Natural Born Killers: 30th Anniversary- Is Oliver Stone’s Controversial Film Resonant Today?

Quick Take: Oliver Stone’s treatise on “if it bleeds it leads”, and a reflective look at violence in the media was sensationalized in 1994, but now seems like it was ahead of its time. The conversation on violence in the media certainly hasn’t gone away, but our news is still fascinated by mundane killings, because our society has become ultra obsessed with true crime. Natural Born Killers pre-dates an era of mass shootings, and true crime podcasts. In 1994, Dateline and 20/20 used to cover stories outside of just the true crime genre, but now, it’s all anyone can think about. True Crime has turned into a profitable genre, and between In Cold Blood and Monsters, is Natural Born Killers, which ruminates on Andy Warhol’s idea that everyone will be famous for 15 minutes, and pushes it to the extreme. 30 years later, this is more resonant, and still features a shockingly fantastic dramatic performance from Rodney Dangerfield. It still feels like a love it or hate it work, but it definitely didn’t predict an alternate timeline either. For more, check out the video.