The Men of Columbine: Violence and Masculinity in American Culture and Film

In the aftermath of the recent school shootings, communities and the media alike have been searching for “answers” to the question of why young white males in suburban neighborhoods have been massacring their classmates. Some look to the parents who should have known what was happening, the difficult social environment of high school, or authorities who failed to act decisively. For example, in the wake of the Columbine shootings, Newsweek suggested that it was the fault of the police: “the sheriff's office had failed to act decisively on explicit threats made by Harris that foreshadowed the massacre” (“Beyond” 32). Conservatives blame Hollywood for its depiction of violence, while liberals blame gun companies for the lack of control over gun sales. Jonathan Alter, writing for Newsweek, encapsulates both of these critiques: “Simply meeting with gun and entertainment executives will accomplish little; individuals must be named and shamed” (59). While Alter wants to see individuals held accountable for school shootings, William Bennett, during a Senate commerce committee meeting addressing violence in Hollywood films and their influence on society, wants to see individual films held accountable. He explains, “Surely we can agree upon some meaningful distinctions here, between [the violence in] Casino and Saving Private Ryan, between The Basketball Diaries and Clear and Present Danger” (qtd. in Jenkins 21). Rather than blaming Hollywood for society's violence, however, we can instead look to Hollywood for some answers to the seemingly elusive question of where to put the blame. As we shall see, Hollywood films make clear what no one else has brought up when discussing these school shootings: the link between violence and masculinity.

When generalizing in his Violence: Reflections on a National Epidemic about who commits the most violence in America, James Gilligan says, “Violence is primarily men's work; it is carried out more frequently by men; and it is about the main