Being disillusioned by the power of film and television

Two weeks ago, I tuned in to my favorite comfort show, “Abbott Elementary,” as it returned for its second season. The mockumentary-style comedy chronicles the shenanigans of various teachers at an underfunded elementary school run by a selfish and mordant principal. A soon-to-be classic sitcom, creator and star Quinta Brunson has quickly captured the laughs of many as “Abbott Elementary” was nominated for several Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series. 

Achieving such high acclaim is impressive but not without its downsides. Following the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, many people were outraged at the loss of 19 children and two teachers due to the lack of gun control and the warning signs of prevailing shootings. Naturally, many concerned citizens were compelled to act in order to relieve the trauma engendered by shootings and to prevent future ones.

The mode of achieving such change is varied. Last May, as people witnessed the horrifying scenes in Uvalde, many fans of “Abbott Elementary” tweeted at Brunson. 

“For the eventual series finale, a school shooting episode to highlight the numerous ones in the nation,” an anonymous fan said via private message sent to Brunson. “Formulate an angle that would get our government to understand why laws need to pass. I think Abbott Elementary can affect change. I love the show.” 

Brunson posted this message in a thread on Twitter because of these tasteless and redundant requests. 

“Wild how many people have asked for a school shooting episode of the show I write. People are that deeply removed from demanding more from the politicians they’ve elected and are instead demanding ‘entertainment,’” Brunson tweeted. “I can’t ask ‘are yall ok’ anymore because the answer is no.”

These requests must be dissected carefully. On the one hand, these fans believe themselves valid — a dutiful request as citizens in order to enact change politically through entertainment. On the other hand, however, these requests are thoughtless and superficial. Demanding show creators to use their medium as a form of activism is fair, but their efforts could have easily been used to pressure actual politicians to enact change. Writing an episode depicting a school shooting will do nothing but retraumatize viewers, especially because in the U.S., the fear of mass shootings has become a universal one.

Many treat representation in film and television as harbingers for social justice and equity when actual policies fail to follow suit. Unfortunately for many people with good intentions, media representation has become a more legitimate means of enacting social change than actual political action. 

Film and television can be powerful engines for informing inquisitive minds about social injustices, but by no means is it a requirement. Following Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” (2017), audiences confronted the terrifying and transforming racial tensions Black people face in a “I don’t see color” white private sphere. Watching Bong Joon-Ho’s “Parasite”(2019), we understood how issues with economic systems transcend across borders, showing how the lower class is unraveled by a capitalist system where few thrive off the hands of many. While the issues these films discuss are timely and salient, they intend to show, depict and understand the issues at hand—certainly not solve them. 

The problem is our expectations of film and television. Yes, feature length films and widestream sitcoms have large audience reaches. Yes, when they talk about social issues, they have the potential of sparking change through thoughtful discussions of the medium. Yes, Hollywood is pushing for more diversity in front of and behind the camera. However, we cannot expect film and television to do the work for us. We cannot forget that our individual efforts play a vital role in political change. 

“Abbott Elementary” is my comfort show that doesn’t require a needlessly traumatizing episode for an extremely inclusive cast and characters I have come to care for. For now, I am going to continue watching the second season because watching it feels like being hugged by a warm blanket. And, in a world where every time I log in to Twitter, I am faced with another pressing issue, I take refuge in “Abbott Elementary” because frankly, we all need an escape somehow.