Study: TV Gun Violence “Ubiquitous,” Victims “Disproportionately” White & “Rare” Depictions Of Gun Safety Have “Positive” Impacts On Viewers
deadline.comA new study from USC has found that guns are “ubiquitous” in scripted TV dramas, while depictions of gun safety are “rare.” Of 250 episodes sampled, the report found that one-in-three showed at least one person being shot, and that the victims were “disproportionally” white.
About six in 10 episodes surveyed included gun-related content, but “fewer than 10% of episodes with such content included depictions of secure gun storage or discussions related to gun laws or origins.”The study, from the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center’s Media Impact Project, includes an “experimental study” of viewer responses, finding that “accurate” depictions of gun safety can have a “positive impact” on viewers, including greater awareness of gun safety, gun laws, and the safe storage of weapons. “Heavy-handed” storylines, however, were found to turn off gun owners “who feel their freedoms are being threatened, or their beliefs mocked.”The report also makes recommendations to content creators to “accurately represent gun safety and prevention” – one of which is to “avoid portraying law enforcement use-of-force as heroic.” Another is to include discussions of gun safety and common-sense gun laws on their shows.The study, which received support from the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, examined 250 episodes from 33 scripted TV dramas over two seasons to gauge their depictions of gun safety practices, “common myths” about guns; discussions of gun laws; characteristics of those holding firearms, and the demographics of shooting victims.And while most victims of gun violence on TV are white, in real life, the report says, “Young Black men are 20 times more likely to be killed by a gun than young white men.
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