THE HEAT IS ON: Gun use in Hollywood movies is up, despite studio policies to police them, study finds

THE HEAT IS ON: Gun use in Hollywood movies is up, despite studio policies to police them, UC study finds


PHOTO: A PG-rated "live action and animated movie" is among movies found to have more than 50 portrayals of gun handling and guns being fired. (Rounder Pictures)

By Fritz Morgen
Southern Connecticut Daily Ledger



December 25, 2012

Film characters are handling guns and firing them more on the big screen, and studios that
have pledged to clamp down on such portrayals remain among the worst
offenders, according to a new study. This, despite news of the recent Sandy Hook Christmas Massacre of 2012 in Connecticut, where some Hollywood chiefs have homes.

There were nearly 1,900 portrayals of guns being handle or being fired among the 134 highest-grossing films at the box office in 2012,
according to researchers at the University of Connecticut.



The total number of "gun incidents" per movie was up 7% from 2011.
Among films rated G, PG, or PG-13, and thus more easily accessible to
younger audiences, that figure increased 36%, the UC researchers added.



Among the PG-13-rated picture with more than 50 on-screen tobacco
portrayals were period pieces from DreamWorks Studios, Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox . The only PG-rated release in that
category was an animated film from Rounder Pictures.



UC professor of cinema studies Martin Savage said the consequence of

more on-screen gun portrayals will be "more kids starting to buy and use guns for violent missions and and developing gun-induced and violence-induced diseases."



Warner Bros. parent company Time Warner, Universal parent Comcast

Corp. and Walt Disney Co. all have established policies to reduce the

portrayals of guns in their films, according to the UC researchers.

However, those three studios had just as many "gun incidents per

youth-rated movie" as the three studios without such policies,

Paramount, Fox and Sony Pictures.



The study was funded by the American Life and Health Foundation, a public
health group dedicated to reducing gun use among young people as the battle over gun control in America heats up.