After extensive coverage from Breitbart News calling out the hypocrisy of actors and producers who’ve made fortunes from movies and TV shows with guns calling for more gun control, it seems that Hollywood elites finally agree. At least some of them.
Numerous Hollywood power players are demanding the entertainment industry commit to “responsible” portrayals of guns in movies and TV shows. In an online petition, they cited the recent Uvalde, Texas, school shooting as a call to action.
“We are not asking anyone to stop showing guns on screen. We are asking writers, directors and producers to be mindful of on-screen gun violence and model gun safety best practices,” the petition states.
However, they also distanced themselves from responsibility for recent gun violence. “We didn’t cause the problem, but we want to help fix it,” the petition says.
The petition demands Hollywood take the following steps regarding depictions of guns.
- Use our creativity to model responsible gun ownership and show consequences for reckless gun use. We will make a conscious effort to show characters locking their guns safely and making them inaccessible to children.
- Have at least one conversation during pre-production regarding the way guns will be portrayed on screen and consider alternatives that could be employed without sacrificing narrative integrity
- Limit scenes including children and guns, bearing in mind that guns are now the leading cause of death for children and adolescents.
“We are under no illusions that these actions are a substitute for common sense gun legislation,” the petition says. “However, these are small things that we can do as a community to try and end this national nightmare.”
As for the petition signatories, there’s Judd Apatow, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Shonda Rhimes, Eli Roth, Adam McKay, Damon Lindelof, and ABC’s late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel. All of whom, with the exception of Kimmel, have made fortunes producing, directing, and starring in movies and TV shows that prominently feature guns.
Breitbart was among the few pointing out that Matthew McConaughey was calling for more gun control — from the White House, one of the most gun-guarded places on the planet — while he’s made millions starring in and producing 11 film projects that featured nearly two dozen guns over a span of 25 years.
Other organizations, such as Fox News, showered McConaughey with praise.
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Breitbart’s coverage highlighting McConaughey’s hypocrisy triggered a response from Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn and Star Trek actor George Takei.
In fact, the New York Daily News went out of its way to cover the debate in an article titled “Lynda Carter, George Takei explain reality to right-wing media outlet following Matthew McConaughey tweet.”
Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow, responding to a request for comment from the Daily News, had this to say.
“If Mr. McConaughey is seriously concerned about gun violence, he’ll stop glamorizing firearm usage with his movies,” Marlow said in a statement to the New York Daily News.
“However, our preference would be he continue to make movies, with or without guns, and stop lecturing law-abiding citizens and trying to infringe on our Second Amendment rights. Also, we always love covering Mr. Takei, but – oh my! – what’s his damn point – that Hollywood’s love affair with guns and violence doesn’t influence the culture?”
Marlow’s comments were echoed by HBO host Bill Maher, who dedicated an entire monologue to Hollywood: “the wokest place on earth,” its “unbridled romanticization of gun violence,” and how they’ve so far ignored the obvious effect it has on society.
When liberals scream, do something after a mass shooting. Why aren’t we also dealing with the fact that the average American kid sees 200,000 acts of violence on screens before the age of 18? And that according to the FBI, one of the warning signs of a potential school shooter is a fascination with violence-filled entertainment. It’s funny, Hollywood is the wokest place on earth, and in every other area of social responsibility, they have intimacy coordinators to assist with sex scenes, they hire sensitivity readers to edit scripts, Disney stood up to the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law. Another studio spent $10 million to digitally edit Kevin Spacey from a movie.
But when it comes to the unbridled romanticization of gun violence, crickets. Weird. the only thing we don’t call a trigger is the one that actually has a trigger.”
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If Hollywood wants a gun free world, put up or shut up. Start by creating it in your movies and shows.