Every time gun violence erupts in a mass shooting, the shock and horror of such an act are felt throughout our country.
But the responsibility to solve gun violence is not solely the responsibility of our elected leaders. It’s also the responsibility of Hollywood.
What other industry wields such power and influence to change public perception as the entertainment industry? Hollywood’s business model is dependent on power and influence. But Hollywood has a gun problem and has been allowed to depict gun violence for too long, glamorizing it for countless viewers, particularly teenagers and children.
The Parents Television and Media Council’s research conducted following the Parkland, Florida, school shooting found that all gun violence on prime-time broadcast television was rated as appropriate for children as young as 14 and, in some cases, even younger.
More PTC research found comic book-themed TV shows with particular appeal to children showed over 6,000 incidents of violence and over 500 deaths. This same study found that the CW’s Arrow was the most violent program, with 1,241 acts, including 280 instances of gun violence.
And a different PTC study from 2019 found that there was substantially more violence in youth-rated shows than in the previous 10 years, but that increase had not changed the age-based content ratings the networks apply. Programs rated TV-PG contained, on average, 28% more violence in 2017-18 than in 2007-08. Violence on PG-rated shows included the use of guns and bladed weapons, depictions of fighting, blood, and death, and scenes of decapitation or dismemberment.
The heart of the matter is that the overwhelming weight of scientific, psychological, and medical research has found that exposure to graphic violence can be harmful to children. Research published in Psychology Today suggests that “exposure to violence in the media can increase children’s dangerous behavior around real firearms.”
Hollywood inherently knows that it bears responsibility for its products, even if it doesn’t admit it directly. After the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting in May, Disney+ added a warning card to the first episode of Obi-Wan because the first scene depicts a teacher defending her young students from Storm Troopers and dying from her wounds. Netflix added a warning card to the fourth season of Stranger Things because a number of children are shown bloodied and dead. CBS pulled the season finale of FBI because the episode involved the prevention of a school shooting.
Hollywood execs understood that warning its audiences in the wake of the real-life shooting would be wise.
These decisions bring up several questions. If a warning about violent content is warranted immediately after the slaughter of innocent children in Texas, why isn’t that same warning warranted all the time? If a television episode is too violent to air after a shooting, why isn’t it too violent to air before the shooting?
The answers, of course, come down to financial greed. Hollywood’s norm is to fuel a culture of gun violence, stepping back only briefly in the wake of real-life tragedy.
If Netflix truly mourns the slaughter of innocent children, then why is it asking its viewers to be entertained by disturbing scenes of graphic violence concerning children? If Disney+ continues to promote content featuring gun violence concerning children, should it not at least give that program a more mature content rating? If CBS pulls an episode that triggers real-life pain or suffering, should that episode ever be approved for air?
The entertainment industry appears to be taking steps toward rectifying this, with a number of producers, writers, and directors pledging to “incorporate gun safety best practices into their shows and to scrutinize the use of firearms in storytelling.”
Those signing this pledge should be commended for resolving to use their influence in a positive and productive way. This is a good first step. Our nation urgently needs and deserves entertainment media that recognizes their powerful and profound effect on viewers, especially children, and they should conduct accordingly.
Tim Winter is the president of the Parents Television and Media Council, a nonpartisan education organization advocating responsible entertainment. He is a former MGM and NBC executive.
