Film and Media Studies Commons^™

Mass Shooting Films: Myths, Academic Knowledge, And Popular Criminology, Jason R. Silva

Publications and Research

The author compares cinematic constructions of mass shooting perpetrators, victims, and social factors against academic knowledge and news media to determine how films perpetuate myths, reinforce academic knowledge, and act as a source of popular criminology. Cinematic findings highlight perpetrators as young, White, school shooters, and motivation types including fame seeking and defeated by society. Films construct diverse forms of victimization involving direct victims, indirect victims, and perpetrators as victims. Finally, movies emphasize sensational news media coverage as a contributing social factor. Implications of these findings suggest films blend with news media misconceptions and perpetuate myths that reinforce stereotypes of …