Think Tank Thursday: Gun Violence on Stage and Screen

With the recent tragedy in Tucson the issue of violence in the media will be sure to fly around. The question is often, is violence in movies, video games, and media responsible for violence in reality?

While you can not pinpoint the reason for someone being violent on any one thing I do feel that as directors, choreographers, and artists we have a responsibility for the material we put out in the world.

Our whole aim, in Theatre especially, is to move the audience to action, to educate them on some point. If we desire that effect and seek to claim responsibility in some way for the positive, we can not separate ourselves from the negative. We know that media has an effect on everyone, even down to commercials and small soundbites. Billions of dollars of research has been poured into how to most effectively and efficiently influence an audience to feel, want, and consume.

Does this mean that we stop showing violence?

I don't believe so.

What I feel the real problem is involves showing violence with no consequences. Take the recent Green Hornet movie. Tons of ammunition is fired, lots of bad guys die, and explosions abound. What is lacking is: blood, screams, emotional toll on the "heroes", grieving of the families of the bad guys (the do still have families who love them no matter what), and that is all surface stuff. Of course, this reality is left out precisely because of the effect it will have on children. Leaving out the real stuff allows a PG-13 rating so that kids can see and learn a false idea of what violence really is.

Along with Buddy Cop movies you can find this faux violent reality in vendetta movies. The hero is wronged in some way and decides to take the law into their own hands and kill whomever has wronged them, often killing double or triple the number of what was taken. Even these movies, with a clear cut message of "killing for revenge makes you a hero" leaves out the realistic elements of taking a life. This teaches the audience watching that the law is not to be trusted, police will not help, and the only way to get justice is to take justice.

The point is, it is not the violence itself which is a problem. Ignoring the fact that we live in a violent world would be irresponsible. It is violence without consequence that is the problem. Showing violence without all of its ugly, bloody, grotesque and long term layers does more to harm than to actually protect. We are responsible for what we put in the world, we should all be adult enough to accept the good and the bad of that fact.

Greg