Hollywood's Two-Faced Approach to Violence

Hollywood - Two-faced on Violence

In a recent article for Variety, Michael Showalter explored the role Hollywood plays in our "culture of violence" and if the entertainment industry should be more mindful of what appears in movies, TV shows, and video games.  Showalter suggests that stricter gun control laws and a dialing-down of the violence seen in many movies is warranted. Showalter, is wrong on both issues.

 Yes, I agree that Hollywood is very two-faced regarding violence.  Chock-full of politically correct folks that yet spew-out a non-stop stream of content that puts violence and social chaos center stage.

Gun control needs attention. To be sure, it sickens everyone, but the most jaded and irrational, to see innocents shot dead or wounded in both random and caused-based acts of violence, but are more gun control laws the fix. Last year, according to FBI stats, 372 people died due to mass shootings. For sure that is 372 too many but in relation to other death causes it is not even on the chart. For example, 450 people died from getting in and out of their bathtubs- begging the question: should bathtubs be ban?  What is needed for gun control is the strict enforcement of the existing laws.

High Impact/violent movies have the biggest audiences

Mass shootings, like plane crashes, get a lot of press but are rare. Texting while driving, which caused 3,154 deaths in the U.S. in 2014, got very little attention. Also, I don't believe Hollywood should censor itself with less violent action or gory horror movies. There are plenty of  straight comedies, rom-cons, dramas, children's fare and animation content being screened. There is a market (perhaps the biggest) for high-impact action films and TV shows - and that market appetite should be met.


Yes, Hollywood is two-faced when it comes to violence. A big-name film director or A-list actor thinks nothing of lobbying for more gun control while at the same time directing or staring in a violent film. In this age of un-reason, one needs to have a high tolerance for ambiguity on many social issues - Hollywood is no exception.

Just saying,
Jim