Films and firearms. Even before movies had sound, directors, producers and studios discovered that a lot of action, a bit of violence, and a whole lotta shootin’ puts bums on seats. Then as now, audiences get an adrenalin rush from the vicarious thrill of watching a bad guy blown to bits, or a hero shooting his way out of trouble (which he didn’t ask for, of course). Hollywood genres may jump the shark, but none have jumped the gun. From Birth of a Nation to Cop Out, from William S. Heart to Walter Bruce Willis, guns get the gold. But in another sense, Willis is the exception that proves the rule: a movie star / gun rights advocate. You can’t swing an AR-15 around a room in Hollywood, period. Or doing so without hitting someone who is vehemently opposed to guns, gun ownership, gun violence and Second Amendment rights.
