Royce phantom coupe stops. The round door on the driver’s side opens as a handsome young man with dark hair steps out in a fine suit and overcoat. “Sir. Wayne, I presume?” Lex asks, apparently already knowing the answer. “I knew you had an enthusiasm for cars, but if that’s the kind of thing you drive for business. I’m interested in what you’re after for pleasure,” he comments, extending his hand in one. salutation.
“Sir. Luthor, I can assure you that I am not in the habit of driving around Gotham for fun.” The man responds by not taking Lex’s hand, opting instead to adjust the collar of his coat to knee length. I have many places to be tonight.”
“I’m touched by your cold cynicism, Gotham is famous for Bruce,” Luthor scoffs. “Mind if I call you Bruce?… After all, we were classmates.” He quickly added to cover his faux pas.
“As I recall, you only attended Gotham Academy for three weeks before you were expelled.” Bruce reflects on his next words for a moment. “Something about stealing the facility’s deserts, wasn’t it around forty cakes?”
“This is terrible, and I’m really sorry that when I was young I wanted a cake” Lex interjects with a level of sarcasm only Michael Rosembaum can bring to the character.
Then there’s a sudden, abrupt cut to the scene. New footage begins to roll in, the quality is lower than the average production quality most of the episode is at. It’s footage looking at the opening of a high-end department store. Suddenly, a fluttering feeling hit my stomach, I recognized the entrance. The large open space with a grand piano at the base of an excessively long and steep escalator. Then I noticed the time stamp on the footage. It was a security tape from 12/5/07, a day I remember very well.
I paused the video file, the sick emptiness feeling in my gut clung like a shadow. I knew I couldn’t sit back and watch the footage, but it was also my job to maintain an ethical catalog of content. So I grabbed the report sheets and a pen, walked into the break room and poured myself a hot cup of coffee. I had passed my boss in the hallway and he asked me how the file search was going. I simply help lift the report sheet and fake a smile. “Just to review an episode” I told him not letting my tension show too much. I didn’t know if he was aware of the files and their contents, and I simply thought it would be easier to let the report speak for itself.
When I got back to my office, I did the only thing I could. I wrote down the file name, the reason for a “problematic or unethical content” report sheet, and made a time stamp of the content in question. Then she resumed the video, already having a good idea of what was about to happen.
In security footage, a 19-year-old entered the building. Dressed in a big coat and walking awkwardly as if he was holding something close to his side. There was nothing visible on his arms as he walked to the escalator and climbed. The footage then cuts to another security camera this time on the third floor of the department store. This camera overlooked the area near the railing, looking towards the entrance and grand piano. The young man stood at the rail, straightening his coat and reaching inside.
From which a WASR series rifle is produced. Then the man started firing shots into the crowd below. In my disgust, I looked away. Noting the complaints in my report to avoid witnessing the event again. The footage was of a mall shooting that happened in my hometown. More importantly, my sister and her friend were at the mall that day, and at that time. My heart sank and the knot in my stomach tightened as I remembered that day.
My sister and her friend were freshmen in high school, they decided to go to the mall that December day to look for sales. They were given a ride to the mall by their friend’s older brother. They entered the building through the food court doors near where the department store was located. Then, about ten minutes later, the shooter entered the building. Having been the older brother of my sisters friend. My mind raced like it did those years ago when I heard about the incident on the news. Thoughts of how, if they hadn’t decided to walk through the door, they had. I may never see my sister alive again. Anger flooded through me, over how anyone could do something as horrible as shoot a crowd without remorse. Or how he got there to commit the act with two innocent people in his car. More importantly, how okay he was with the possibility that his own sister and her friend might have been caught in the crossfire.
So my anger found a new target. Why on earth would someone decide to use footage of a tragedy in their show? What the hell on green earth drives a man to do such a thing, let alone in a show intended for the general public. So the thought occurred to me, why would they send this footage to the city it happened in? What kind of sick game this Joker was playing. However, I had a job to do, it wasn’t about sitting back and watching an unreleased special anymore. It was a serious chore that I had to keep watching the episode no matter how much worse it got from here.
When I looked back at my report sheet, there were new images that weren’t from the incident. It was again production footage this time of an overview of the footage from an unknown angle. Suddenly, a figure descends from a shadowy section of the upper levels. Stepping forward into the light is a man dressed in black, Batman. He starts to run towards the shooter, but then cuts to security footage. There, standing by the parapet, was the young man, now turning the rifle and tucking the barrel under his chin. With a sick shot from the WASR-10, the gunner goes down.
So I took a short break for the video, channeling my frustration into the notes section of my report sheet. I pondered further on the question of why? The first is why to do it, as to which I don’t have the slightest idea. Perhaps they were short on footage and thought they could squeeze enough pre-production into it to be able to reshoot the scene. The second why, why send this to the city where the incident took place? My guess is that we should be the test audience. If we could give it a pass and insist on content, then why shouldn’t other places.
I looked up from my paperwork at the bottom of the computer screen. I was clocking in overtime and I wasn’t going to stop now. So I left the room to refill my coffee and prepare myself for the long and grueling task ahead of me. The halls were empty at this hour on a Friday. The weekend run was largely auto-automated, so many workers left in a hurry. A faint hum came from the faintly flickering fluorescent lights. All other lights lighting the way to the break room. It would just be me and the janitorial staff that night.
When I finally reached the break room after a short detour to the “brown offices,” the place had a fine miasma of chemical odor. The cleaning crew was already here, the coffee pot upside down in the sink emptying the bitter nectar. Grabbing a small dish towel we kept for cleaning, I dried the pot and made a cool drink. While I waited for the machine to finish my much-needed cup of coffee, I scoured the cupboards for any leftover snacks. The studio provided things like fruit and granola bars to help keep the team locked into long projects. The lucky ones where people worked on sets who could get a meal or two off the buffet. I was in luck there was half a breast in the fridge. With a small note attached which reads “To all who dare – Fleabag Finneas”. Fleabag was the werewolf character in the sketch parts of the local creature feature. He would usually set up catering leftovers in the main break room at the end of a shoot. Always with some cryptic message, but with the intention of sharing.
I filled my mug while the brisket warmed in the microwave and made a small toast to the savior of the night. “For Fleabag” I mumbled as I sipped the piping hot French roast. Adding a little vanilla cream and a little sugar. I carried my makeshift meal with me through the studio’s dark hallways. The faint smell of cleaning chemicals hung in the air, threatening to overwhelm the roasting meat and coffee aroma. It was strange, I hadn’t seen any of the cleaning staff, but the strong smell of cleaning products wafted through the offices. I stopped at the door to the file room. Half pondering the video I just watched, half struggling to open the door with my hands full.
I finally managed to use my foot to press and release the latch. When I looked across the room at my deck, I almost lost my balance. Quickly recovering and avoiding putting down my dinner, I was left in a state of shock. There on my desk the video file had played a few seconds and paused again. It was the exact moment that the projectile left the final causality of the Maha Mall shooting. The fleeting final moments of the perpetrators’ lives. I almost tripped seeing this, but I pulled myself together to avoid dropping my meal.
It had to be just a coincidence, maybe I pressed the back key just before exiting. Perhaps video files will automatically revert if left long enough. I kept trying to tell myself a reason, there had to be a reason. So I ticked it off on my sheet, ticked “playback issues” and got back to the task at hand.