{"id":1053,"date":"2012-07-23T17:08:28","date_gmt":"2012-07-24T00:08:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/?p=1053"},"modified":"2019-04-05T12:24:50","modified_gmt":"2019-04-05T19:24:50","slug":"what-is-it-about-guns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2012\/film-2\/what-is-it-about-guns\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is It About Guns?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m an optimist by nature, so this has been a hard post to write. And I’m sorry for getting off the writing track here. But the senseless killings\u00a0 at the movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado this past week stopped me in my tracks. I, like many, wanted to make sense of the tragedy. How something like this could occur in civilized society was unfathomable. Families and couples, excited fans of Batman, eating popcorn, enjoying a show, their lives abruptly ended by a mad man. I can’t imagine the havoc he’s caused, the pain. I\u2019m not mentioning his name here, as a serial profiler said on TV, this is what, in her words, the scumbag<\/em> wanted<\/em>. Attention.<\/p>\n

Since this tragedy, Americans have been talking once again about their right to keep and bear arms<\/a>. The NRA wields a lot of power. It\u2019s always a back and forth debate, and it\u2019s emotionally loaded, like their guns. Which is why, there shouldn\u2019t be such easy access. It\u2019s because we, as people, are emotional creatures, and we can\u2019t control our emotions all of the time. We are capable of impulsive acts, ones we regret later. In the heat of the moment, triggers are pulled, and there\u2019s no turning back.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart in The Big Sleep<\/p><\/div>\n

When I was kid, my mother and father would take me to the movies. We didn\u2019t have a TV back then, so whatever was playing on the cinema was entertainment for my parents. So, as a small child, I was exposed to all sorts of films, including film noir<\/a>. Anyone who carried a gun was either a cop or a bad guy. There were no in-betweens. By the way, I had nightmares for years after that, because I\u2019d seen men with guns in films murdering someone, but that\u2019s another story.<\/p>\n

Later, in the 60s, when my husband and I drove down from Winnipeg, Canada, to Minneapolis, USA, for our honeymoon, I saw a policeman on the street, with his gun visible. It scared me, seeing a gun, openly displayed. From what I\u2019d seen in film, guns could kill, easily. People standing in the way could get hurt. It was that simple.<\/p>\n

Since then, there seems to have been a gun explosion. The homicide rates keep going up<\/a>. Shootings in stories on TV, film, and video games, have become very graphic. Filmmakers keep upping the ante. The gore of it all is numbing. It\u2019s so much in our faces that it doesn\u2019t compute. It doesn\u2019t seem real. And yet, a gunshot in life is very real.<\/p>\n

As for violence as entertainment, it’s another topic coming out of this tragedy. I just watched a powerful film called Incendies<\/a>, a Canadian film about a troubled family amidst the horrors in Chad. There was violence, but it wasn’t glamorized. There was killing (even of innocent children), but I didn’t see arms flying through the air, or heads cut off. A rape scene was suggested; it wasn’t acted out. An extremely powerful film, and I was left with the understanding of how brutal the culture has been and yet, somehow, the filmmakers were able to communicate some hope in all that chaos. They showed the complexities of man in all his shades of grey.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not in favor of censorship, but there has to be some responsibility for what is put out there. One man\u2019s pleasure is another man\u2019s poison. The mind can be corrupted, we all know that. So, why aren\u2019t there some checks and balances? Have we gone too far? What messages are we giving our children? I\u2019d love to hear your opinion on this.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m an optimist by nature, so this has been a hard post to write. And I’m sorry for getting off the writing track here. But the senseless killings\u00a0 at the… <\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[82,88],"tags":[361,365,78,362,240,363,366,367,368,364,208],"class_list":["post-1053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-film-2","category-life","tag-aurora","tag-censorship","tag-diana-stevan","tag-film-noir","tag-filmmaking","tag-guns","tag-homicide-rates","tag-incendies","tag-nra","tag-the-right-to-keep-and-bear-arms","tag-violence"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1LuVB-gZ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1260,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2013\/uncategorized\/spinning-wheels-in-the-gun-debate\/","url_meta":{"origin":1053,"position":0},"title":"Spinning Wheels in the Gun Debate","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"30 \u0421\u0456\u0447\u043d\u044f, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The gun debate in the USA reminds me of something a therapist once told me on a particularly cold and snowy day in Winnipeg, back in the 70s. I was working as a clinical social worker at the time, and was at an all day workshop with William Glasser, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"250px-Stuck-Car-3752","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/250px-Stuck-Car-3752.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1489,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2013\/uncategorized\/mass-shootings-in-the-usa\/","url_meta":{"origin":1053,"position":1},"title":"Who Cares About The Mass Shootings in the USA?","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"24 \u0412\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0441\u043d\u044f, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I could be blogging about my writing life, but instead I'm writing about the mass shootings in the USA. I am so upset over last week\u2019s mass shooting in Chicago (13 wounded) and Washington, D.C. (13 dead, 8 wounded) that I had to get these thoughts out. When a suicide\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"mass shooting","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Leonardo-da-Vinci.jpg?fit=575%2C867&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Leonardo-da-Vinci.jpg?fit=575%2C867&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Leonardo-da-Vinci.jpg?fit=575%2C867&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1203,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2012\/life\/when-will-america-wake-up\/","url_meta":{"origin":1053,"position":2},"title":"When Will America Wake Up?","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"17 \u0413\u0440\u0443\u0434\u043d\u044f, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Again,we\u2019re confronted by another senseless tragedy, this time, 20 children and\u00a0five adults killed in an elementary school in Connecticut, as well as\u00a0the shooter's mother. I hate writing about such topics ,and yet I feel\u00a0I must, if only to add my voice to others pleading\u00a0for reason.\u00a0I also feel I must write\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/KIDS.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":895,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2012\/film-2\/the-curious-appeal-of-tragedy\/","url_meta":{"origin":1053,"position":3},"title":"The Curious Appeal of Tragedy","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"23 \u0411\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0437\u043d\u044f, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"After watching the film, Love Liza with the incredibly talented Philip Seymour Hoffman, I wondered what it was about this story that kept me engaged. It was depressing.\u00a0 And yet, the film won the Waldo Salt screenwriting award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2002. It\u2019s about a man who\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Film"","block_context":{"text":"Film","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/film-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Love-Liza-166x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6803,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2025\/life\/the-cracks-in-mental-health-services\/","url_meta":{"origin":1053,"position":4},"title":"The Cracks in Mental Health Services","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"12 \u0422\u0440\u0430\u0432\u043d\u044f, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Recently, in Vancouver, British Columbia, we became aware, once again, of the cracks in mental health services. They failed to help those in need and they failed to protect the public from harm. At a Filipino Street Festival in South Vancouver on Saturday, April 26, a mentally ill man drove\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Books"","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"cracks in mental health services","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/luke-jones-DHR8LQRY-fU-unsplash-1-scaled.jpg?fit=675%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/luke-jones-DHR8LQRY-fU-unsplash-1-scaled.jpg?fit=675%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/luke-jones-DHR8LQRY-fU-unsplash-1-scaled.jpg?fit=675%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4056,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2019\/writing\/truth-in-political-art-fiction\/","url_meta":{"origin":1053,"position":5},"title":"Truth in Political Art & Fiction","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"27 \u041b\u044e\u0442\u043e\u0433\u043e, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"With so many attacks on the news media today, political art and fiction can do what news can't. Both can turn news on its head, shake up disbelievers, and open up thought and discourse. Since viewers and readers are questioning truth like never before, there\u2019s an urgent need to present\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"political artist","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/IMG-5692.jpg?fit=791%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/IMG-5692.jpg?fit=791%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/IMG-5692.jpg?fit=791%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/IMG-5692.jpg?fit=791%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1053\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}