What movies/tv shows portray civilian gun ownership as totally normal?

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jlbraun

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What I'm talking about is a movie/tv show where having and using firearms is just a normal part of life, not related to the main story at all.

That is, the characters are shown as owning firearms for recreation and defense, but the guns are never used for a story-related purpose (shooting the badguy, shooting a stalker, etc.)

Let's exclude hunting as well, as that is the only "legitimate" reason for owning guns in a lot of minds.

Just like in real life, 99.9% of firearms are never fired or displayed in anger, but they're an integral part of a lot of peoples' lives - what media shows this?
 
So specifically shows or movies which show firearms and characters owning and using them, but not as central to the plot or being used in a dramatic function? So the guns are just background or wall-hangers or whatever?

That's pretty difficult to come up with. So not used defensively, not used offensively, not used for hunting, and I'd have to assume not for competition either? I mean...if someone made a movie of my day-to-day life (or even some extraordinary part of it) and the things I do with guns weren't depicted in that film, then there really wouldn't be any guns in the film, would there? I mean, I don't leave them lying around the house or hanging on the wall ... so the "camera" isn't likely to "see" them unless I'm doing something "gunny" with them.

I mean, the audience probably wouldn't see my lawn mower either, unless I was mowing my lawn with it.
 
I'd say that Last Man Standing with Tim Allen might count for a TV show. If you're not familiar, Tim Allen's character is an executive at a big Bass Pro/Cabela's type sporting goods store. He's a manly-man but has three girls and a wife at home, no boys except his oldest girl's son.

Naturally there is lots of talk about hunting and fishing and what not. Guns are talked about in a hunting (and boyfriend intimidating) sense.
 
Oh, Duck Dynasty! How could I forget about that!

Come to think about it, a lot of the "reality" shows generally show guns being used primarily as tools. Especially the ones set in Alaska.
 
Andy Griffith or does the one bullet disqualify it ;)

I guess cop comedy sitcoms where the job is just a backdrop. Like the current Mike and Molly

edit***** I missed the cillivan part, sorry

It seems like a difficult question. A gun is a tool. Why put a tool into an entertainment storyline but not use it?
 
Many, many shows have backgrounds with characters carrying concealed - properly. So it never shows....
 
I saw an episode of Deadliest Catch where the crew of the boat was firing their AR's out in the ocean in memory of their dad. I have seen them carrying them on to the boat before they leave port. Then that's about it. Same for Gold Rush, they show a few shots of revolvers, ARs, and shotguns around camp in Alaska.
 
Let's see...


There's a brief moment in the film Three Kings where Spike Jonze's character, Conrad, is shooting stuff in his back yard (though that arguably reinforces a negative stereotype). True, he's in the Army, but that scene takes place in his off-duty time.

For most of the film, Burt's wall of guns in Tremors was pretty innocuous, but they were used to shoot one of the Graboids later. So maybe more a case of Chekov's Gunrack.

One episode of the series 30 Days had an anti-gunner live with a gun-toting father and son for a month.

The episode of Penn & Teller: Bull****! about gun control made arguments for self-defense as a valid and normal reason for wanting a firearm, but focused more on debunking anti-gun arguments.

Perhaps relating in a more tangential, abstract way... there is something recent that is very probably outside the realm of interest of the vast, VAST majority of this forum, but there is an ongoing comic from Japan (ironic, no?) that also got a TV adaptation called "Upotte!!" which depicts the normal daily lives of anthropomorphized assault rifles.
 
Id have to say Duck Dynasty comes to mind...I seem to recall a few scenes where while standing around Miss Kay's kitchen there was a shotgun or two on the table or something, not part of the discussion at hand
 
If guns are not an instrumental part of the story why would they be portrayed? Movies have limited time to tell a story, while trying to keep the audiences attention, so they tend to not just shove regular day to day activities in their just for kicks.
 
I think Checkov would object. Especially in non-reality TV or a Movie, there is no reason to write in a gun unless it furthers the plot in some way.




Sent from my iPhone
 
In "Texasville", 1990 movie, a main character (Duane, played by Jeff Bridges, I think) in the opening scene is sitting in his hot tub taking target practice at his two-story dog house. I don't remember what he's using...

Of course, the book it's based on was written by a Texan...
 
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"Gunsmoke" all 635 TV episodes!

There were 432 radio episodes also. (great to listen to on a long road trip)


"Mr Dillon, Mr Dillon?"
 
While not entirely in tune with the premise of this post, since guns are used in the main plot, I thought "The Adventures of Tintin" had a wholly grounded viewpoint. The title character is essentially a European teenager, yet he is comfortable around firearms and versed in their use. He even has what appears to be a Walther PP when answering his apartment door late at night. Later, he shoots down an airplane with a Browning Hi-Power.
 
While not entirely in tune with the premise of this post, since guns are used in the main plot, I thought "The Adventures of Tintin" had a wholly grounded viewpoint. The title character is essentially a European teenager, yet he is comfortable around firearms and versed in their use. He even has what appears to be a Walther PP when answering his apartment door late at night. Later, he shoots down an airplane with a Browning Hi-Power.
Click to expand...

I Loved that movie and all of the guns in it it! there is a scene on the ship where he is running and shooting at badguys. I thoroughly enjoyed that film. One of my top 5, really.
 
If it's not central to the plot, chances are they won't be there. While some movies are overtly anti-civilian-gun-use (listen to the commentaries for some action movies where a civilian and a secret agent team up, and there will be some mention of how they had to portray the agent as knowledgeable but the civilian as a dunderhead, because "there's no reason he should know how to use an assault rifle if he's not a spy").

Some TV shows involve a trip to the gun range at some point. In one episode of The Mentalist, he visits a potential suspect while the suspect is at the shooting range. At the end of that episode he is given a pistol as a gift from that person.

In the Big Bang Theory, Penny and Leonard go on a date to a gun range in one episode. Due to unsafe handling by Leonard he shoots himself in the foot.

In the show Suits, the annoying lawyer Louis goes to the gun range to calm himself down.

I guess it's part of the plot, but Harry on Harry's Law carries a .44 magnum.

There should be a TV show coming out in the near future where the main character is a gun nut. It's about a guy who hunts monsters for a living. Somehow it's connected to this forum ;)

One thing I guess would say is to change the question a bit to get more answers: what TV shows or movies show civilians with no military or police training as being responsible and competent with guns when needed? As I mentioned before, when I was watching the commentary for triple X, the director explained why Xander Cage needs to pull the trigger on an assault rifle only to hear "click" because the safety is on...because it is "realistic" that a civilian has no idea how to use an assault rifle. (Quick rant: it's been in enough movies, just turn the safety off).

None really come to mind. Most of the movies with civilians doing this kind of thing, they either learn as they go or they are former military.
 
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