NEUTRALIZER/THE COUNT
NEUTRALIZE: PARTICIPATE IN THE GUN NEUTRAL COUNT
By spreading the word about Gun Neutral (e.g., posting on social media, supporting Gun Neutral films, shows, and games, and by donating to the organizations which fuel gun violence prevention.
One of our newest initiatives is “Neuttalizer/The Count,” a way to track gun violence in media on screens and stages of all sizes.
The following list of movies need your help in getting counted.
[NEED LIST FOR DROPDOWN MENU OF FILMS]
Pick any of these movies and start counting. It’s simple: just count the number of guns appearing on-screen in a film. Want to take your count to the next level? List how the gun was used. Help us bring greater responsibility to the entertainment industry by submitting these counts to GN. We’ll then average the results and so long as they are within a 5% margin of error, we’ll publish them. In exchange, we’ll send you a social badge you can post to show your support for more responsible media.
Here’s how to get started:
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Sign up here
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Review instructions on how to do the count
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Do the count
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Submit your results
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Receive your badge
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We’ll then add your name to our growing GN community
All guns appearing onscreen should be counted. Every type of handheld gun whether actual/real or fantastical (e.g., futuristic ray guns or tasers) should be counted as a gun because they operate as real guns would and the goal is usually to aim and fire.
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1:1 count for guns appearing in a production
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All handheld guns (futuristic included) counted
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Heavy artillery (not handheld) not counted
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Toy guns (don’t operate as real guns) not counted (what about guns used in video games - not on screen but held in arcades?)
FILM/TV/Digital
Guns appearing onscreen are counted as many times as they appear in a scene. (e.g. if the same gun appears in a scene from 15 different angles that gun is counted 15 times. Occurrences are counted in this way due to the amount of time each visual representation of a gun occupies the screen.
TOY GUNS & HEAVY ARTILLERY
Toy guns and heavy artillery are excluded from coding totals because toy guns don’t operate as a real gun and heavy artillery is generally not carried by hand and don’t have a traditional trigger. Missile or strafing systems on fighter jets, bazookas, mounted weapons, etc. are not included. Included guns are the types of weapons to which the average person might have realistic access.
ADDITIONAL CODING OPPORTUNITY: HOW GUNS ARE USED IN A PARTICULAR SETTING
Guns that appear in settings where they are used can be coded according to the type of use. Guns drawn, fired and used to inflict harm will be coded as such.
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Drawn
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Fired
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Caused bodily harm
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Number of bodies harmed
GUNS APPEARING IN A NON-USE SETTING
Guns appearing in a non-use setting will be coded for how they appear. This measure allows us to track gun portrayal independently of whether or not violence occurs onscreen, whether gun violence or otherwise.
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Holstered
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Held
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Tabled
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Mounted on a wall
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Locked in a case
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