Amy Schumer, Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo published an open letter on Monday asking that films and series set an example when it comes to firearms. This missive was written in response to the massacre of 19 children and two teachers at a Texas elementary school in late May and a previous deadly shooting in Buffalo.
In all, more than 200 celebrities from the American film industry have signed the letter. Among them, producers JJ Abrams (Lost), Shonda Rhimes (Bridgerton) or Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. “Cultural attitudes about smoking, drinking and driving, seatbelt use, and marriage equality have all evolved in part through the influence of movies and television. It is time to do the same with the danger of firearms,” says the missive released by the Brady Campaign, an association calling for stricter firearms regulations in the United States. “We’re not asking everyone to stop showing guns on screen. We call on screenwriters, filmmakers and producers to pay attention to gun violence shown on screen and to promote gun safety,” continue the signatories.
“Limit Scenes”
The films could, for example, show the characters in the process of locking the safety catch of their weapon. Teams could also try to find an alternative to pistols or rifles in certain scenes without “harming the integrity of the narrative”. Noting that the number of deaths by firearms has recently exceeded that of motor vehicle accidents among young Americans, the signatories ask professionals in the sector to “limit the scenes where both children and weapons appear”.
They point out that while guns are ubiquitous in shows and movies around the world, “only America has such an epidemic of violence”. “The blame lies with lax gun laws, backed by politicians who are more concerned with staying in power than saving lives, they write. We did not create the problem but we want to help solve it.”
A total of 4,368 American children and adolescents under the age of 20 were killed by firearms in 2020, according to official statistics.