Deaths On Scripted Television Are “Overwhelmingly Violent” & Don’t Show Full Range Of End Of Life Options, USC & End Well Study Finds

deadline.com:

A new study released by USC and End Well, a nonprofit organization dedicated to dismantling barriers and confronting stigmas surrounding end of life experiences, finds deaths depicted on television are predominantly violent and aren’t showing the full range of choices and experiences available at end of life, further perpetuating the end of life care crisis in the U.S.

The study found scripted television skews heavily toward violent death, with over 80% of television deaths caused by violence.

It noted research that shows depictions of gun violence on popular primetime dramas doubled from 2000 to 2018, and in an analysis conducted on American primetime network and streamingshows, over 2015-2016, shooting, stabbing, poison, and beating together made up 49% of depicted TV deaths, while illlness was only 4.3%.

The study was based on original research analyzing transcripts for over 141,000 pieces of scripted content. It was conducted by the USC Norman Lear Center Media Impact Project and made possible through funding in part from The David and Lura Lovell Foundation, the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation, the Y.C.