Why Gunshot Sounds are Not Cool
September 12, 2009
I recently posted this comment about the new Vlogbrothers outro (last few seconds) on this video:
In regards to the gunshot in the outro…
The outro video is awesome and I love the idea of using sound effects and different video each time, but the gunshots seem to spread the message that guns (and the sound they make) are cool…when I think that we might want to spread the message that guns are NEVER cool except in very specific circumstances.
It is a cool sound effect, but I think we’re capable of coming up with some ideas that are just as cool and gun-free. -Karen Bernstein
And I wanted to keep typing on this subject, because youtube limited my comment numbers.
Regardless of personal feelings on gun control (although, yes, I am in favor of gun control), I am a person who believes very strongly that guns are not ever cool. No matter who you are, what your profession is, etc. – it is not cool to shoot a gun (unless, you know, you’re in highly controlled circumstances shooting at something inanimate. And even then, I believe there are equally as good ways to have fun).
The problem with pairing gunshot noises with video that is cool (like the outro video on John and Hank’s two latest videos), is that it creates and perpetuates the idea that the sound (in this case, the gunshot noise) is ALSO cool. And if you do it over and over in an outro of a popular video series, where people are hearing guns and seeing cool video over and over, that association of cool-video-cool-sound grows and strengthens until we start thinking…hey, that gunshot sound is cool!
And it doesn’t stop there. It means when we hear a gunshot in real life, it doesn’t sound quite as bad.
Yes, it’s picky. It’s miniscule. And it might not be “That big of a deal.”
But we are intelligent, caring people with real concerns for our society and our world. And we are creative enough to not have to settle for something like a gunshot when there are so many good sounds in the world that REALLY ARE cool.
And so I challenge the Nerdfighters to come up with something better.
(my vote: the sound of turning a page in a book. Have you ever heard it? It’s magical).
—–
Do you feel the same way about gunshot sounds? Use any medium of social media you like to talk about why, then comment here with a link. Let’s make this a group conversation!
I also tweeted and made a youtube comment on the video respectfully asking John and Hank to change the music. Want to see it change? Let them know! The more voices talking, the louder we all are.
September 12, 2009 at 5:22 pm
I totally agree, Karen. Guns are not cool, and I hope John and Hank take your advice.
September 12, 2009 at 11:09 pm
Hi, Karen. Thanks for the very thoughtful and intelligent blog post and for passing it along to us via twitter.
First, the chuck-chuck-bang joke is not a gun joke; it’s a joke about a joke. (It’s a kind of satirization of the old joke that one’s biceps are “the gun show,” which is itself based on an old play on word that biceps are guns.) My way of showing off my biceps in 2007 was to do the nerdfighter sign; that’s where the sound effect originated. So it doesn’t have its roots in guns, but instead in a joke equivalating my (distinctly undangerous) biceps to (obviously dangerous) guns. The incongruence is supposed to be the joke.
Second, I would argue that acknowledging that guns make sounds is not the same thing as acknowledging that firing guns is good. I know this is tricky territory, and I certainly don’t want anyone subconsciously or otherwise to think that it would be fun to shoot a gun, and so I understand your concern. But shotguns exist in the world. They sound like chick-chick-bang. To acknowledge this is not to make shooting guns cool. (I don’t think.)
Anyway, let’s continue the conversation, because it’s good and important to talk about. And thanks for watching.
September 12, 2009 at 11:29 pm
Hi John,
Thanks so much for taking the time to respond. I hope this reply gets back to you.
What I find interesting about this conversation is that it begins to set up a paradox that I think can work either way. Personally, I know that I tend to see the very black and white guns-are-bad-stay-away-from-them perspective, which is based in fear. The way I perceive the sound of a gun is different than the way other people would. There’s no way to keep sounds from being subjective, and I think that’s actually a really good thing.
The more I think about this, the more I realize that it’s not as much about the danger of guns as it is about the power they have. Guns have an immense amount of power, and they give the owner an immense amount of power – power that may or may not require thought or full understanding of that power. I know that I’m personally scared of guns because they make me feel weak – it takes little to no effort for someone (who might even have your undangerous bicepts) to cause a lot of damage and pain, and there is so little I can do about it. It’s very easy for someone with a gun to have that kind of power.
And so the sound itself also carries a lot of power, because it becomes associated with the power of someone holding that gun and pulling the trigger. And so when the sound is used behind unrelated video – even if the video itself is neutral – it’s like the sound is being used to make that video stronger and more powerful.
In this situation, it does make for some incongruence. The power of the sound and the power of the video don’t match up. I find the outro video to be MUCH more powerful with the sound of the gunshot. And powerful video is not a bad thing. I’m personally just not comfortable with guns being used to create or draw attention to that power.
I hope we can keep this conversation going, if not here than somewhere more conducive to conversation. And thank you again for your response.
September 14, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Hi, Karen. It’s not often that I find myself in a situation where I’m seeking to defend the intelligence of the youtube community (or, perhaps, of humanity in general), but that’s where I am after reading your post about John and Hank’s new outro.
In gratuitously violent movies, video games, etc., desensitization to violence is a very real problem. In another forum, on a related issue, all your comments about power and guns would be totally valid. Sights and sounds can affect us subconsciously in big ways. But we’re not total morons. We know – even without thinking about it – that the message is one of humour and irony, not of power and violence; one only has to watch the outros (with RPattz and a nerdfighter with a toothy grin) to realize that.
While sounds like gunshots can be used in negative contexts, the sound itself does no harm whatsoever. It’s great to want to take all the bad influences out of the things we surround ourselves with, but it’s also important not to see bad where there is none. That state of mind leads to constant worry and excessive censorship.