So on the radio I heard that the writers of Glee and several other film writers are now writing scripts about school shootings.
It was asked on the radio and now I'm asking you...
Is it too soon for school shootings to be made into a form of entertainment?
Personally yes, far too soon. But I can see the "lesson" one can learn form the films/shows and the message it sends. This is very sensitive ground now and it may be best not to tread on it yet.
But what about your thoughts on it?
I think a lot of it depends on the context of the film. In some aspects I can understand why raising the issues of school shootings can be beneficial. Everything else surrounding violence is out there. Will these scripts teach us how to handle the situations or make way for a potential increase in violence? There is no direct link to media and violence after all. On the other hand I think it is way too soon. But too soon can also be not soon enough. How many times are we going to let school shootings happen before we raise awareness about it? It's really a tough situation to answer. It's like asking, how soon was too soon after the 911 attacks to write books and make movies about the topic? It has been done though and I gather there really is no one answer.
ReplyDeleteI watched an extremely well done movie based on the Columbine shooting called Elephant. I think in that particular form, was effective because it really opened one's eyes to why and how these things come about without really discussing it. The art of fiction is good like that. However when it comes to a show like Glee, I have doubts to the seriousness they will approach this topic with.
ReplyDeleteI agree that if done in a certain way it could be ok, but for something with young children being killed I think in regards to the families and those that were touched in some way by recent shootings, it is too soon.
ReplyDeleteAlso in terms of Glee i would be livid due to the high entertainment factor of it. It is only entertainment. They can't even do teen suicide well without being insulting.
In one episode they made shortly after that wave of teen suicides due to gay bullying, they had a star football player try to kill himself after the team found out he was gay. He was then compared to a teacher of the school who said he tried to kill himself over a test he cheated on. In this case they took the very serious and brushed it off. the character was also never seen again.
Now in a few years, maybe if it is done right in a serious way. But some things should't touch topics such as this.
I agree with Charmaine. Because it is Glee I have doubts that it would be taken seriously. I also believe that some stuff on school shootings has already been presented with such shows as Degrassi when Jimmy was shot. The show focuses on serious issues without making them fake or sad.
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