Crime Fiction and the G-Word

I usually avoid politics here on Mysterious Matters, mostly because I revel in intelligent discussion, and political topics can turn even the most intelligent people into raving lunatics. So, as you read (IF you keep reading) please keep in mind that the following has no hidden agenda.

The topic is guns.

With the rash of highly publicized shootings, from Gabrielle Giffords through Aurora, Colorado, through Newtown, Connecticut, I am thinking a lot about violence in crime fiction. Specifically, I'm thinking about guns. We see a lot of guns on the printed page, lots of vigilantes, lots of lone-wolf protagonists (and villains) whose gun is their best friend. 

What is our responsibility with regard to guns and gun violence in the genre? 

On the one hand, we never hear that the latest gun spree was motivated by too heavy an immersion in books. Hollywood, yes; video games, yes; but not books or printed fiction. Thank God.

On the other hand, how much responsibility do we have, as industry, in terms of the way we portray guns? I think we use guns, in our books, almost as regularly as they're used in feature films and TV shows. Perhaps they don't make the impression in books that they do on the silver screen, because we can't hear the shots and see the blood. Should we be encouraging writers to develop other methods of self-defense for their protagonists, such as judo or jujitsu?  This could lead to some clever, original pots - what could writers come up with if they couldn't have their characters use guns as weapons? 

Of course I am not suggesting that we impose any such rule. Writers would balk at having their creativty stifled, and rightfully so. Then there's the "realism" argument, too: How can an author write a good hardboiled tale without guns? But I am thinking more and more that I'd like to read some stellar crime fiction that doesn't have gunplay. Because the gun scenes in what I've been reading lately have been reminding me a lot of Newtown.

I'd love to hear from readers on this. Do you consider violence level when you are selecting a book to buy and read? What about guns - would you purchase a book that include a silhouette of a hero holding a gun on the cover? 

 

Comments

[Chris Norbury]

I share your concern and have been thinking of doing what you suggest, having few guns used in stories, especially by protagonists.

I don't consider violence levels when choosing a book to read, but I don't gravitate toward books that are all blood and guts, either.

[Pepper Smith]

I actually do gravitate away from books where violence levels are high. Personal choice. I see enough of it on the news and don't need it in my entertainment.

As a writer, I also tend away from the use of guns. My protagonist was taught self defense and relies on that to get herself out of trouble.

[Lexi Revellian]

My heroes tend towards martial arts, since I am in the UK where guns are rare, plus my daughter is a Jitsu blue belt so I take an interest.

One fact I used in my last novel is that guns are loud; loud enough for a few shots to permanently damage your hearing. This is easy to forget, since heroes in books and movies never reach for the earplugs yet blast away unscathed. Silencers do not make guns silent either, I was surprised to discover.

[jess]

I have no problem with guns in books. I'd rather read about characters with guns than knives or other slasher objects. I won't buy a book with a knife on the cover or any reference to slashing in the blurb. I can hardly stand the thought of cutting, stabbing wounds.

I'm of the opinion that people who commit horrific crimes with guns don't read fiction. Maybe I'm wrong, but if they don't kill with guns, they'll find another way to do it. Visuals, like movies and games, show... and teach.

[barry knister]

I too am tired of novels that go into numbing detail about the make and model of weapon, angle of penetration and exit wound, etc. I'm happy to report that no guns figure in the first installment of my new mystery series, Blue Sky Six. It's due out in April.