In the wake of the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, Hollywood is reacting to the tragedy.
Tuesday’s planned premiere of the violent new movie “Django Unchained” was canceled and one of the stars of the film, actor Jamie Foxx, is commenting on the entertainment industry’s impact on the public.
“”We cannot turn our back and say that violence in films or anything that we do doesn’t have a sort of influence,” said the Academy Award-winning actor, “It does.”
Howard Bragman, Vice Chairman of Reputation.com and the Chairman of Fifteen Minutes Public Relations doesn’t think it will change the kinds of films Tinseltown is making.
“I don’t think we’re going to see less violence in movies and video games because of this,” said Bragman to Chris Jansing, “But I think we will see a difference . I think actors will make personal decisions and say this isn’t right for me. I think we’re going to see warnings before movies.”
The entertainment industry has been quick to react. Disclaimers have been added before violent television shows and some television shows that were scheduled to run were pulled because they may have have been deemed insensitive. Hollywood has reacted similarly in the past but Bragman thinks this time could be a teachable moment for parents to take a hard look at what their kids are watching, whether it’s movies or video games. “We aren’t gonna make violence go away,” he said, “The video games are out there, the films are out there. The responsibility really is the parents to know what they’re doing.” “If we don’t take this most horrific thing that happened and turn it into something good and trying to make a difference,” said Bragman on Jansing & Co., “Then this moment is lost and that is the real tragedy to me.”
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