Does every TV show/movie need guns?

[BBQJOE]

I love guns, I love to shoot, and I carry.

As I was flipping through the channels last night, almost every movie or show that was on had someone threatening someone with a gun. Or someone shooting at someone. Or someone being treated for a gunshot, or cops searching for a gun or someone that had used a gun...................

It appears that every single plot anymore has to have guns in some form or another.

I beginning to wonder what television would be like without the constant presence of guns.

Maybe it just me......................

 

[Mr White]

And the guns are almost always portrayed in a negative way, except when used by LE or the military. Ever notice that in any bad situation, if someone other than a cop or a soldier tries to stop the bad thing with a gun, he/she will inevitably fail and get killed or make things even worse.

Welcome to the entertainment industry. Anti bias is woven into everything they can weave it into. Its nothing new, but it indeed seems to be getting worse.

 

[Caimlas]

I don't completely agree with Mr. White's statement that guns are almost always portrayed in a negative way. Get it right: it's only when non-LEO have guns! >.

HOwever, it's only natural that guns are in most TV and movies. Conflict is appealing to people (from an observer's perspective), and therefore it makes good TV. Especially high-tension conflict. And introducing force - guns, knives, or otherwise - will make a tense conflict even more so.

If there wasn't regulation against such things, we'd likely see full-frontal nude women running around in high-heeled boots and chain belts carrying sawed-off shotguns on TV with regularity.

 

[Black Adder LXX]

At least there's no guns in "That 70's Show"...

 

[v35]

shoot your TV

Occasionally I watch TV on the road. I agree, lots of guns, almost never shown in a positive light, lots of shooting and killings going on. It's all pretty senseless (while as Caimlas infers, nudity is taboo). It's easy to imagine that the most of the general public gets nearly all its intelligence regarding firearms from TV shows. Some of them may be lawmakers. Nothing good can come from that.

Just today I saw a short article in the WSJ alleging a link between childhood obesity and TV advertisements. The conclusion was, with all the time children spend parked in front of the TV, advertisers ought to refrain from showing kids stuffing food in their mouths all the time.

The thought occurred to me was that the problem isn't the advertisements, it the TV! Turn the darn thing off. Every TV ever made has an "off" switch.

Since our daughter was born we haven't had a television in the house. We're not alone, her best friend's parents had made a similar decision before we met them. Our daughter plays violin and piano, reads a lot (four years above her grade level we're told), plays a decent chess game, and is reasonably athletic. These are the rewards of not wasting the average three or four hours a day most children her age spend in front of a TV. I wonder how many like-minded people are among us.

We don't miss it. TV news had been useless since the age of "sensationalism" began - perhaps a decade before we became a TV-free zone. I have heard about American Idol, "Lost", "24", but I have only a vague idea what these shows are all about and don't feel deprived for it. The entertainment fare is hardly worth paying anything for when you can get a Netflix subscription for $20.

TV is junk food for the brain. You know it's true. Get rid of it. A few months from now you'll catch a glimpse of some crap TV show and wonder why it took you so long to realize what a waste it is. Take what you don't spend on cable and buy some ammo or a decent gun once in a while.

 

[BBQJOE]

V35, your right!
Quite a few years ago I swore off TV and didn't own one.
I spent much more time doing productive things after work instead of sitting in front of the tube.
Then I was given one as a present and haven't been without one since.

Then again I live a whole different lifestyle now days. Working seventeen hours a day, I just need some veg time after work.

 

[Prince Yamato]

Shows in the 1950s all had guns... they were westerns though and people tended to just shoot aimlessly around and into the air. Let me tell you a secret... TV SUCKS. There's hardly anything ever worth watching. One of the few things I actually like on TV are these new HD-show-off channels. One has specials on artwork, basically just to show off art in HD, but at least it's educational. I used to like History, but the thing about history (small H) is that it's finite and frankly, I think I know enough about the Nazis to teach a University level class. I also don't like wading through commercials. Because I'm on a budget (hooray PhD. program!) I let my cable TV subscription just run out. If you don't have little kids (who DO kind of need that pop-culture fix), try going without TV for a month. Renting movies, OK, but you'd be surprised how little you'll miss cable. Now, cut my internet, and I'll probably go insane.

 

[skinnyguy]

I'm with v35. I do have a couple of TV's in my house, but I stopped watching something like 10 years ago. The senseless drivel was driving me crazy. The overflow of violence and B.S. messages about guns, both silent and blantant were outrageous. Most shows started treating me like I don't have a brain, and left nothing for me to think about. So, I turned that blasted box off. I do watch NASCAR on weekends, when it isn't on cable.

My suggestion is to cancel your satellite subscription, buy some ammo, and go out with your family for some shooting fun!!!

 

[toivo]

At least there's no guns in "That 70's Show"...

114. Black Dog (a.k.a. Ow, My Eye)
12/10/2002

When Jackie's father is arrested for bribery, Kelso thinks she'll come running back to him. But when Hyde and Kelso get into a brawl over Jackie, Kelso accidentally shoots Hyde with a BB gun and all hell breaks lose. Donna and Eric argue over how Hyde should deal with Jackie's pain. Meanwhile, Fez realizes he has a crush on his boss at the DMV.

--http://www.amazon.com/That-70s-Show-Season-5/dp/B000GUJYGK

 

[eltorrente]

At least there's no guns in "That 70's Show"...

WRONG!!!!

 

[Sav .250]

You can`t hide the truth. Good or bad it`s a fact of life.
I wonder what it would be like if all they showed in the movies were people hold big shovels instead of guns.