America's shooters, Vietnamese art show, board games

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How disillusionment with the American dream can lead to violence, Vietnamese art show hit Orange County, board games are making a comeback.

America's shooters, Vietnamese art show, board games

How disillusionment with the American dream can lead to violence, Vietnamese art show hit Orange County, board games are making a comeback.

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How disillusionment with the American dream can lead to violence, Vietnamese art show hit Orange County, board games are making a comeback.

American dream, American shooter: How shattered expectations could create killers

It's been two days since two employees of a Virginia TV station were gunned down while on assignment.

Many questions remain as to why the alleged shooter, Vester Lee Flanagan, might have committed such a violent act.

There is likely no one answer, but criminal justice professor Adam Lankford has one theory: our culture's false promise of the American Dream may be largely to  blame.

US Shootings by the numbers

Lankford has analyzed over 40 years of data on mass shootings. He says the numbers paint a troubling picture.

“In terms of the total number of mass shooters, we had 31 percent,  despite having only 5 percent of the world’s population ... In addition, when you narrow the analysis just to workplace shootings and school shootings, we had 62 percent of the total,” he said.

Social Strain Theory

Lankford thinks a theory developed over 70 years ago could shine some light on why the U.S. leads the developed world in mass shootings. It’s called Strain Theory, and it goes something like this: Americans feel pressure to do better than their parents. They’re raised believing they can achieve their dreams. When the plans don’t pan out, stress begins to mount. This strain, Lankford argues, can open the door to violent behavior.

“In the case this week, we saw the reoccurring theme of aspirations for fame at any cost, and that does seem to be more salient in America than anywhere else,” he said.

 He cites a Pew survey of young people in which 51 percent of respondents said fame was one of their generation’s most important goals.

“That seems uniquely American,” Lankford says.

Genesis of a killer

Though every case is different, Lankford says this week’s killing shares a few common traits with past workplace shootings. For one, it appears that Flanagan had a history of negative interactions with his colleagues.

“[Also], we saw the delusions of grandeur, where this guy wanted to be a superstar anchor -- according to all his posts -- he had the mental health problems, and then -- ultimately -- he does  achieve fame and was able to control the message, but he did it by killing,” he said.

Lankford says workplace reprimands or a firing can act as a catalyst for persons with a history of instability.

Not every disillusioned dreamer goes on a rampage, however. What’s the difference between an average American and a killer? Lankford points to one characteristic, shared by almost all mass shooters: perceived victimization.

“You and I suffer from strains and have to deal with them, but the key thing is -- for healthy people -- not to [blame] those on everyone around you … When I see that someone is eager to blame their personal problems on someone else, that’s when I start to get worried,” he said.

Press the blue play button above to hear the interview

Zac Efron and the San Fernando Valley are the stars in 'We Are Your Friends'

Max Joseph, the director and co-writer on the new film "We Are Your Friends" wanted to move beyond the traditional Hollywood treatment of the Valley as a vapid wasteland filled with shopping malls.

That's what he tried to do by casting Zac Efron as a 23 year old guy named Cole, living in the Valley with his buddies. Cole dreams of becoming LA's next big DJ, but he's struggling to find that one track which will set the world on fire. The story follows that journey with both Efron and the Valley playing major characters.

Max Joseph recently sat down to speak with Take Two's Alex Cohen. Click on the audio embedded above to hear the entire interview.

Unraveling crisis at Bayfront group home in Long Beach

The Bayfront Youth & Family Services in Long Beach houses some of the state's most emotionally vulnerable children. The facility is part of a class of group homes known as Level 14. 

The home, nestled in a residential area, has been at the center of allegations, ranging from kids going missing to aggressive use of restraint from the staff. 

Pro Publica reporter Joaquin Sapien has been looking into the unraveling crisis. Earlier this year, he reported on a similar facility in Davis, California called Families First. It has since closed down after allegations surfaced of rape of girls as young as 11 years old. 

Art show explores past, future of Vietnamese in Orange County

A new exhibition in Orange County explores the past, present and future of the sizeable Vietnamese American community in the region. It's called, Vietnamese Focus: Generations of Stories, and includes photographs, oral history and new original work by artist Trinh Mai.

Take Two stopped by for a preview with three key people behind the show:

• Linda Trinh Vo, Co-Director/Co-Curator
• Tram Le, Co-Director/Co-Curator
• Trinh Mai, Exhibition Designer & Artist-in-Residence

More info here. 

UC Irvine Vietnamese American Oral History Project (VAOHP) in partnership with OC Parks.

On The Lot: faith-based film 'War Room' blows up the box office

As summer comes to an end

of the LA Times joins the show to talk about the best and worst movies from the past few months, how a religious film worked the box office and the legacy of Wes Craven. It's all part of our Monday Rebecca special that we call On The Lot, which covers the latest happenings in the film business.

Here's a list of what Rebecca talks about in this week's segment:

1. Wes Craven, the man who brought us classic films like "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Scream," passed away on Sunday.
2. "Straight Outta Compton" won the weekend for a third time, but a faith-based film called "War Room" was a close second. The film's creators could be considered the Spielbergs of Christian drama.
3. Summer's wrapping up, so Rebecca and her colleague Mark Olsen put together a list of the highs and lows of the past few months.
4. Spike Lee is going to be given an honorary Oscar and Rebecca spoke to him about it.
5. The Venice and Telluride film festivals are coming up, signaling the beginning of Oscar season.

If you'd like to hear the entire chat, click on the audio embedded at the top of the post.

Reading by Moonlight: David Kipen's literary picks

David Kipen, founder of Libros Schmibros lending library in Boyle Heights, returns to offer his roundup of the best literary happenings this month.

• Ilan Stavas - "Quixote: The Novel and the World"
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - "Mycroft Holmes"
• Haruki Murakami - "Novelist as a Vocation"
• Remi Nadeau – "The Water Seekers"

How Cuesta College’s actual cougars inspired creative, informative student video

The cougar is the mascot of Cuesta College, located in San Luis Obispo. While it's a fine emblem of fierce strength, there are also real-life cougars in the area. 

The animals have been spotted on campus twice this semester. Which is why some students on campus decided to make a little public service announcement in the form of this video:

Branden Hopper is one of the students who made the video, and he joins Take Two with more.

Hawaii Supreme Court takes up TMT, one of the world's largest telescopes

Which need is more important: an indigenous culture’s access to a sacred site, or the ability of scientists to see right to the edge of the observable universe?

That’s the issue at the heart of the controversy on Hawaii’s Mauna Kea volcano, where construction of a $1.4 billion telescope is underway.  

The issue was taken to the Hawaiian State Supreme Court on Thursday, where protestors are challenging the government’s right to permit development on land marked for conservation.
 
Known as the TMT, or Thirty Meter Telescope, it is one of the world’s most powerful telescopes, allowing researchers to gaze at galaxies 13 billion light years away.
 
But it’s become a lightning rod for many native Hawaiians, who believe the volcano is a sacred site, and that the government does not have the right to allow its construction.
 
The volcano already hosts 13 telescopes, reaching back to the 1960s, but the latest one has drawn the ire of activists, who have been protesting since the project broke ground.

After demonstrations at the site grew violent in April, the governor imposed emergency measures halting all construction.

Joining Take Two to discuss:

• Tweets by solomonout
  of Hawaii Public Radio

Note: An earlier version of this post's headline said the TMT would be the world's largest telescope. The headline has been updated for clarification.

Crowdfunding gives board game industry new life

For many years, big companies like Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers decided what games would be made. But oh how times are changing! 

Now the people are weighing in on what games they'd like to see next. The crowdfunding website Kickstarter has become the place to go to float a new idea for a game and to get it funded.

Oliver Roeder is a senior writer for the website 538 and has been covering the board game trend.

"The industry is healthier than ever. It's nearly a billion dollar industry, with sales of board games reaching $880 million last year," he said. 

Edwin Mach and his two brothers are engineers and game designers in Southern California. For the past three years they have been working on developing a strategic board game which they call the   Vikings of Dragonia. He hopes their game can be as popular as the game Settlers of Catan.  

"It's simple to learn, and it's a game that a lot of people can play," he said.

Mach said they will be launching a Kickstarter soon to fund the game. 

To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above

Weekend on the cheap: Chicago-style dogs and weather relief

We don't know about you, but we're ready for the weekend.

That's why KPCC's social media producer Kristen Lepore is joining us in the studio to give us a handful of fun and almost-free things to do with our time off. 

For even more weekend events, click here. And tweet @kristenlepore to let her know what's happening in your hood.