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A Conversation between Jackson Katz and Douglas Kellner on Guns, Masculinities, and School Shootings

2008; Volume: 4; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.32855/fcapital.200801.018

1930-014X

Jackson Katz, Douglas Kellner,

Gun Ownership and Violence Research

The one-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre was April 16, followed by the ninth anniversary of Columbine just a few days later on April 20.As April 16 approached, there were all sorts of stories in the mainstream media about the tragedy.As someone who has written extensively about media culture but also now about gun violence, is there a way you can characterize media coverage of VT, NIU and other recent school shootings?In your opinion, what are some of the strengths and weaknesses of the coverage?DK: For the most part, corporate media coverage of the school shootings remains on the level of media spectacle, presenting the events as tragedies, while failing to go into the features that the shootings have in common.One searches in vain in the corporate media for discussion of a "crisis in masculinity" or a thoughtful critique of our out-of-control gun culture, and yet in most of the tragedies, the shooters use guns and violence to resolve their masculine identity crises and create celebrity for themselves through acts of violence. JK:In your book Guys and Guns Amok, you link incidents of domestic terrorism like the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing to the phenomenon of school shootings.Can you explain the similarities (and differences) as you see them? DK:In both school shootings and acts of domestic terrorism the perpetrators use guns and/or commit violence to resolve crises in masculinity and to constitute themselves as "tough guys," real men.They also use the media to create media spectacles of terror and to constitute themselves as celebrities, hence the title of my book, "Guys and Guns Amok."JK: Can you describe the origins of the word "amok," as well as your use of the term in relation to school shootings and other killing rampages?DK: The initial title "Guns Amok" emerged as I was outlining a table of contents for this book.As it turns out, there were many Google references that connected "guns" and "amok"; there were almost thirty films with "Amok" in their title, including a Chuck Jones Daffy Duck film "Duck Amuck" that I recalled when thinking about the title, as well as a Star Trek episode "Amok Time," that I remember well.There are books and journals with "Amok" in their title, including Stefan Zweig's novel Amok (1922).Hence, there are enough cultural references to make the title resonant and viable.