by Donna on June 13, 2022 8:27 pm
Meh.
The new gun legislation gets a meh from me too.
Btw I posted Maher's New Rules on my Facebook page and it was met with criticism. Most responders felt that the problem is guns, not movies, and my nephew who lives in Europe argued that people over there see the same films and they don't have a gun violence problem.
I conceded that guns and easy access to them by mentally unstable people are the primary problem, but that vigilante films don't help.
I question, however, the amount of hours the average young European male spends watching vigilante films compared with the same demographic in the US. Those stats would probably be hard to find, though.
However, I did find that with exception to the 90s when Hollywood only produced 16 vigilante films, every decade going back to the 70s saw anywhere between 32 and 54 vigilante films. There was a sharp dropoff in the 60s followed by another dropoff in the 50s, and prior to that only a handful of vigilante films were made.
by Curt_Anderson on June 15, 2022 12:53 pm
Donna,
I am more sanguine about Hollywood's reaction to the Maher's editorial than you.
Obviously, movies alone don't cause gun violence. But in tandem with gun availability they contribute. You or I are not likely to see Rambo as a model to address any of our peeves or anger. But it seems to be enough for the worst of the nuts out there.
Hollywood has a history of influencing behavior, good and bad. They encouraged smoking until they didn't. They reinforced racial stereotypes and later made racial equality cool. They counteracted America's isolationist sentiments before WWII.
Businesses pay film makers good money for product placement, because it influences audiences.
by Donna on June 15, 2022 1:02 pm
Does the NRA fund Hollywood?
