Tower, an animated documentary screenplay directed by Keith Maitland, is a true story concerning the mass shooting that took place at the University of Texas at Austin in 1966. The shooting took the lives of 16 people and left 33 wounded victims. The 82-minute film accurately details the course of events leading up to the shooter's demise.
On August 1, 1966, the university was met with an unexpected visitor. The shooting began at 11:48 am. On top of the University of Texas Watchtower, a sniper named Charles Whitman was armed with a high-powered rifle and was holding refuge as he began to open fire on the nearby civilians below. A young couple was passing by as he began his spree. His first shot struck a pregnant student Claire Wilson in the stomach, and soon after, she fell to the ground. He then immediately reverted his aim to her companion, Tom Eckman. Tom instantly fell to the ground, dead within seconds of being hit. Claire, immobilized, was helpless as she saw her true love die in front of her.
Throughout the film, the perspectives of each of the characters present were taken, giving the film a first-person perspective. Claire's perspective is the first to be introduced in the movie. As she lies there, she begins to explain her emotional state. She recalled that the temperature that day was 100 degrees, and as she lay there, she felt herself bleeding out. To her, that moment, as she was bleeding out, she felt as if she was melting. Her personal, subjective experience becomes a major motif within this screenplay. She described the shooter as disturbing from a young age. However, in the end, and after much consideration, she found herself able to forgive the shooter.
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