Guns in Movies

I'm always intrigued by how the subject of guns is handled in movies. After all, there is little doubt that movies often seem to influence "real life" beliefs.

For this particular complaint session, I'm going to focus on the movie, The New Daughter.

I'm not a big horror movie fan, so I didn't see The New Daughter when it was released in theaters (Dec 09). But, I was recently talked into watching it on DVD. Good thing... I was needing some blog material!

Now, If you haven't seen this movie yet, I certainly don't want to ruin anything for you. So, I'll try to give a very limited overview.

It begins with a father and his two children moving to a farmhouse. As fate would have it, this farmhouse is next to an old Indian burial mound. This burial mound, unfortunately, produces some rather nasty and unfriendly creatures. These creatures are NOT family friendly!

So, where does the "guns in movies" part come in? Well, when the family first moves into the house, the young son finds a shotgun hidden in a piano. The piano and shotgun were mysteriously left by the previous owners of the house. Now, this is where a few disturbing issues arise:

Disturbing Issue 1
Yes, it is a problem that this gun was left where the young child (I think he was 7 years old) could find it. BUT, when this child found the gun, he did everything he should NOT do with a gun. He waved it around like it was a flag on the 4th of July. You could see that every bit of common sense he may have had went right out the window.

Disturbing Issue 1 Notes
I know that some of you out there don't like guns. The father in this movie obviously wasn't a gun collector. But, you don't have to be a gun collector to teach your kids what to do if they ever find a gun. If you need help talking to your kids about this, check out the NRA's Eddie Eagle Program. For those of you who are so anti-gun that you wouldn't dare go to the NRA's website, I'll summarize for you: STOP, DON'T TOUCH, LEAVE THE AREA, TELL AN ADULT.

Disturbing Issue 2
After the gun (a double barrel shotgun) was found, it was treated as if it were pure evil. In fact, I'm not sure I can describe this accurately enough. They treated this gun as if it were a piece of radioactive material that had been sprinkled with a little small pox. So, what did the dad do?.... Well, the only thing he could do with a disease ridden piece of plutonium.... disassemble it and bury it in the back yard where it can do no more harm.

So, back to the movie. As expected, before the family can get too comfortable in their new house, creatures start to attack. Now, what do you think the father does? Well, suddenly that gun ISN'T so bad. In fact, he digs it up, cleans it, and puts it back together. Why? Well, to protect his family, of course.

As I watched, I couldn't help but think of how accurate this really is. There are so many people out there who would love to take away our right to own guns. But, how many of those same people would wish they had access to a gun if their family were under attack?

So, what should the dad in this movie have done?

Well, I think there are two options for this parent:

Option 1
Yes, scary and evil things may be trying to enter your home. But, don't give in to those pressures. Embrace your anti-gun view, pull out the pepper spray, call 911 and wait for the police to arrive. If those nasty creatures manage to reach you and your family before the police arrive, explain to them that they will simply have to wait.

Option 2
Embrace your Second Amendment freedom and use that gun to protect you and your family. And as soon as those burial mound, zombie-like creatures are gone, join the NRA so you can still own that gun the next time the zombies show up.

On a side note, be sure to check out The New Daughter website. At the time of this post, guess what is on the home page? You guessed it... The dad (Kevin Costner) holding his new best friend!

- Greg