𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐍𝐓𝐔 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐦 𝐅𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭｜𝟘𝟛/𝟙𝟡 𝕋𝕙𝕦. 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤
🎬 Elephant (2003)
⭐️ Speaker: Professor Shen-Feng Tai, Department of Criminology, National Chung Cheng University
🔹 This article is not a verbatim transcript and does not represent the speaker’s personal stance.
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◤ Retaliation of the Excluded: Social Exclusion and Hostile Attribution ◢
Professor Shen-Feng Tai began the talk with the classic 2001 paper If You Can’t Join Them, Beat Them: Effects of Social Exclusion on Aggressive Behavior, pointing out that in the very first scene where the perpetrator Alex appears, he is sitting at the back of the classroom, given no opportunity to speak, and even pelted with objects by his classmates. This situation represents a clear example of “objective social exclusion”—the fact of one being ostracized is real. On the other hand, another form of the phenomenon is “perceived social exclusion”, where one is not socially excluded themselves; however, upon witnessing their friends being ostracized, they develop a sense of shared hostility. The combination of these two dimensions of social exclusion increases one’s internal resentment. Analyzing the film Elephant through related theories can provide a deeper understanding of the director’s nuanced character design.
When perpetrators cannot integrate into a group and feel socially excluded, hostility arises within them. This hostility is a “static risk factor”—without a triggering action, its mere existence is not necessarily dangerous. In the film, the director continuously builds up the perpetrator’s long-term repression and endurance. Once a spark appears under such circumstances, it leads to a sudden explosion. Therefore, one must avoid triggering the “dynamic risk factors.” Meanwhile, society and family as the receiving end often find it extremely difficult to absorb the perpetrator’s emotions.
◤ The Unseen Giant: the Gorilla and the Elephant ◢
Professor Tai then referred to the well-known 1999 psychology experiment, the Invisible Gorilla Test. When participants were assigned the task of counting basketball passes among several players, about half of them failed to notice the gorilla in the scene even if it was thumping its chest among the crowd. Similarly, many perpetrators tend to display distress signals before committing crimes, yet people often fail to notice the signs, resulting in missing opportunities for prevention.
This also connects to the film’s title Elephant, and the widely known metaphor, “elephant in the room”. The elephant is right in front of our eyes, yet we fail to see it, even as it is about to crush us. Moreover, elephants carry many other symbolic meanings. In psychology, an elephant represents something that cannot be fully perceived and changes only slowly. The director skillfully employs the symbolism of the elephant, gradually piecing together fragments of different characters’ lives to construct “the elephant” within the educational environment.
◤ Eliminating Choice: Psychological Arming and Perpetrator’s
Premeditation ◢
Must perpetrators suffer from traumatic backgrounds? Or do some commit crimes purely for pleasure? Professor Tai suggested approaching the issue from two different perspectives. First, perpetrators may indeed have acquired trauma, and their failure to process it during development leads to a backlash. Second, when facing actual criminal acts, there is no clear notion of inherent human goodness or evil. Once a perpetrator resolves to commit a crime, they eliminate all alternative courses of action. This is because people tend to position themselves as having no choice, while attempting to convince themselves that they were forced by society into committing the crime, thereby distorting reality.
As a criminologist, Professor Tai also shared insights into the mindset of perpetrators during the planning stage. For example, perpetrators often intentionally pursue a sense of malicious originality. Thus, most serial attacks are unique individual cases, with little intention of referencing previous incidents. Instead, a sense of disdain drives them to surpass others. In the film, the two perpetrators appear to be well-behaved, not raising others’ suspicion. As a result, before executing their plan, the perpetrators decide to arm themselves as a symbolic transformation of identity. During the crime, perpetrators strictly follow their plan to enhance their sense of control and confidence, eliminating all obstacles to the plan and avoiding unnecessary complications. For instance, before entering the school to attack, they drive away a classmate they encounter outside. They will only stop once the plan is completed, and this is precisely what makes serial attacks so terrifying.
◤ Fractured Moonlight: Music and the Sense of Reality ◢
The director arranges for the perpetrator Alex to play the piano. When the harmony in Moonlight Sonata is about to modulate, Alex fails to complete the phrase, leading to his intense frustration. Für Elise represents lyrical giving, whereas Moonlight Sonata conveys a more isolated emotional state. Alex’s inability to perform the piece properly mirrors the frustration of his disrupted plan, which in turn drives his desire to carry out the attack even more. Here, music possesses strong directional power—it can shape and propel emotions, even triggering aggressive signals.
In this film, the director extensively casts non-professional actors, and each character shares the actor’s real name, creating a stronger sense of immersion and realism. Acts of terror can happen to anyone, whether ordinary individuals or social elites. Once perpetrators incorporate others into their attack plan, no one is spared. This is the most brutal reality.
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𓃰 Audience Q&A 𓃰
▞ If one unfortunately encounters an attack,
how should one protect oneself? ▞
Professor Tai's answer was extremely concise: Run. Considering that Taiwan’s firearm environment is significantly different from that of the United States, long-distance shooting is not the norm. When facing a gun attack, the primary principle is to escape and use heavy objects to shield the body. He also reminded us of a harsh administrative reality: when the police respond to frontline crises, they must secure and assess the scene first; sudden intervention may result in greater casualties. Therefore, before professional authorities gain full control of the scene, the public must remain highly alert and cannot rely entirely on external assistance for survival.
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Text Record｜Ke Yu-Han
Copywriting Design｜HOU, Ting-Yi
English Translation｜Chang Yu-Ning
Photography｜PAK, King-Tai
