In the movie "Elephant" about a school shooting, why did the black kid not run away?

randomguy55

After arriving at school, Alex and Eric encounter John outside and warn him to run away. Realizing what is about to happen, John attempts to warn others not to enter the school, to little effect. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_%28film%29 Mar 13 08, 7:36 PM

zbeckabee

This question refers to Bennie Dixon who plays the character Benny, an athletic student who helps Acadia escape out of a window before approaching Eric. He is shot and presumed dead after trying to help Mr. Luce. Why would Benny (Bennie Dixon), the only black student we see (and only for one short scene), choose to walk the halls coolly during the killing rather than escaping through a window (which he helps a petrified girl to do)? Are these reckless choices by Van Sant, or are they simply two inscrutable vignettes that attempt to document the unknowable? On line, this question is asked repeatedly with no sound answer. http://www.pitt.edu/~kloman/elephant.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_%28film%29 Mar 13 08, 8:27 PM